Football Match Results Prediction Using Artificial Neural Networks; The Case of Iran Pro League

Abstract

Predicting the results of sports matches is interesting to many, from fans to punters. It is also interesting as a research problem, in part due to its difficulty, because the result of a sports match is dependent on many factors, such as the morale of a team (or a player), skills, current score, etc. So even for sports experts, it is very hard to predict the exact results of sports matches. This research discusses using a machine learning approach, Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), to predict the outcomes of one week, specifically applied to the Iran Pro League (IPL) 2013-2014 football matches. The data obtained from the past matches in the seven last leagues are used to make better predictions for the future matches. Results showed that neural networks have a remarkable ability to predict the results of football match results.