Defensa Y Justicia v Newells Old Boys — prediction, stats and goal analysis

Liga Profesional · Sunday, 9 August 2026. Final score 2–1 (half-time 1–0). Before kick-off we rated it 61% under 2.5 goals — the match finished with 3, so that call missed. 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 goals40%60%Under
Over 3.5 goals21%79%no pick
Both teams to score45%55%No

The result model puts Defensa Y Justicia at 48%, the draw at 25% and Newells Old Boys at 28%, from expected goals of 1.61 and 1.17.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. Liga Profesional has produced over 2.5 goals in 33% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Defensa Y Justicia have 8 in 19 this season (3 of 10 at home), Newells Old Boys 7 in 19 (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 35% and 38%.

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 36%.

Head to head. These sides have met 4 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 25%. 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 35%.

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 52%, from expected goals of 1.61 for Defensa Y Justicia and 1.17 for Newells Old Boys. Folding in 30% of that view gives 40%.

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
Defensa Y Justicia1942%21%58%
Newells Old Boys1937%26%53%

Head to head

8 Feb 26Newells Old Boys 2–3 Defensa Y JusticiaO2.5
17 Aug 25Defensa Y Justicia 1–1 Newells Old BoysU2.5
12 Feb 25Newells Old Boys 0–1 Defensa Y JusticiaU2.5
25 May 24Newells Old Boys 1–0 Defensa Y JusticiaU2.5
11 Feb 23Defensa Y Justicia 1–0 Newells Old BoysU2.5
25 Jul 22Newells Old Boys 1–2 Defensa Y JusticiaO2.5

More: Defensa Y Justicia season stats · Newells Old Boys season stats · Liga Profesional table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.