Kilmarnock v Motherwell — prediction, stats and goal analysis

Premiership · Saturday, 17 October 2026 · 15:00. Final score 3–2 (half-time 1–1). Before kick-off we rated it 55% over 2.5 goals — the match finished with 5, 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 goals35%65%no pick
Both teams to score54%46%Yes

The result model puts Kilmarnock at 21%, the draw at 22% and Motherwell at 57%, from expected goals of 1.12 and 2.01.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.6757%55%-2%
Under 2.5 goals2.2043%45%+2%
Both teams to score1.5361%54%-7%

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: Kilmarnock 2.88, draw 3.60, Motherwell 2.30.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. Premiership has produced over 2.5 goals in 53% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Kilmarnock have 4 in 8 this season (2 of 4 at home), Motherwell 5 in 8 (3 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 52% and 55%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 8 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 58% and 48%.

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 9 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 44%. 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 61%, from expected goals of 1.12 for Kilmarnock and 2.01 for Motherwell. 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
Kilmarnock850%50%50%
Motherwell863%25%38%

Head to head

24 Jan 26Motherwell 4–0 KilmarnockO2.5
22 Nov 25Kilmarnock 1–3 MotherwellO2.5
30 Aug 25Motherwell 2–2 KilmarnockO2.5
14 May 25Motherwell 3–0 KilmarnockO2.5
5 Apr 25Kilmarnock 2–0 MotherwellU2.5
8 Jan 25Kilmarnock 0–0 MotherwellU2.5

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