Football ratings

Wednesday 2 September 2026 · times UK

The model's strongest calls

77%Celtic — home winCeltic v Aberdeen · 19:45 · market 75% · this strong, 82% land (2,727 cases)
66%Rangers — away winFalkirk v Rangers · 20:00 · market 60% · this strong, 71% land (1,529 cases)
£10 on all 2 as one multiple returns about £20 if every one lands. The model puts that at 51%, the market at 45%, and the price needs 49% just to break even.Bookmaker margin compounds with every leg, which is why the break-even sits above the market's own view. A same-match bet builder pays less than this — the bookmaker prices in that the legs move together. Our chance is a straight multiplication and is if anything a little low: where two legs of one match both cleared, they landed together 55.5% of the time against a multiplied 53.4%.

Goals — supporting, not headline

These are calibrated — a 65% call lands about 65% of the time. But the model separates high- from low-scoring matches far less sharply than it separates winners, so there is less information behind a goals number than a result one.

65%Celtic v Aberdeen — over 2.5 goals19:45 · market 67% · this strong, 66% land (4,584 cases)
63%Luton v Stockport County — over 2.5 goals19:45 · market 57% · this strong, 66% land (4,584 cases)
62%Falkirk v Rangers — over 2.5 goals20:00 · market 59% · this strong, 66% land (4,584 cases)
60%Burton Albion v AFC Wimbledon — under 2.5 goals19:45 · market 55% · this strong, 58% land (10,295 cases)

Every fixture

Championship
Millwall v Wrexham19:45
HomeDrawAway
Model552520
Market432829
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model5248
Market4951
Under 4.5 goals: 85%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
Model is 12 points above the market on home win (pinnacle). Worth a look at why.
QPR v Cardiff19:45
HomeDrawAway
Model502525
Market492427
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model5842
Market5743
Under 4.5 goals: 80%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
West Brom v Charlton19:45
HomeDrawAway
Model482724
Market542521
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model5050
Market4753
Under 4.5 goals: 87%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
Burnley v Middlesbrough20:00
HomeDrawAway
Model302743
Market342639
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model5347
Market5545
Under 4.5 goals: 84%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
League One
Barnsley v Blackpool19:45
HomeDrawAway
Model443027
Market432730
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model4555
Market5644
Under 4.5 goals: 91%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
Burton Albion v AFC Wimbledon19:45
HomeDrawAway
Model523018
Market472824
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model4060
Market4555
Under 4.5 goals: 93%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
Luton v Stockport County19:45
HomeDrawAway
Model402634
Market412633
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model6337
Market5743
Under 4.5 goals: 79%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
Wigan v Milton Keynes Dons19:45
HomeDrawAway
Model472825
Market402832
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model5248
Market4852
Under 4.5 goals: 87%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
Model is 7 points above the market on home win (pinnacle). Worth a look at why.
Reading v Mansfield Town20:00
HomeDrawAway
Model422929
Market472628
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model4951
Market5446
Under 4.5 goals: 89%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
Scottish Premiership
Celtic v Aberdeen19:45
HomeDrawAway
Model77167
Market75168
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model6535
Market6733
Under 4.5 goals: 75%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
Dundee v ST Johnstone19:45
HomeDrawAway
Model442728
Market362737
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model5446
Market5248
Under 4.5 goals: 85%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
Model is 8 points above the market on home win (pinnacle). Worth a look at why.
Kilmarnock v ST Mirren19:45
HomeDrawAway
Model312841
Market332740
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model5347
Market5545
Under 4.5 goals: 86%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
Motherwell v Dundee Utd19:45
HomeDrawAway
Model532621
Market482626
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model5545
Market5644
Under 4.5 goals: 84%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
Falkirk v Rangers20:00
HomeDrawAway
Model132066
Market182260
Over 2.5Under 2.5
Model6238
Market5941
Under 4.5 goals: 78%  ·  happens 86% of the time anyway
Model is 6 points above the market on away win (pinnacle). Worth a look at why.

How the calls did

✓Lincoln 0–0 Blackburn under 2.5 goals 56%

1 of 1 settled since yesterday · 111 of 166 since the model went live.

Every match, for the record

The model rates the whole card, not just the calls, and learns from all of it. Judged as probabilities rather than picks — a 38% favourite losing is the model working, not failing.

·Resulttop pick right 5/14, we claimed 42% · 151/306 all-time
what actually happenedwe gave it 35% on average
·Over/under 2.5top pick right 5/14, we claimed 53% · 181/306 all-time
what actually happenedwe gave it 50% on average

A well-calibrated model's average claim matches how often it happens. That is the number Rule 9 gates on, and it is tracked for results and goals alike whether or not a fixture ever produced a call.

What these numbers are. The model's own estimate of how likely each result is, from form, Elo, rest, shots and xG as they stood at 06:00 UK on match day. One bivariate Poisson produces all of them, so the result and the goals figures share one underlying view of the match. Each published figure is then calibrated against what actually happened in past matches, one market at a time — so they agree closely but are not forced to agree exactly. Market figures are the bookmaker's prices with their margin removed, so the two are comparable.

What they are not. Across 57,633 out-of-sample fixtures the market separated matches better than the model in every league, every season, every outcome and every confidence band — 24 slices, no exceptions, re-tested in August 2026 on the current model. This is a second opinion, not an edge. Where it earns its keep is honesty about its own confidence: when it says 74%, that happens about 74% of the time.

Why a call appears. Thresholds — home 70% · away 60% · over 60% · under 55% — sit where the model has historically been as good as its claim. Raising them would surface fewer calls and be less accurate about them, because its confidence above those levels is inflated everywhere except home wins. Draws are never flagged: the highest one ever rated was 62%.

14 rated · 0 not rated · model goals_v7_cal · built 2026-09-02 07:04 UK