why are football matches “at home” or as “visitors” treated like an advantage or disadvantage?

Question

is there any way in which this fact could affect a match by itself?

In: 8717

Answer 1

In NHL, there are actually rules that favor the home team. The home team gets the “last change.” Before each face off, the visiting team puts out their lineup, then the home team does. This lets the home team coach match their lines to the opponent. This could be to give an advantage in left/right handed forwards vs defence, or larger vs smaller, faster vs stronger players, or whatever other edge they are looking for.

Additionally, for centre-ice face-offs, the home team player at the face of circle is the last to choose their stick placement, which can give them the leg-up.

In the event of a shootout, the home team also gets to decide if they will shoot first or second. This definitely falls into the psychological category, however it’s still a rule that benefits the home team.