Every year we get a new FIFA videogame from EA that claims to be more realistic and improve the player A.I. yet every year we get an almost identical game to last year with new packaging (the last few years we have barely even got that). So to see how good the newest entry into this long running series is I’m going to try predicting the scores for the upcoming games over the weekend (games from the Premier/Championship/League 1&2) using the PlayStation 3 version of the game.

There are of course rules that all the games must have, things like having no human players is an obvious one but also things like using only the stock rosters, all rules being on and the season being set to Autumn/Fall being some less obvious. The gameplay skill settings are also set to the default 50% values. Matches are to be played for 5 minutes per half and time of day is set to the nearest half hour.

These rules should ensure that all games are played on a level playing field so to speak giving us the best chance to see how it matches up to the real world results.

I haven’t simulated all the games yet but I’ll get through as many as possible and update the list below before the 12:15 kickoff on Saturday.

Prepare for a lengthy list of games and potential scores/scorers:

FRI 3 OCT 2014
CHAMPIONSHIP
19:45     Blackpool vs Cardiff                        0-1
[16’ Cardiff: A. Le Fondre]

LEAGUE TWO
19:45     Burton vs Cambridge                     1-0
[16’ Burton: L. Akins]
19:45     Dag & Red vs Exeter                       1-2
[10’ Exeter: M.Grimes (Pen)/45’ Exeter: J. Keohane/53’ Dag: J. Cureton]

SAT 4 OCT 2014
PREMIER LEAGUE
15:00     Hull vs Crystal Palace                     0-0
[N/A]
15:00     Leicester vs Burnley                       1-1
[20’ Burnley: D. Ings /53’ Leicester: L Ulloa]
15:00     Liverpool vs West Brom               0-3
[45’ West Brom: V. Anichebe/79’ West Brom: C. Brunt/88’ West Brom: S. Sessègnon]
15:00     Sunderland vs Stoke                      0-0
[N/A]
15:00     Swansea vs Newcastle                  1-2
[33′ Newcastle: C. Tioté/37′ Newcastle: C. Tioté/74′ Swansea: G. Sigurðsson]
17:30     Aston Villa vs Man City                 1-4
[17′ City: S. Nassri/43′ Villa: A. Westwood/53′ City: S. Agüero/72′ City: s. Jovetić/82′ City: Y. Touré]

CHAMPIONSHIP
12:15     Leeds vs Sheff Wed                        2-2
[07′ Leeds: B. Sharp/45′ Leeds: L. Murphy/71′ Sheff: S. May/89′ Sheff: J. Maghoma]
15:00     Blackburn vs Huddersfield        1-0
[45′ Blackburn: J. Rhodes]
15:00     Bolton vs Bournemouth              0-1
[53′ Bourne: E. O’Kane]
15:00     Brentford vs Reading                   0-1
[31′ Reading: G. McCleary]
15:00     Charlton vs Birmingham            0-1
[06′ B’Ham: L.Novak]
15:00     Derby vs Millwall                           0-1
[81′ Millwall: S. McDonald(Pen)]
15:00     M’boro vs Fulham                          2-1
[19′ M’boro: G. Leadbitter/22′ Fulham: R. McCormack/52′ M’boro: E. Kike]
15:00     Norwich vs Rotherham                1-0
[39′ Norwich: L.Grabban]
15:00     Watford vs Brighton                     2-0
[06′ Watford: F. Forestieri/54′ Watford: T. Deeney]
15:00     Wolves vs Wigan                            0-1
[45′ Wigan: O. Riera]

LEAGUE ONE
13:00     Chesterfield vs Sheff Utd              1-0
[22′ Chesterfield: E. Doyle]
15:00     Bradford vs Crewe                          1-0
[06′ Bradford: A. Sheehan (Pen)]
15:00     Coventry vs Crawley                      0-0
[N/A]
15:00     Fleetwood vs Port Vale                 3-1
[14′ Fleetwood: D. Ball/35′ Port Vale: M. Marshall/53′ Fleetwood: J. Morris/72′ Fleetwood: M. Blair]
15:00     Leyton Orient vs Swindon           0-0
[N/A]
15:00     Notts County vs Gillingham        0-1
[17′ Gillingham: H. Hollis (OG)]
15:00     Peterborough vs Oldham             1-0
[27′ Peterborough: K. Vassell]
15:00     Preston vs Colchester                    0-0
[N/A]
15:00     Rochdale vs Barnsley                     1-0
[42′ Rochdale: M. Done]
15:00     Scunthorpe vs Doncaster             0-2
[28′ Doncaster: D. Furman/53′ Doncaster: P. Keegan]
15:00     Walsall vs Bristol City                    0-1
[45′ Bristol: L. Freeman]
15:00     Yeovil vs MK Dons                          0-0
[N/A]

LEAGUE TWO
15:00     Bury vs Tranmere                            1-0
[85’ Bury: D. Rose]
15:00     Cheltenham vs AFC Wimbledon  0-1
[53′ AFC: S. Moore]
15:00     Hartlepool vs Carlisle                    0-0
[N/A]
15:00     Mansfield vs Accrington               0-0
[N/A]
15:00     Oxford Utd vs Newport                 1-0
[07′ Oxford: C. Morris]
15:00     Plymouth vs Shrewsbury             1-2
[16′ Shrewsbury: J. Clark/25′ Plymouth: R. Reid/90′ Shrewsbury: S. Vernon]
15:00     Southend vs Morecambe             0-0
[N/A]
15:00     Stevenage vs Luton                        0-0
[N/A]
15:00     Wycombe vs Northampton         1-0
[19′ Wycombe: M. McClure]
15:00     York vs Portsmouth                        0-2
[23′ Portsmouth: C. Westcarr/90′ Portsmouth: M. Storey]

SUN 5 OCT 2014
PREMIER LEAGUE
12:00     Man Utd vs Everton                        1-0
[35′ Man Utd: J. Mata]
14:05     Chelsea vs Arsenal                          2-2
[32′ Chelsea: E. Hazard/43′ Arsenal: A. Sánchez/90′ Chelsea: Oscar/90′ Arsenal: A. Sánchez]
14:05     Tottenham vs Southampton       1-0
[69′ Tottenham: E. Adebayor]
16:15     West Ham vs QPR                           0-1
[30′ QPR: C. Austin]

CHAMPIONSHIP
15:00     Nottm Forest vs Ipswich               1-2
[09′ Nott Forest: B. Assombalonga/11′ Ipswich: D. McGoldrick/44′ Ipswich: D. Murphy]

I shall return once all the results are in and I’ve been able to go over them to see how close to reality the game came. Don’t forget to join the discussion in the comments below or over on Twitter where I’m @PaulMurday.

Paul Murday
Editor