East Fife v Hamilton Academical — prediction, stats and goal analysis

League One · Saturday, 22 August 2026 · 15:00. Our rating makes this 52% to go over 2.5 goals, so our lean is over. The League One average is 49%.

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Our ratings for this match

MarketYesNoOur call
Over 2.5 goals52%48%Over
Over 3.5 goals27%73%no pick
Both teams to score51%49%Yes

The result model puts East Fife at 38%, the draw at 26% and Hamilton Academical at 37%, from expected goals of 1.38 and 1.36.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals2.0047%52%+5%
Under 2.5 goals1.8053%48%-5%
Both teams to score1.8051%51%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: East Fife 2.90, draw 3.20, Hamilton Academical 2.15.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. League One 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. East Fife have 1 in 3 this season (0 of 1 at home), Hamilton Academical 2 in 3 (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 47% and 52%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 3 and 3 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 49% and 58%.

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 53%.

Head to head. These sides have met 4 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 50%. 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 53%.

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 52%, from expected goals of 1.38 for East Fife and 1.36 for Hamilton Academical. Folding in 30% of that view gives 52%.

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
East Fife333%0%33%
Hamilton Academical367%67%0%

Head to head

7 Mar 26East Fife 0–3 Hamilton AcademicalO2.5
17 Feb 26Hamilton Academical 1–0 East FifeU2.5
1 Nov 25East Fife 1–1 Hamilton AcademicalU2.5
16 Aug 25Hamilton Academical 1–2 East FifeO2.5

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