Karlsruher SC v SV Darmstadt 98 — prediction, stats and goal analysis

2. Bundesliga · Sunday, 18 October 2026 · 12:30. Final score 4–0 (half-time 2–0). Before kick-off we rated it 65% over 2.5 goals — the match finished with 4, 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 goals65%35%Over
Over 3.5 goals41%59%no pick
Both teams to score63%37%Yes

The result model puts Karlsruher SC at 45%, the draw at 22% and SV Darmstadt 98 at 33%, from expected goals of 1.96 and 1.68.

Bookmaker prices and where we differ

MarketPriceImpliedOur ratingEdge
Over 2.5 goals1.4465%65%0%
Under 2.5 goals2.7035%35%+0%
Both teams to score1.4066%63%-4%

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: Karlsruher SC 2.20, draw 3.60, SV Darmstadt 98 2.80.

How we got this number

The league sets the starting point. 2. Bundesliga has produced over 2.5 goals in 58% of its matches, and that is where a team with no record of its own would sit.

Each side's own record. Karlsruher SC have 4 in 7 this season (3 of 4 at home), SV Darmstadt 98 5 in 7 (2 of 3 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 57% and 61%.

Last season still counts, briefly. With 7 and 7 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 65% and 57%.

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 61%.

Head to head. These sides have met 4 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 63%.

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 70%, from expected goals of 1.96 for Karlsruher SC and 1.68 for SV Darmstadt 98. Folding in 30% of that view gives 65%.

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
Karlsruher SC757%29%43%
SV Darmstadt 98771%43%57%

Head to head

3 May 26Karlsruher SC 2–1 SV Darmstadt 98O2.5
6 Dec 25SV Darmstadt 98 3–2 Karlsruher SCO2.5
7 Mar 25SV Darmstadt 98 3–0 Karlsruher SCO2.5
4 Oct 24Karlsruher SC 3–3 SV Darmstadt 98O2.5
21 Apr 23SV Darmstadt 98 2–1 Karlsruher SCO2.5
15 Oct 22Karlsruher SC 1–2 SV Darmstadt 98O2.5

More: Karlsruher SC season stats · SV Darmstadt 98 season stats · 2. Bundesliga table and form. Ratings are calibrated probabilities, not tips — a 60% call is expected to miss two times in five.