Scunthorpe v Harrogate Town — prediction, stats and goal analysis

National League · Saturday, 5 September 2026 · 15:00. Our rating makes this 56% 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 goals56%44%Over
Over 3.5 goals33%67%no pick
Both teams to score58%42%Yes

The result model puts Scunthorpe at 45%, the draw at 23% and Harrogate Town at 32%, from expected goals of 1.73 and 1.43.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.6756%56%0%
Under 2.5 goals2.1544%44%+0%
Both teams to score1.5759%58%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: Scunthorpe 2.10, draw 3.60, Harrogate Town 2.88.

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. Scunthorpe have 3 in 5 this season (1 of 2 at home), Harrogate Town 5 in 5 (2 of 2 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 65%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 5 and 5 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 47%.

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 54%.

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 61%, from expected goals of 1.73 for Scunthorpe and 1.43 for Harrogate Town. Folding in 30% of that view gives 56%.

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
Scunthorpe560%60%80%
Harrogate Town5100%80%100%

Head to head

26 Mar 22Scunthorpe 0–3 Harrogate TownO2.5
9 Oct 21Harrogate Town 6–1 ScunthorpeO2.5

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