Sources and methodology
A forecast, a team-news report and an official team sheet answer different questions. Here is how to tell them apart and where the information comes from.
Last reviewed
One label. One meaning.
A guide to the labels · illustrative, not a live fixture
A useful update, without an invented XI.
An official club update can tell you who is unavailable or being assessed. That alone does not confirm eleven starters, a formation or a direct replacement.
Look for: the named player, the exact source, its date and any conditions attached to the statement.An estimate, with room to change.
A statistical model uses the available selection and availability evidence. A complete forecast is still a prediction. A player’s place, role or fitness is not confirmed by appearing here.
Look for: the fixture, forecast check time, known absences and any uncertainty. Do not read a lineup forecast as a prediction of the match result.The team sheet has arrived.
A stored official team sheet identifies the starting eleven and substitutes for this fixture. It takes precedence over a prior prediction. Later corrections can still happen.
Look for: the official source and the right fixture. A previous match’s official XI is historical, not confirmation for the next game.Official sources first. Context attached.
Structured official league data provides fixtures, results, registrations and team sheets where available. Official club articles, press conferences and updates add player and team-news context. A source being official does not make every interpretation of it certain.
A statement about returning to training is not automatically a declaration of match fitness. A manager discussing options does not confirm a replacement. We keep the relevant player, competition, timing and conditions attached to the statement.
Which clock am I reading?
Source published tells you when the original item was published. Checked describes a source or lineup check. Page updated describes this site’s output. A recently generated page does not mean every underlying fact is new.
Checks and publication happen periodically, so the site can lag behind an announcement. Coverage is not complete and some details may be withheld when identity or evidence is unclear. Use the linked source to read the original wording.
What the model does. Where AI helps.
Predicted XIs are statistical estimates based on available selection history, player usage and availability evidence. There is no guarantee of eleven correct names, a particular formation or an exact on-pitch position. A forecast can change when new evidence arrives.
AI assists with extracting and organising information from sources. It can make mistakes. The public lineup forecast is not an XI freely written by a language model, and an AI interpretation cannot make a team sheet official. Publication uses rules for identity, source support and uncertainty.
Do not interpret a lineup confidence indicator as the probability of a win, a player scoring, or a betting outcome. Historical lineups describe their own fixtures, not current availability.
A record you can inspect.
Where a stored forecast and an official team sheet can be matched, the forecast record compares the starting names. Missing forecasts, missing sheets and exclusions remain part of the picture. A forecast recreated with later information would not be a valid pre-match result.
A small sample or a strong result for one club does not establish performance for every club or future match. We do not promise a universal accuracy percentage.
Inspect recorded forecastsHelp us correct the record.
Send the Match XI page, the disputed detail and a supporting source. We review the identity, timing and meaning before changing a record. Some disagreements are forecast misses rather than factual errors; both are useful feedback, but they are handled differently.
Official corrections can update the current answer. We do not rewrite historical predictions to make them look more accurate. Reporting an error does not guarantee immediate publication or a particular outcome.
Report a data correction