New Mexico United v FC Tulsa — prediction, stats and goal analysis

USL Championship · Sunday, 16 August 2026 · 02:30. Final score 1–0 (half-time 0–0). Before kick-off we rated it 51% under 2.5 goals — the match finished with 1, so that call landed. That rating was frozen into a version-controlled ledger before the game and has not been touched since.

Open this match in the app →

Our ratings for this match

MarketYesNoOur call
Over 2.5 goals49%51%Under
Over 3.5 goals28%72%no pick
Both teams to score53%47%Yes

The result model puts New Mexico United at 46%, the draw at 25% and FC Tulsa at 28%, from expected goals of 1.53 and 1.14.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.8551%49%-2%
Under 2.5 goals1.9549%51%+2%
Both teams to score1.7354%53%0%

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: New Mexico United 2.10, draw 3.30, FC Tulsa 2.90.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. USL Championship 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. New Mexico United have 8 in 16 this season (4 of 8 at home), FC Tulsa 5 in 18 (3 of 7 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 50% and 42%.

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 46%.

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 48%.

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 50%, from expected goals of 1.53 for New Mexico United and 1.14 for FC Tulsa. 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
New Mexico United1650%31%50%
FC Tulsa1828%17%39%

Head to head

16 Nov 25FC Tulsa 3–0 New Mexico UnitedO2.5
14 Sept 25New Mexico United 0–1 FC TulsaU2.5
10 Aug 25FC Tulsa 5–2 New Mexico UnitedO2.5
13 Oct 24FC Tulsa 1–1 New Mexico UnitedU2.5
15 Aug 24New Mexico United 3–3 FC TulsaO2.5
27 Aug 23New Mexico United 2–1 FC TulsaO2.5

More: New Mexico United season stats · FC Tulsa season stats · USL Championship table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.