If you’re a lover of all things technology and have a passion for sports, you’ll already know the two now share a close working relationship. Tech plays an ever-increasing role in the games, from the local amateur soccer team playing on a Sunday afternoon to the top NFL sides quoted at the best online sportsbooks.
We’re entering an exciting and forward-thinking era where it helps improve them for all concerned. Are you ready to dive in and enjoy? The most obvious case of mechanical influence in pro sports is the Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR), now used in Premier League soccer. Watch any significant game from the EPL broadcast on television or live-streaming apps, and you’ll see VAR at work.
This controversial tech helps officials get the big decisions correct most of the time, but critics say it interrupts the flow of play and removes the human element of decision-making. What’s your view on VAR? Love it or hate it, one thing’s for sure: it is here to stay. It may be the three letters on every soccer fan’s lips approaching a hectic period of fixtures, but VAR isn’t the only tech impacting professional games.
We live in an age of technology where laptops and smartphones give consumers the current news, stats, and trends at the touch of a button. It’s a fantastic time to follow sports with the latest info, ensuring you remain up-to-speed on news, data, interviews, and more. You can use your smartphone to gather the relevant material and make predictions on upcoming games.
Knowledge is Key
Discovering the recent sports form, fixtures, and results is easy. Knowing what to do with it is a little more complicated. How can you use modern mechanisms to ramp up the chances of correctly predicting the result of a game? How can you use the smartphone to watch the action when you’re at work or on the move?
Our team of technology writers and sports enthusiasts explain all in this article. The information contained on this page is relevant to each fan looking for the latest information. The process is the same if you’re previewing the next UEFA Champions League final or NFL Super Bowl.
You can use our advice to get the current know-how on both players involved in a Grand Slam tennis final or upcoming horse race. All you need is a modern Android or iOS device, time to spend researching, and a passion for them. It works well everywhere, from the field of play to the stands and those watching the big game on TV.
All the fans must do to make the most of tech in games is to understand where to find the relevant information and how to interpret the numbers when making predictions. By the end of this article, you’ll know exactly how to achieve that.
Do You Know?
The sports betting market is forecasted to raise its revenue to 86% by 2028.
Finding the Form
Suppose you plan to watch this weekend’s main attraction from the NFL and fancy showcasing the sporting know-how by predicting the result to friends and family. Any football fan who has stuck their neck on the line and made an NFL prediction knows calling the result is easier said than done. The professionals spend many hours researching and revising the stats before making a call on the outcome.
TV pundits and ex-sports players use the latest apps to gather info, and the same apps used by the leading names are available free of charge. The first stop should be to download the official NFL app to the smartphone and add the app of both teams involved in the game. You’ll now have access to the current league standings, interviews from players and coaches, injury news, etc. It’s completely in one place.
Next, a detailed form guide should be downloaded that shows the head-to-head statistics between the two teams. A good app will go back through historical results to the first recorded meeting. It’ll get easier to trace the results, scores, scorers, the best players, officials, and so on.
The more information you have, the better will be the predictions. Gather all the most relevant data regarding an upcoming fixture in one place, either on paper or a spreadsheet. Get ready to move to the next stage.
Studying the Stats
(This graph shows the frequency of adults betting on sporting events in the United States as of January 2023, by age).
Now you have the relevant information at your disposal, it’s time to translate it into predictions. Start with the official NFL app for an update on the league table. How have both teams been performing, and is the win more important to one than the other?
A side may have a home advantage and is battling for a spot in the playoffs, while their opponent has already qualified. That gives the locals an added incentive to win the match. Next, check the team’s app and social media feeds for the latest form and injury news. Is one team on a winning run while their opponent struggles for reasons to cheer?
Does the weaker team have several key players out injured? The former team may be missing their top scorer and struggle until their return. There’s no such thing as having too much content at your disposal.
Lastly, check the app with enhanced stats, including the head-to-head figures. Browse past meetings, but stick to a handful of the most recent games involving the two teams. The more you read, the easier it’ll get to find a prediction.
You can keep it simple and look for the team with the highest degree of wins, or go further and check the stats. Have past meetings produced many goals or low-scoring and boring affairs? Does one player love to perform against a particular opponent?
Info can be gained by rolling the sleeves up and rummaging through the facts. Set aside plenty of time for studying to ensure to have every input at hand.
Call the Result
Now you have all the info, to tailor it to a prediction. Call the winner or play the specials, including total points, half-time/full-time, Most Valuable Player, and so on. The most satisfying part of predicting the outcome of a sporting event is manipulating the stats to call the winner. The harder you work, the luckier you become.