Portland Timbers vs Atlanta United FC
Our model puts a Portland Timbers win at 54.5% in this MLS fixture — a moderate lean. Expected goals run 1.9 to 1.14.
What this probability has been worth
A number is worth what it has been worth. Across 1,255 predictions published before kick-off and scored against the result afterwards, the calls we priced between 45% and 55% came in 45.9% of the time — 392 fixtures in that band. The model claimed 49.6%, so the two are within 3.7 points of each other. In this range the stated probability has meant roughly what it says.
Where we disagree with the market
Bookmakers price Atlanta United FC at 3.2, which implies about 31.2%. Our model has it at 22.9% — 8.4 points lower. That is a wide gap, and it is worth being plain about what it means: it is not a claim that the price is wrong and we are right. It means two methods that usually agree have landed far apart on this one, and only the result will say which of them read it better.
Evenly rated
There is almost nothing between these two on rating — 1500 against 1484, a gap of 16 points. Fixtures this evenly matched are where a model has least to say: the probabilities below are honest, but they are close to a coin weighted only slightly.