Orlando Pirates vs Free State Stars — Premier Soccer League 2018
Match Prediction
Statistical Prediction
Based on goals from last 40+ matches
Orlando Pirates57%
Free State Stars18%✓ Correct in 51 of 100 matches — 6 more than always backing the home side
The model picks a winner (home or away) for each finished match using only pre-kickoff data, then checks it against the real result: 50.5% correct across 577,134 matches, vs 44.6% for always backing the home side.
Home picks 50.8% correct · Away picks 49.5% correct
Football matches only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Expected goals in this match
What is xG?
Every shot is scored 0–1 by how likely it is to be a goal from that spot — a chance in the middle of the box ≈ 0.4, a long shot from a tight angle ≈ 0.03, a penalty ≈ 0.76. Add them up over a match and that is the xG.
The scoreline can lie: you can win 1-0 on a fluke while creating half the chances. xG shows who was really closer to scoring — and over a season it predicts results better than goals alone.
Orlando Pirates creates 111% more chances
Season form · 123 home / 40 away
creates per match
allows per match
finishing
Total goals
- Under59
- Over41
Fewer than 3 goals likely
Both teams score
- No58
- Yes42
One side may not score
Score probability
Probability of each scoreline, %
Orlando Pirates ↓
Most likely 1–0 (15%) · grid covers 98% of scorelines
More markets
Total goals
Double chance
Winning margin
Team goals
Draw no bet
Combos
Model probabilities, not odds. For information only.
How is this calculated?
Every number below comes from this match — nothing is made up.
Recent form of each side
Orlando Pirates at home — creates 1.59, concedes 0.70 · 123 matches
Free State Stars away — creates 0.80, concedes 1.57 · 40 matches
⚑ Home and away form are counted separately — the home-field edge is already baked into these numbers.
Expected goals for this match
Orlando Pirates attack 1.59 + Free State Stars defence 1.57 → ÷2 → 1.58
Free State Stars attack 0.80 + Orlando Pirates defence 0.70 → ÷2 → 0.75
Each side's attack is blended with the other's defence, then averaged.
Chance of every scoreline
From those two numbers a Poisson distribution gives the probability of each exact score — the grid shown above.
The answer to "why 57%?"
Orlando Pirates at 57% is simply the biggest of the three — that is the pick.
What the model can't see
It reads only the stats of recent matches. It knows nothing about:
- injuries & suspensions
- the matchday lineup
- motivation — cup, relegation, a title race
- weather & pitch condition
- in-game coaching decisions
So 57% does not mean "Orlando Pirates will win" — it means "on the available stats, this is the most likely result."
Statistical model based on expected goals (xG). For informational purposes only.
Match Events
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Cape Town CityIf points are equal: 1. Goal difference 2. Goals scored 3. Head-to-head
P = Played · W = Won · D = Drawn · L = Lost · GF = Goals for · GA = Goals against · GD = Goal difference · Pts = Points
Orlando Pirates host Free State Stars on Saturday, 12 May 2018 at 13:00. The match is part of the Premier Soccer League 2018/2019 season.
Match Recap: Orlando Pirates vs Free State Stars
Orlando Pirates beat Free State Stars 2-1 in Premier Soccer League on May 12, 2018.
Goals: N. Nyauza (23'), N. Vilakazi (51'), T. Gabuza (86').
The match was played at Orlando Stadium (Johannesburg, GA).