Houston Dash W v Orlando Pride W — prediction, stats and goal analysis

NWSL (W) · Sunday, 18 October 2026 · 18:00. Final score 1–2 (half-time 0–2). 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.

Open this match in the app →

Our ratings for this match

MarketYesNoOur call
Over 2.5 goals51%49%Over
Over 3.5 goals30%70%no pick
Both teams to score55%45%Yes

The result model puts Houston Dash W at 40%, the draw at 26% and Orlando Pride W at 34%, from expected goals of 1.45 and 1.33.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.6059%51%-8%
Under 2.5 goals2.3041%49%+8%
Both teams to score1.6756%55%0%

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: Houston Dash W 2.75, draw 3.70, Orlando Pride W 2.10.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. NWSL (W) has produced over 2.5 goals in 49% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Houston Dash W have 14 in 27 this season (7 of 13 at home), Orlando Pride W 18 in 27 (8 of 13 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 58%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 27 and 27 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 50% and 52%.

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 50%.

Head to head. These sides have met 5 times in three years, producing over 2.5 goals in 40%. 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 50%.

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 53%, from expected goals of 1.45 for Houston Dash W and 1.33 for Orlando Pride W. 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
Houston Dash W2752%30%52%
Orlando Pride W2767%37%59%

Head to head

7 Sept 26Orlando Pride W 3–1 Houston Dash WO2.5
4 Oct 25Houston Dash W 1–1 Orlando Pride WU2.5
8 Jun 25Orlando Pride W 1–0 Houston Dash WU2.5
29 Sept 24Orlando Pride W 3–1 Houston Dash WO2.5
24 Aug 24Houston Dash W 0–1 Orlando Pride WU2.5
15 Oct 23Orlando Pride W 1–0 Houston Dash WU2.5

More: Houston Dash W season stats · Orlando Pride W season stats · NWSL (W) table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.