Quote:It has been long assumed that crowd support at home matches had much to do with the phenomenon of home advantage. Indeed, it has been established that crowd noise has an effect on the officiating of games, where referees and umpires unconsciously favour the home team.

But the effect of crowd size and crowd noise are not as significant as we may think. Studies have shown, for example, that home advantage remains firmly intact for football games contested before totally empty stands. Additionally, for same-stadium derbies (matches between teams using the same stadium for home games) there is no discernible home advantage even though the side hosting the encounter usually has significantly more support in the stands.

Therefore, if it's not the size of the crowds nor familiarity with home conditions, what accounts for home advantage? Why are teams more likely to win when playing at home?

It turns out that home advantage might be largely due to players striving harder - unconsciously mind you - to defend their home turf. Studies suggest that players see home encounters as more important than those away from home and compete accordingly. They are more aggressive at home, more focused and therefore more likely to win.