Kanazawa v Fukushima United — prediction, stats and goal analysis

J3 League · Saturday, 15 August 2026 · 11:30. Final score 4–3 (half-time 0–2). Before kick-off we rated it 54% over 2.5 goals — the match finished with 7, 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 goals55%45%Over
Over 3.5 goals28%72%no pick
Both teams to score59%41%Yes

The result model puts Kanazawa at 45%, the draw at 27% and Fukushima United at 29%, from expected goals of 1.42 and 1.08.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.8053%55%+2%
Under 2.5 goals2.0047%45%-2%

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: Kanazawa 1.83, draw 3.50, Fukushima United 3.70.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. J3 League has produced over 2.5 goals in 47% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Kanazawa have 1 in 1 this season, Fukushima United 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 48% and 48%.

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 53% and 65%.

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 57%.

Head to head. These sides have met 4 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 75%. 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 58%.

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 46%, from expected goals of 1.42 for Kanazawa and 1.08 for Fukushima United. Folding in 30% of that view gives 55%.

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
Kanazawa1100%100%100%
Fukushima United1100%0%100%

Head to head

26 Oct 25Fukushima United 0–1 KanazawaU2.5
5 Jul 25Kanazawa 2–1 Fukushima UnitedO2.5
10 Nov 24Kanazawa 1–2 Fukushima UnitedO2.5
10 Apr 24Fukushima United 2–2 KanazawaO2.5

More: Kanazawa season stats · Fukushima United season stats · J3 League table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.