▦ FDB4
// Elo ratings 545,778 matches rated · 14,934 teams
Strength, and what it says about draws

How strong is a team, and how often do equals draw?

Every match in the database is replayed in date order. Both sides start at 1500; the winner takes points from the loser, more when the result was a surprise and more again when the margin was wide. A team's rating is therefore what its results have earned, and the gap between two ratings before kick-off is a measure of how uneven the match should be. The tables below show how often each size of gap ended level.

Matches rated545,778
Teams rated14,934
Evenly matched draw 27.39% gap under 25
Mismatch draw 13.96% gap 300+
Descriptive statistics, not betting advice → read this
Clubs: how often each rating gap drew 496,097 matches
Clubs: how often each rating gap drew 0% 15% 30% drew 0–24 — bookmaker's figure 28.79% 0–24 — drew 27.39% 27.4% 0–24 25–49 — bookmaker's figure 28.66% 25–49 — drew 26.31% 26.3% 25–49 50–74 — bookmaker's figure 28.34% 50–74 — drew 25.02% 25.0% 50–74 75–99 — bookmaker's figure 27.91% 75–99 — drew 25.21% 25.2% 75–99 100–149 — bookmaker's figure 26.93% 100–149 — drew 25.25% 25.3% 100–149 150–199 — bookmaker's figure 25.26% 150–199 — drew 23.72% 23.7% 150–199 200–299 — bookmaker's figure 22.31% 200–299 — drew 20.56% 20.6% 200–299 300+ — bookmaker's figure 16.00% 300+ — drew 13.96% 14.0% 300+ rating gap before kick-off
drew bookmaker's figure How often each rating gap actually drew, beside the draw chance the closing odds implied.
Rating gap Matches Drew Bookmaker's figure Return if you bet every draw
0–24 67,255 27.39% 28.79% -1.08%
25–49 72,927 26.31% 28.66% -3.14%
50–74 79,118 25.02% 28.34% -2.77%
75–99 64,779 25.21% 27.91% -2.60%
100–149 86,878 25.25% 26.93% -3.11%
150–199 53,202 23.72% 25.26% -2.52%
200–299 49,440 20.56% 22.31% -5.79%
300+ 22,498 13.96% 16.00% -12.49%

Evenly matched sides draw far more often than mismatched ones — the first row against the last is the whole story. The last three columns compare that with the betting market on the matches that carry a price: the bookmaker's figure tracks reality closely, and betting every draw loses money in every row. "Drew" and "Drew (those)" differ because priced matches are top divisions, which draw slightly more often.

