Khorfakkan v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai — prediction, stats and goal analysis

Pro League · Saturday, 15 August 2026 · 17:45. Final score 1–5 (half-time 1–0). Before kick-off we rated it 55% 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 goals55%45%Over
Over 3.5 goals36%64%no pick
Both teams to score53%47%Yes

The result model puts Khorfakkan at 38%, the draw at 25% and Shabab Al Ahli Dubai at 38%, from expected goals of 1.48 and 1.48.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.5063%55%-8%
Under 2.5 goals2.5038%45%+8%
Both teams to score1.6756%53%-3%

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: Khorfakkan 4.75, draw 4.33, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 1.50.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. Pro League has produced over 2.5 goals in 53% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Khorfakkan have 0 in 0 this season, Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 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 53% and 53%.

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 62% and 54%.

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 6 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 67%. 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 57%, from expected goals of 1.48 for Khorfakkan and 1.48 for Shabab Al Ahli Dubai. Folding in 30% of that view gives 57%.

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 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
Khorfakkan0
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai0

Head to head

29 Apr 26Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 3–3 KhorfakkanO2.5
20 Nov 25Khorfakkan 0–1 Shabab Al Ahli DubaiU2.5
23 Apr 25Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 4–0 KhorfakkanO2.5
8 Dec 24Khorfakkan 1–1 Shabab Al Ahli DubaiU2.5
1 Mar 24Khorfakkan 0–3 Shabab Al Ahli DubaiO2.5
27 Aug 23Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 2–1 KhorfakkanO2.5

Things worth knowing

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