Rudes v HNK Rijeka — prediction, stats and goal analysis

HNL · Friday, 16 October 2026 · 17:00. Final score 1–2 (half-time 0–1). 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 score54%46%Yes

The result model puts Rudes at 34%, the draw at 26% and HNK Rijeka at 41%, from expected goals of 1.35 and 1.5.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.6059%55%-4%
Under 2.5 goals2.3041%45%+4%
Both teams to score1.8350%54%+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: Rudes 7.00, draw 4.33, HNK Rijeka 1.33.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. HNL has produced over 2.5 goals in 50% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Rudes have 8 in 9 this season (4 of 4 at home), HNK Rijeka 5 in 8 (1 of 4 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 61% and 53%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 9 and 8 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 61% 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 53%.

Head to head. These sides have met 3 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 100%. 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 56%.

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 54%, from expected goals of 1.35 for Rudes and 1.5 for HNK Rijeka. 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
Rudes989%67%67%
HNK Rijeka863%38%63%

Head to head

2 Aug 26HNK Rijeka 2–1 RudesO2.5
30 Mar 24Rudes 0–3 HNK RijekaO2.5
16 Dec 23HNK Rijeka 3–0 RudesO2.5
1 Oct 23Rudes 1–2 HNK RijekaO2.5
22 Jul 23HNK Rijeka 4–0 RudesO2.5

More: Rudes season stats · HNK Rijeka season stats · HNL table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.