Plzen v FK Crvena Zvezda — prediction, stats and goal analysis

Europa League · Thursday, 27 August 2026 · 18:00. Our rating makes this 58% to go over 2.5 goals, though we make no pick on this fixture — see below. The Europa League average is 50%.

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Our ratings for this match

MarketYesNoOur call
Over 2.5 goals58%42%no pick
Over 3.5 goals33%67%no pick
Both teams to score48%52%no pick

The result model puts Plzen at 42%, the draw at 24% and FK Crvena Zvezda at 34%, from expected goals of 1.57 and 1.4.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. Europa League has produced over 2.5 goals in 50% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Plzen have 3 in 4 this season (2 of 3 at home), FK Crvena Zvezda 2 in 3. 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 53% and 51%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 4 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 52% and 70%.

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 57%, from expected goals of 1.57 for Plzen and 1.4 for FK Crvena Zvezda. Folding in 30% of that view gives 58%.

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
Plzen475%75%100%
FK Crvena Zvezda367%67%33%

Things worth knowing

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