Vitoria v Botafogo — prediction, stats and goal analysis

Serie A · Sunday, 16 August 2026 · 22:30. Final score 1–0 (half-time 1–0). Before kick-off we rated it 57% 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.

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Our ratings for this match

MarketYesNoOur call
Over 2.5 goals43%57%Under
Over 3.5 goals23%77%no pick
Both teams to score47%53%No

The result model puts Vitoria at 50%, the draw at 26% and Botafogo at 24%, from expected goals of 1.5 and 0.97.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals2.0047%43%-4%
Under 2.5 goals1.8053%57%+4%
Both teams to score1.8052%47%-5%

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: Vitoria 2.30, draw 3.30, Botafogo 3.20.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. Serie A 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. Vitoria have 8 in 22 this season (3 of 10 at home), Botafogo 18 in 31 (8 of 15 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 41% and 53%.

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 47%.

Head to head. These sides have met 5 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 0%. 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 42%.

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 45%, from expected goals of 1.5 for Vitoria and 0.97 for Botafogo. Folding in 30% of that view gives 43%.

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
Vitoria2236%27%36%
Botafogo3158%29%61%

Head to head

23 Jul 26Botafogo 0–0 VitoriaU2.5
9 Nov 25Vitoria 0–0 BotafogoU2.5
17 Jul 25Botafogo 0–0 VitoriaU2.5
23 Nov 24Botafogo 1–1 VitoriaU2.5
12 Jul 24Vitoria 0–1 BotafogoU2.5
22 May 24Vitoria 1–2 BotafogoO2.5

More: Vitoria season stats · Botafogo season stats · Serie A table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.