Science and football aren't two things you would normally associate with one another.
But in recent years, several clubs have brought boffins on board in the hopes of boosting their chances of success.
Liverpool has partnered with Google's AI firm DeepMind to advise coaches on corner kicks, while other clubs have hired astrophysicists to analyse data and are even using missile-tracking technology to plot the move of every player.
So, can science really tell us how to bend it like Beckham?
MailOnline spoke to experts to uncover the formula for the winning football match ahead of Manchester United's match against Liverpool this Sunday.
PENALTIES
Taking a penalty is surely the most nerve-wracking experience for any player – a single moment that can decide the result of an entire tournament.
The question of how a penalty should be taken has been so hotly debated, but an expert at the University of Bath claims to have a solution.
Dr Ken Bray, a theoretical physicist and former science consultant to Southampton FC, said takers should always aim for outside of the 'diving envelope'.
This is an area that a goalkeeper is reasonably expected to be able to reach, while the area outside the diving envelope is known as 'the unsaveable zone'.
If players kick the ball towards the diving envelope they have a 50 per cent of scoring and a 50 per cent chance of the ball being saved.
But if the attacker kicks it at the unsaveable zone there's an 80 per cent chance of scoring.
'Why take the risk of a 50/50 shot when there's such an attractive and easy-to-reach placement for a reasonably-skilled performer,' said Dr Bray.
'You might just as well duck out of taking the penalty altogether and ask the ref to spin a coin instead.'
Dr Bray also argues that
Read on m.allfootballapp.com