Portsmouth 2–1 Middlesbrough: Result & Stats

Portsmouth

FT

2 – 1

HT: 0 – 1

Middlesbrough

1/18/2025

Championship · Round 27Fratton Park

Match Prediction

Statistical Prediction

Based on xG from last 19+ matches

Portsmouth39%

×Draw26%

Middlesbrough36%

✓ Correct in 49 of 100 matches — 5 more than always backing the home side

Model

48.6%

Always home

43.8%

The model picks a winner (home or away) for each finished match using only pre-kickoff data, then checks it against the real result: 48.6% correct across 15,072 matches, vs 43.8% for always backing the home side.

Home picks 50.1% correct · Away picks 45.3% correct

Football matches only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

PortsmouthExpected goals in this matchMiddlesbrough

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.

1.41

1.35

Portsmouth

1.41

Middlesbrough

1.35

Both teams create about equally

Season form · 19 home / 22 away

1.55

creates per match

1.56

1.14

allows per match

1.27

creates per match

Portsmouth

1.55

Middlesbrough

1.56

allows per match

Portsmouth

1.14

Middlesbrough

1.27

-0.39scores less than expected

finishing

-0.20scores less than expected

finishing

Portsmouth-0.39scores less

Middlesbrough-0.20scores less

Total goals

Over52
Under48

Close call

Both teams score

Yes56
No44

Both teams likely to score

Score probability

Probability of each scoreline, %

Portsmouth ↓

Middlesbrough →

0

1

2

3

4

0

0–06%

0–19%

0–26%

0–33%

0–41%

1

1–09%

1–112%

1–28%

1–34%

1–41%

2

2–06%

2–19%

2–26%

2–33%

2–41%

3

3–03%

3–14%

3–23%

3–31%

3–40%

4

4–01%

4–11%

4–21%

4–30%

4–40%

Most likely 1–1 (12%) · grid covers 97% of scorelines

More markets

Total goals

OverUnder0.5

94%6%1.5

76%24%2.5

52%48%3.5

30%70%4.5

15%85%

Double chance

Portsmouth or draw

64%

Portsmouth or Middlesbrough

74%

Draw or Middlesbrough

61%

Winning margin

Portsmouth wins by 2+

18%

Middlesbrough wins by 2+

16%

Team goals

Portsmouth 1+ goals

76%

Portsmouth 2+ goals

41%

Portsmouth 3+ goals

17%

Middlesbrough 1+ goals

74%

Middlesbrough 2+ goals

39%

Middlesbrough 3+ goals

15%

Draw no bet

Portsmouth (draw refunded)

52%

Middlesbrough (draw refunded)

48%

Combos

Both score & 3+ goals

44%

Both score & under 3

12%

Model probabilities, not odds. For information only.

How is this calculated?

Every number below comes from this match — nothing is made up.

1

Recent form of each side

Portsmouth at home — creates 1.55, concedes 1.14 · 19 matches

Middlesbrough away — creates 1.56, concedes 1.27 · 22 matches

⚑ Home and away form are counted separately — the home-field edge is already baked into these numbers.

2

Expected goals for this match

Portsmouth attack 1.55 + Middlesbrough defence 1.27 → ÷2 → 1.41

Middlesbrough attack 1.56 + Portsmouth defence 1.14 → ÷2 → 1.35

Each side's attack is blended with the other's defence, then averaged.

3

Chance of every scoreline

From those two numbers a Poisson distribution gives the probability of each exact score — the grid shown above.

4

The answer to "why 39%?"

Portsmouth scores more

39%

level

26%

Middlesbrough scores more

36%

Portsmouth at 39% 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 39% does not mean "Portsmouth 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.

Probable lineups not yet announced

Starting lineups are usually confirmed ~1 hour before kickoff