Bayer Leverkusen v Celje — prediction, stats and goal analysis

Europa League · Wednesday, 16 September 2026 · 20:00. Our rating makes this 65% to go over 2.5 goals, though we make no pick on this fixture — see below. The Europa League average is 62%.

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Our ratings for this match

MarketYesNoOur call
Over 2.5 goals65%35%no pick
Over 3.5 goals45%55%no pick
Both teams to score58%42%no pick

The result model puts Bayer Leverkusen at 43%, the draw at 22% and Celje at 35%, from expected goals of 1.85 and 1.67.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. Europa League has produced over 2.5 goals in 62% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Bayer Leverkusen have 1 in 1 this season, Celje 3 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 63% and 64%.

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

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 63%.

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 68%, from expected goals of 1.85 for Bayer Leverkusen and 1.67 for Celje. Folding in 30% of that view gives 65%.

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
Bayer Leverkusen1100%100%100%
Celje560%60%80%

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.