Originally Posted by
zJordan
I believe from previous experience in my programming career algorithms for simulation games take very little into consideration
Randomness (literally 0 or 1, e.g 0 = Manchester City, 1 = United, the engine may give 1 a slightly higher chance of scoring a goal because of a possible superior striker)
Honestly I have no idea how their algorithm works, but I had colleagues in the game industry (while I was also working at the same studio) while I worked for Ubisoft that specialized in the algorithm (not a huge aspect of their games either) and during our nights out that is what they talked about.
The game engine isn't suppose to be kind, sure you have a much better chance of winning if you have a superior team and better formation, but randomness trumps that.