Maccabi Tel Aviv v Maccabi Haifa — prediction, stats and goal analysis

Ligat Ha'al · Monday, 31 August 2026 · 18:30. Final score 3–1 (half-time 2–0). Before kick-off we rated it 58% over 2.5 goals — the match finished with 4, 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 goals58%42%Over
Over 3.5 goals40%60%no pick
Both teams to score56%44%Yes

The result model puts Maccabi Tel Aviv at 48%, the draw at 24% and Maccabi Haifa at 28%, from expected goals of 1.69 and 1.22.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.4465%58%-7%
Under 2.5 goals2.7035%42%+7%
Both teams to score1.5063%56%-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: Maccabi Tel Aviv 1.60, draw 3.90, Maccabi Haifa 4.50.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. Ligat Ha'al has produced over 2.5 goals in 55% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Maccabi Tel Aviv have 1 in 1 this season, Maccabi Haifa 1 in 1. 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 56% and 56%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 1 and 1 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 68% 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 62%.

Head to head. These sides have met 12 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 33%. 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 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 56%, from expected goals of 1.69 for Maccabi Tel Aviv and 1.22 for Maccabi Haifa. 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
Maccabi Tel Aviv1100%100%100%
Maccabi Haifa1100%0%100%

Head to head

13 May 26Maccabi Tel Aviv 3–0 Maccabi HaifaO2.5
25 Apr 26Maccabi Haifa 1–3 Maccabi Tel AvivO2.5
18 Jan 26Maccabi Haifa 4–1 Maccabi Tel AvivO2.5
5 Oct 25Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–1 Maccabi HaifaU2.5
19 May 25Maccabi Haifa 0–3 Maccabi Tel AvivO2.5
14 Apr 25Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–1 Maccabi HaifaU2.5

More: Maccabi Tel Aviv season stats · Maccabi Haifa season stats · Ligat Ha'al table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.