Al-Ettifaq v Al Riyadh — prediction, stats and goal analysis

Pro League · Friday, 14 August 2026 · 19:00. Final score 4–2 (half-time 1–1). Before kick-off we rated it 50% over 2.5 goals — the match finished with 6, 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 goals50%50%Over
Over 3.5 goals35%65%no pick
Both teams to score52%48%Yes

The result model puts Al-Ettifaq at 39%, the draw at 24% and Al Riyadh at 37%, from expected goals of 1.52 and 1.46.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.6258%50%-8%
Under 2.5 goals2.2542%50%+8%
Both teams to score1.5063%52%-10%

Implied percentages have the bookmaker's margin removed, so they add to 100 and can be compared with our rating directly. Edge is simply the gap between the two. A positive edge means our model thinks the outcome is likelier than the price suggests — it is not a tip, and a high probability with a negative edge is a poor bet however safe it looks. Prices are a pre-match snapshot from a single bookmaker and move constantly.

Match odds: Al-Ettifaq 2.05, draw 3.50, Al Riyadh 3.10.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. Pro League has produced over 2.5 goals in 56% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Al-Ettifaq have 0 in 0 this season, Al Riyadh 0 in 0. 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 56% and 56%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 0 and 0 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 59% 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 55%.

Head to head. These sides have met 6 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 17%. 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 51%.

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 57%, from expected goals of 1.52 for Al-Ettifaq and 1.46 for Al Riyadh. Folding in 30% of that view gives 53%.

Season opener. One of these sides has not played a league game yet. Openers run about 2.5 points under their league's norm, measured across 2,727 of them, so the rating is docked to 50%.

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
Al-Ettifaq0
Al Riyadh0

Head to head

9 Apr 26Al-Ettifaq 2–3 Al RiyadhO2.5
25 Dec 25Al Riyadh 0–2 Al-EttifaqU2.5
17 Apr 25Al-Ettifaq 1–0 Al RiyadhU2.5
24 Nov 24Al Riyadh 0–0 Al-EttifaqU2.5
6 Apr 24Al-Ettifaq 1–0 Al RiyadhU2.5
22 Oct 23Al Riyadh 1–0 Al-EttifaqU2.5

Things worth knowing

More: Al-Ettifaq season stats · Al Riyadh season stats · Pro League table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.