The Premier League is set for a return in the next few weeks as teams in England’s top-flight commit to finishing the campaign and handing out positions on merit.
However, there are bound to be changes when football returns and one of them is the absence of fans from the stadiums.
Another change that is being touted is for teams to complete the season on neutral grounds and away from their stadia.
This has brought about the issue of fans being left out, however, does it pay to play in front of your fans?
We cannot deny that fans bring ambience to football grounds, but how much do they influence the results?
I think the influence that fans have on their players which in turn brings about even better performances from the players cannot be understated.
I reckon that there is no home advantage without the home fans and that means that home advantage will play an important role when the season resumes if the fans are allowed in.
Teams that have learnt to thrive outside their home hold the advantage over teams that need to the spurred on by their fans before they perform.
That said, the minute the fans are no longer with the team then home advantage is no longer an advantage and Arsenal have been a classic example of that.
So, in conclusion, of course home advantage is huge but only if you have the fans on side, if not then no, it no longer is an advantage.
An article by Ime
