NJ/NY Gotham FC W v San Diego Wave W — prediction, stats and goal analysis

NWSL (W) · Saturday, 8 August 2026. Final score 1–0 (half-time 1–0). Before kick-off we rated it 60% under 2.5 goals — the match finished with 1, 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 goals38%62%Under
Over 3.5 goals19%81%no pick
Both teams to score49%51%No

The result model puts NJ/NY Gotham FC W at 34%, the draw at 32% and San Diego Wave W at 35%, from expected goals of 0.96 and 0.98.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. NWSL (W) has produced over 2.5 goals in 46% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. NJ/NY Gotham FC W have 5 in 18 this season (2 of 9 at home), San Diego Wave W 7 in 18 (5 of 9 away). 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 37% and 46%.

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 42%.

Head to head. These sides have met 6 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 33%. 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 41%.

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 31%, from expected goals of 0.96 for NJ/NY Gotham FC W and 0.98 for San Diego Wave W. Folding in 30% of that view gives 38%.

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
NJ/NY Gotham FC W1828%17%28%
San Diego Wave W1839%22%39%

Head to head

5 Jul 26San Diego Wave W 2–0 NJ/NY Gotham FC WU2.5
13 Sept 25San Diego Wave W 0–2 NJ/NY Gotham FC WU2.5
17 May 25NJ/NY Gotham FC W 0–1 San Diego Wave WU2.5
20 Jun 24NJ/NY Gotham FC W 2–1 San Diego Wave WO2.5
13 May 24San Diego Wave W 1–1 NJ/NY Gotham FC WU2.5
20 Aug 23San Diego Wave W 2–1 NJ/NY Gotham FC WO2.5

More: NJ/NY Gotham FC W season stats · San Diego Wave W season stats · NWSL (W) table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.