Goias v Fortaleza EC — prediction, stats and goal analysis

Serie B · Saturday, 5 September 2026 · 20:00. Our rating makes this 36% to go over 2.5 goals, so our lean is under. The Serie B average is 40%.

Open this match in the app →

Our ratings for this match

MarketYesNoOur call
Over 2.5 goals36%64%Under
Over 3.5 goals18%82%no pick
Both teams to score46%54%No

The result model puts Goias at 37%, the draw at 31% and Fortaleza EC at 32%, from expected goals of 1.01 and 0.92.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals2.7035%36%+1%
Under 2.5 goals1.4465%64%-1%
Both teams to score2.2042%46%+4%

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: Goias 2.25, draw 3.00, Fortaleza EC 3.30.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. Serie B has produced over 2.5 goals in 40% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Goias have 8 in 25 this season (4 of 12 at home), Fortaleza EC 9 in 25 (3 of 13 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 36% and 36%.

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 37%.

Head to head. These sides have met 2 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 38%.

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 31%, from expected goals of 1.01 for Goias and 0.92 for Fortaleza EC. Folding in 30% of that view gives 36%.

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
Goias2532%20%40%
Fortaleza EC2536%12%40%

Head to head

3 May 26Fortaleza EC 4–1 GoiasO2.5
3 Dec 23Fortaleza EC 1–0 GoiasU2.5
5 Aug 23Goias 1–0 Fortaleza ECU2.5
1 Oct 22Goias 0–1 Fortaleza ECU2.5
10 Jun 22Fortaleza EC 1–1 GoiasU2.5

More: Goias season stats · Fortaleza EC season stats · Serie B table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.