Bohemians v Waterford — prediction, stats and goal analysis

Premier Division · Friday, 16 October 2026 · 19:45. Final score 2–1 (half-time 1–1). Before kick-off we rated it 55% over 2.5 goals — the match finished with 3, 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 goals55%45%Over
Over 3.5 goals32%68%no pick
Both teams to score59%41%Yes

The result model puts Bohemians at 57%, the draw at 22% and Waterford at 21%, from expected goals of 2.05 and 1.17.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.5361%55%-6%
Under 2.5 goals2.4039%45%+6%
Both teams to score1.5759%59%+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: Bohemians 1.62, draw 4.00, Waterford 4.50.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. Premier Division has produced over 2.5 goals in 48% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Bohemians have 21 in 33 this season (9 of 16 at home), Waterford 15 in 32 (9 of 16 away). Those records are pulled toward the league rate with the weight of about 24 matches — enough that two or three unusual games cannot swing a rating — giving 57% and 47%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 33 and 32 games played this season, last season's rates are still blended in and fade out entirely by game 40 — the point at which our testing showed they stop adding accuracy. A single season is part luck, so each club's record is first pulled toward the league average by 34 games' weight. That moves the two figures to 55% and 49%.

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 11 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 64%. That nudges the number 5% of the way toward the head-to-head pattern — deliberately small, because fixtures change more than reputations do — landing on 52%.

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 62%, from expected goals of 2.05 for Bohemians and 1.17 for Waterford. Folding in 30% of that view gives 55%.

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
Bohemians3364%33%67%
Waterford3247%41%59%

Head to head

9 Oct 26Bohemians 0–2 WaterfordU2.5
9 Aug 26Waterford 3–1 BohemiansO2.5
6 Apr 26Bohemians 1–1 WaterfordU2.5
6 Mar 26Waterford 0–1 BohemiansU2.5
19 Sept 25Bohemians 2–1 WaterfordO2.5
20 Jun 25Waterford 2–1 BohemiansO2.5

More: Bohemians season stats · Waterford season stats · Premier Division table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.