Grimsby v Northampton — prediction, stats and goal analysis

League Two · Saturday, 17 October 2026 · 15:00. Final score 0–2 (half-time 0–1). Before kick-off we rated it 53% under 2.5 goals — the match finished with 2, 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 goals47%53%Under
Over 3.5 goals27%73%no pick
Both teams to score51%49%Yes

The result model puts Grimsby at 51%, the draw at 27% and Northampton at 22%, from expected goals of 1.51 and 0.88.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.8551%47%-4%
Under 2.5 goals1.9549%53%+4%
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: Grimsby 1.67, draw 3.75, Northampton 5.00.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. League Two 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. Grimsby have 5 in 10 this season (2 of 5 at home), Northampton 0 in 8 (0 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 48% and 35%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 10 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 49% and 45%.

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 47%.

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 1.51 for Grimsby and 0.88 for Northampton. Folding in 30% of that view gives 46%.

Calibration. Tested against 97,729 past matches, our ratings below 55% have run consistently too pessimistic — a figure in the high 30s, for instance, has come in about four points higher. So ratings in that range are lifted part-way back, giving 47%.

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
Grimsby1050%30%50%
Northampton80%0%38%

Head to head

18 Feb 23Northampton 1–2 GrimsbyO2.5
6 Aug 22Grimsby 1–1 NorthamptonU2.5

More: Grimsby season stats · Northampton season stats · League Two table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.