Chicago Red Stars W v North Carolina Courage W — prediction, stats and goal analysis

NWSL (W) · Sunday, 6 September 2026 · 21:00. Our rating makes this 56% to go over 2.5 goals, so our lean is over. The NWSL (W) average is 47%.

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Our ratings for this match

MarketYesNoOur call
Over 2.5 goals56%44%Over
Over 3.5 goals36%64%no pick
Both teams to score52%48%no pick

The result model puts Chicago Red Stars W at 27%, the draw at 22% and North Carolina Courage W at 51%, from expected goals of 1.35 and 1.91.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. NWSL (W) has produced over 2.5 goals in 47% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Chicago Red Stars W have 10 in 22 this season (4 of 10 at home), North Carolina Courage W 16 in 22 (6 of 10 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 45% 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 51%.

Head to head. These sides have met 5 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 80%. 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 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 63%, from expected goals of 1.35 for Chicago Red Stars W and 1.91 for North Carolina Courage W. 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
Chicago Red Stars W2245%27%23%
North Carolina Courage W2273%45%59%

Head to head

16 May 26North Carolina Courage W 4–0 Chicago Red Stars WO2.5
23 Aug 25Chicago Red Stars W 3–3 North Carolina Courage WO2.5
17 May 25North Carolina Courage W 2–0 Chicago Red Stars WU2.5
29 Sept 24Chicago Red Stars W 1–3 North Carolina Courage WO2.5
23 Jun 24North Carolina Courage W 3–1 Chicago Red Stars WO2.5
27 Aug 23North Carolina Courage W 1–1 Chicago Red Stars WU2.5

More: Chicago Red Stars W season stats · North Carolina Courage W season stats · NWSL (W) table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.