Stranraer v Spartans — prediction, stats and goal analysis

League Two · Saturday, 15 August 2026 · 15:00. Final score 1–0 (half-time 0–0). Before kick-off we rated it 56% over 2.5 goals — the match finished with 1, 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 goals56%44%Over
Over 3.5 goals32%68%no pick
Both teams to score61%39%Yes

The result model puts Stranraer at 32%, the draw at 24% and Spartans at 44%, from expected goals of 1.4 and 1.67.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.6258%56%-2%
Under 2.5 goals2.2542%44%+2%
Both teams to score1.5759%61%+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: Stranraer 2.55, draw 3.50, Spartans 2.30.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. League Two has produced over 2.5 goals in 57% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Stranraer have 1 in 2 this season (0 of 1 at home), Spartans 2 in 2 (1 of 1 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 55% and 60%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 2 and 2 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 51% and 51%.

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 52%.

Head to head. These sides have met 12 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 54%.

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 59%, from expected goals of 1.4 for Stranraer and 1.67 for Spartans. Folding in 30% of that view gives 56%.

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
Stranraer250%50%50%
Spartans2100%100%100%

Head to head

11 Apr 26Spartans 1–2 StranraerO2.5
21 Feb 26Stranraer 2–1 SpartansO2.5
22 Nov 25Spartans 0–4 StranraerO2.5
13 Sept 25Stranraer 0–2 SpartansU2.5
5 Apr 25Spartans 2–1 StranraerO2.5
1 Feb 25Stranraer 2–0 SpartansU2.5

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