National teams: how often each rating gap drew 49,681 matches
National teams: how often each rating gap drew 0% 15% 30% drew 0–24 — drew 27.50% 27.5% 0–24 25–49 — drew 25.37% 25.4% 25–49 50–74 — drew 26.90% 26.9% 50–74 75–99 — drew 25.86% 25.9% 75–99 100–149 — drew 24.58% 24.6% 100–149 150–199 — drew 23.11% 23.1% 150–199 200–299 — drew 19.92% 19.9% 200–299 300+ — drew 12.37% 12.4% 300+ rating gap before kick-off
drew How often each rating gap actually drew.
Rating gap Matches Drew Bookmaker's figure Return if you bet every draw
0–24 5,179 27.50% — —
25–49 5,077 25.37% — —
50–74 5,115 26.90% — —
75–99 4,618 25.86% — —
100–149 8,299 24.58% — —
150–199 6,447 23.11% — —
200–299 8,423 19.92% — —
300+ 6,523 12.37% — —
Top clubs by current rating
# Team Rating Peak
1 FC Bayern München 2,307 2,328
2 Manchester City 2,253 2,331
3 Arsenal 2,248 2,293
4 Barcelona 2,212 2,243
5 Paris Saint-Germain 2,155 2,231
6 Real Madrid 2,143 2,237
7 Inter Milan 2,130 2,202
8 FK Bodø/Glimt 2,124 2,143
9 Brighton & Hove Albion 2,113 2,113
10 Liverpool 2,098 2,285
11 Borussia Dortmund 2,084 2,116
12 Viking FK 2,083 2,097
13 Aston Villa 2,075 2,162
14 Brentford 2,070 2,070
15 Sporting CP 2,064 2,145
16 Bayer Leverkusen 2,063 2,190
17 Manchester United 2,060 2,147
18 Atlético Madrid 2,049 2,134
19 Bournemouth 2,041 2,073
20 Chelsea 2,039 2,185
21 VfB Stuttgart 2,027 2,050
22 Leeds United 2,026 2,033
23 SL Benfica 2,026 2,071
24 AS Roma 2,024 2,070
25 Royale Union Saint-Gilloise 2,018 2,037
26 Porto 2,016 2,086
27 Newcastle United 2,014 2,141
28 Zenit Saint Petersburg 2,010 2,011
29 Everton 2,007 2,009
30 Juventus 1,996 2,200
Top national teams by current rating
# Team Rating Peak
1 Spain 2,312 2,312
2 England 2,195 2,195
3 Argentina 2,190 2,200
4 France 2,157 2,210
5 Portugal 2,087 2,088
6 Morocco 2,075 2,106
7 Brazil 2,039 2,212
8 Colombia 2,033 2,115
9 Switzerland 2,033 2,033
10 Japan 2,026 2,064
11 Netherlands 2,023 2,177
12 Belgium 2,018 2,175
13 Norway 1,973 2,053
14 Germany 1,965 2,254
15 Mexico 1,965 2,054
16 Italy 1,957 2,095
17 Nigeria 1,949 1,962
18 Australia 1,936 2,002
19 Senegal 1,924 1,991
20 Croatia 1,923 2,036
21 United States 1,923 2,011
22 Ecuador 1,919 1,980
23 Austria 1,917 1,957
24 Algeria 1,911 1,961
25 Uruguay 1,909 2,056
26 Denmark 1,909 2,018
27 Paraguay 1,905 1,905
28 South Korea 1,901 1,986
29 Iran 1,900 2,017
30 Canada 1,878 2,010
All rated teams 14,934 teams
Clear
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# Team Rating Peak
11651 Östra Ryds IF 1,473 1,500
11652 CA Genève 1,473 1,515
11653 Ticino Le Locle 1,473 1,500
11654 Union 1,473 1,510
11655 US d'Ophain 1,473 1,500
11656 Sapporo University 1,473 1,512
11657 Kuşadasıspor 1,473 1,549
11658 USV Salzburg 1,473 1,500
11659 Kastrup BK 1,473 1,514
11660 Ethnikos Filippiada 1,473 1,500
11661 SC Imst 1,473 1,512
11662 VC De Leeuwkens Teralfene 1,473 1,508
11663 Solrød FC 1,473 1,515
11664 RFC Natoye 1,473 1,500
11665 US Seilloise 1,473 1,500
11666 105th Regiment 1,473 1,500
11667 HJK -j/Kannelmäki 1,473 1,500
11668 KKS 1925 Kalisz 1,473 1,543
11669 Vendelsö IK 1,473 1,500
11670 Frøya Fotball 1,473 1,500
11671 JuPS 1,473 1,500
11672 Järvenpään Palloseura/United 1,473 1,500
11673 FC Embrach 1,473 1,522
11674 Hadsund BK 1,473 1,500
11675 Kvibille BK 1,473 1,500
11676 FC Melide 1,473 1,500
11677 Lubny 1,473 1,500
11678 İzmir Çoruhlu 1,473 1,512
11679 ATSV Obergrafendorf 1,473 1,500
11680 FC Diessenhofen 1,473 1,516
11681 Al Jeel 1,473 1,508
11682 K.VV.Verbr.Maasmechelen 1,473 1,515
11683 US Thumaide 1,473 1,500
11684 EGOH 1,473 1,500
11685 Pogoń Grodzisk Mazowiecki 1,473 1,500
11686 Sapanca Gençlikspor 1,473 1,511
11687 Chioggia 1,473 1,500
11688 GBK/2 1,473 1,500
11689 Piast Cieszyn 1,473 1,500
11690 Ertvelde United 1,473 1,500
11691 Frövi IK 1,473 1,500
11692 Atlético Clube Acreano 1,473 1,500
11693 FC Seefeld 1,473 1,529
11694 SV Rapid Lienz 1,473 1,500
11695 K. Standaard Voetbalbond Denderleeuw 1,473 1,500
11696 Tokushima Vortis Second 1,473 1,503
11697 Legnago Salus 1,473 1,558
11698 FC Ligornetto 1,473 1,508
11699 Orkdal IL 1,473 1,517
11700 FC Schwarzenburg 1,473 1,500
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Reading betting odds why the three prices add up to more than 100%

The prices on the fixtures page are decimal odds: what one unit returns, your stake included. At 3.50, a 20 Kč bet on the draw returns 70 Kč — 50 profit plus the 20 back.

Turn a price into a probability by dividing it into 1. 1 / 3.50 = 28.6%: that is how likely the bookmaker's price says a draw is. Do it for all three results of a match and they should add up to 100%. They never do.

The excess is the bookmaker's margin — its built-in profit, also called the overround. Spread the excess back out and you get the "fair" figures used in the tables above.

This is why betting every draw in any row above loses money: the prices are already close to what really happens, minus the margin. To profit you need odds longer than 1 / your own probability — on a team that draws a quarter of the time, better than 4.00.

Result Odds 1 / odds Margin removed
Home win 2.00 50.0% 48.3%
Draw 3.50 28.6% 27.6%
Away win 4.00 25.0% 24.1%
Total — 103.6% 100.0%

The three prices imply 103.6% of probability between them, so about 3.6% belongs to the bookmaker whatever happens. That cut is taken on every bet, win or lose, which is why the "betting them all" column above is negative even where the odds look generous.

FDB4 rates every team with Elo, replayed in date order over more than half a million matches: both sides start at 1500, the winner takes points from the loser, and a surprise or a wide margin moves the rating further. The page ranks the strongest clubs and national teams by current rating and peak, then shows how often each size of rating gap actually ended level — evenly matched sides draw roughly twice as often as mismatched ones. Alongside it sits the betting market's own figure for the same matches and a plain explanation of how decimal odds, implied probability and the bookmaker's margin fit together.

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