DC United v New England Revolution — prediction, stats and goal analysis

MLS · Thursday, 20 August 2026 · 00:30. Our rating makes this 60% to go over 2.5 goals, so our lean is over. The MLS average is 60%.

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Our ratings for this match

MarketYesNoOur call
Over 2.5 goals60%40%Over
Over 3.5 goals37%63%no pick
Both teams to score61%39%Yes

The result model puts DC United at 43%, the draw at 23% and New England Revolution at 34%, from expected goals of 1.7 and 1.5.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.8053%60%+7%
Under 2.5 goals2.0047%40%-7%
Both teams to score1.6756%61%+6%

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: DC United 2.15, draw 3.50, New England Revolution 3.10.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. MLS has produced over 2.5 goals in 60% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. DC United have 10 in 19 this season (7 of 9 at home), New England Revolution 12 in 19 (5 of 8 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 60% and 61%.

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 60%.

Head to head. These sides have met 5 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 40%. 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 62%, from expected goals of 1.7 for DC United and 1.5 for New England Revolution. Folding in 30% of that view gives 60%.

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
DC United1953%37%63%
New England Revolution1963%26%58%

Head to head

12 Apr 26New England Revolution 1–0 DC UnitedU2.5
10 Aug 25New England Revolution 2–0 DC UnitedU2.5
29 May 25DC United 1–1 New England RevolutionU2.5
6 Oct 24New England Revolution 1–2 DC UnitedO2.5
25 Feb 24DC United 3–1 New England RevolutionO2.5
16 Jul 23New England Revolution 4–0 DC UnitedO2.5

More: DC United season stats · New England Revolution season stats · MLS table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.