Union Berlin v Borussia Dortmund — prediction, stats and goal analysis

Bundesliga · Saturday, 17 October 2026 · 14:30. Final score 0–0 (half-time 0–0). Before kick-off we rated it 62% over 2.5 goals — the match finished with 0, so that call missed. 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 goals62%38%Over
Over 3.5 goals40%60%no pick
Both teams to score58%42%Yes

The result model puts Union Berlin at 23%, the draw at 23% and Borussia Dortmund at 54%, from expected goals of 1.14 and 1.88.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.5064%62%-2%
Under 2.5 goals2.6236%38%+2%
Both teams to score1.5759%58%-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: Union Berlin 5.50, draw 4.20, Borussia Dortmund 1.60.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. Bundesliga has produced over 2.5 goals in 65% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Union Berlin have 4 in 5 this season (2 of 3 at home), Borussia Dortmund 3 in 5 (1 of 2 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 67% and 64%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 5 and 5 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 64% and 61%.

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 63%.

Head to head. These sides have met 5 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 80%. 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 64%.

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 58%, from expected goals of 1.14 for Union Berlin and 1.88 for Borussia Dortmund. Folding in 30% of that view gives 62%.

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
Union Berlin580%80%40%
Borussia Dortmund560%40%40%

Head to head

24 Jan 26Union Berlin 0–3 Borussia DortmundO2.5
31 Aug 25Borussia Dortmund 3–0 Union BerlinO2.5
22 Feb 25Borussia Dortmund 6–0 Union BerlinO2.5
5 Oct 24Union Berlin 2–1 Borussia DortmundO2.5
2 Mar 24Union Berlin 0–2 Borussia DortmundU2.5
7 Oct 23Borussia Dortmund 4–2 Union BerlinO2.5

More: Union Berlin season stats · Borussia Dortmund season stats · Bundesliga table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.