Carlisle v AFC Hornchurch — prediction, stats and goal analysis

National League · Saturday, 22 August 2026 · 12:30. Our rating makes this 60% to go over 2.5 goals, so our lean is over. The National League average is 57%.

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Our ratings for this match

MarketYesNoOur call
Over 2.5 goals60%40%Over
Over 3.5 goals35%65%no pick
Both teams to score57%43%Yes

The result model puts Carlisle at 35%, the draw at 23% and AFC Hornchurch at 42%, from expected goals of 1.52 and 1.68.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.6258%60%+2%
Under 2.5 goals2.2542%40%-2%
Both teams to score1.6756%57%+1%

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: Carlisle 1.70, draw 4.00, AFC Hornchurch 3.80.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. National League 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. Carlisle have 1 in 2 this season (1 of 1 at home), AFC Hornchurch 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 57% 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 59% and 60%.

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 59%.

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 1.52 for Carlisle and 1.68 for AFC Hornchurch. 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
Carlisle250%50%100%
AFC Hornchurch2100%0%50%

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