Airdrie United v Hamilton Academical — prediction, stats and goal analysis

League One · Saturday, 17 October 2026 · 17:30. Final score 1–2 (half-time 0–1). Before kick-off we rated it 51% 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 goals51%49%Over
Over 3.5 goals29%71%no pick
Both teams to score51%49%Yes

The result model puts Airdrie United at 27%, the draw at 28% and Hamilton Academical at 45%, from expected goals of 1 and 1.38.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.9549%51%+3%
Under 2.5 goals1.8551%49%-3%
Both teams to score1.8051%51%-1%

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: Airdrie United 3.25, draw 3.40, Hamilton Academical 1.95.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. League One has produced over 2.5 goals in 51% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Airdrie United have 5 in 10 this season (1 of 5 at home), Hamilton Academical 5 in 9 (2 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 50% and 52%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 10 and 9 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 49% and 55%.

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 52%.

Head to head. These sides have met 5 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 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 43%, from expected goals of 1 for Airdrie United and 1.38 for Hamilton Academical. Folding in 30% of that view gives 51%.

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
Airdrie United1050%30%50%
Hamilton Academical956%33%22%

Head to head

15 Aug 26Hamilton Academical 4–0 Airdrie UnitedO2.5
29 Nov 25Airdrie United 4–0 Hamilton AcademicalO2.5
8 Mar 25Airdrie United 2–1 Hamilton AcademicalO2.5
28 Dec 24Hamilton Academical 3–2 Airdrie UnitedO2.5
2 Nov 24Airdrie United 0–4 Hamilton AcademicalO2.5
31 Aug 24Hamilton Academical 2–2 Airdrie UnitedO2.5

More: Airdrie United season stats · Hamilton Academical season stats · League One table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.