Dunfermline v Ayr Utd — prediction, stats and goal analysis

Championship · Saturday, 8 August 2026. Final score 1–1 (half-time 1–1). Before kick-off we rated it 58% under 2.5 goals — the match finished with 2, so that call landed. That rating was frozen into a version-controlled ledger before the game and has not been touched since.

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Our ratings for this match

MarketYesNoOur call
Over 2.5 goals43%57%Under
Over 3.5 goals23%77%no pick
Both teams to score47%53%No

The result model puts Dunfermline at 45%, the draw at 28% and Ayr Utd at 27%, from expected goals of 1.35 and 0.98.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. Championship has produced over 2.5 goals in 44% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Dunfermline have 0 in 1 this season, Ayr Utd 0 in 1. Those records are pulled toward the league rate with the weight of about 32 matches — enough that two or three unusual games cannot swing a rating — giving 43% and 43%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 1 and 1 games played this season, last season's rates are still blended in and fade out entirely by game 14 — the point at which our testing showed they stop adding accuracy. That moves the two figures to 47% and 42%.

The mix. Weighted 40% home side, 40% away side and 20% league — the split that beat every alternative across 30,582 matches of testing — that gives 44%.

Head to head. These sides have met 12 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 42%. That nudges the number 10% of the way toward the head-to-head pattern — deliberately small, because fixtures change more than reputations do — landing on 44%.

Goal expectation. Separately a Poisson model built from attack and defence strength — using real expected-goals data where the league has it — puts this match at 41%, from expected goals of 1.35 for Dunfermline and 0.98 for Ayr Utd. Folding in 30% of that view gives 43%.

This breakdown is generated from the same inputs the rating uses, so it cannot describe a calculation we did not perform. The full model is set out in the methodology.

Season form

TeamGamesO2.5O3.5BTTS
Dunfermline10%0%0%
Ayr Utd10%0%0%

Head to head

7 Apr 26Ayr Utd 0–3 DunfermlineO2.5
20 Dec 25Dunfermline 2–3 Ayr UtdO2.5
31 Oct 25Ayr Utd 0–1 DunfermlineU2.5
23 Sept 25Dunfermline 0–1 Ayr UtdU2.5
29 Mar 25Ayr Utd 3–0 DunfermlineO2.5
14 Jan 25Dunfermline 0–2 Ayr UtdU2.5

More: Dunfermline season stats · Ayr Utd season stats · Championship table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.