HNK Hajduk Split v Istra 1961 — prediction, stats and goal analysis

HNL · Sunday, 9 August 2026. Final score 2–2 (half-time 1–1). Before kick-off we rated it 51% under 2.5 goals — the match finished with 4, 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 goals49%51%Under
Over 3.5 goals26%74%no pick
Both teams to score52%48%Yes

The result model puts HNK Hajduk Split at 50%, the draw at 24% and Istra 1961 at 26%, from expected goals of 1.75 and 1.19.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. HNL has produced over 2.5 goals in 49% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. HNK Hajduk Split have 1 in 1 this season, Istra 1961 1 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 51% and 51%.

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 45% and 50%.

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 48%.

Head to head. These sides have met 12 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 46%.

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 56%, from expected goals of 1.75 for HNK Hajduk Split and 1.19 for Istra 1961. Folding in 30% of that view gives 49%.

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
HNK Hajduk Split1100%0%100%
Istra 19611100%100%100%

Head to head

7 Apr 26Istra 1961 1–3 HNK Hajduk SplitO2.5
25 Jan 26HNK Hajduk Split 1–2 Istra 1961O2.5
19 Oct 25Istra 1961 0–3 HNK Hajduk SplitO2.5
3 Aug 25HNK Hajduk Split 2–1 Istra 1961O2.5
23 Apr 25HNK Hajduk Split 0–1 Istra 1961U2.5
15 Feb 25Istra 1961 1–1 HNK Hajduk SplitU2.5

More: HNK Hajduk Split season stats · Istra 1961 season stats · HNL table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.