▦ FDB4
// Elo ratings 545,826 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 rated545,826
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 496,145 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 25.26% 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 67,266 27.39% 28.79% -1.08%
25–49 72,937 26.31% 28.66% -3.14%
50–74 79,123 25.02% 28.34% -2.77%
75–99 64,785 25.21% 27.91% -2.60%
100–149 86,883 25.26% 26.93% -3.11%
150–199 53,205 23.72% 25.26% -2.52%
200–299 49,446 20.56% 22.31% -5.79%
300+ 22,500 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 2,267 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 2,085 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 SL Benfica 2,028 2,071
22 VfB Stuttgart 2,027 2,050
23 Leeds United 2,026 2,033
24 AS Roma 2,025 2,070
25 Porto 2,016 2,086
26 Newcastle United 2,014 2,141
27 Zenit Saint Petersburg 2,010 2,011
28 Royale Union Saint-Gilloise 2,009 2,037
29 Everton 2,002 2,009
30 Juventus 1,992 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 14,598 teams
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# Team Rating Peak
13001 Rossendale 1,462 1,523
13002 Patreus 1,462 1,501
13003 FC Reconvilier 1,462 1,512
13004 Kumamoto Teachers 1,462 1,500
13005 Skånland OIF 1,462 1,500
13006 FC Cortaillod 1,462 1,515
13007 Lapuan Ponnistus 1,462 1,500
13008 Lucksta IF 1,462 1,500
13009 Buøy IL 1,462 1,526
13010 Skra Częstochowa 1,462 1,500
13011 Chassieu Decines 1,462 1,500
13012 Öja-73 1,462 1,500
13013 Kjellerup IF 1,462 1,540
13014 FC Torpedo Hasselt 1,462 1,500
13015 R. FC Lessinois 1,462 1,500
13016 Hutnik Warszawa 1,462 1,541
13017 Magdalener SC 1,462 1,500
13018 SV Würmla 1,462 1,510
13019 Oskarshamns AIK 1,462 1,520
13020 Acharnaikos 1,462 1,512
13021 FC Hard 1,462 1,559
13022 FC Aarberg 1,462 1,500
13023 Grêmio Atlético Sampaio 1,462 1,500
13024 SAFK Fagernes 1,462 1,518
13025 Fjellhamar FK 1,462 1,500
13026 Akademija Pandev 1,462 1,500
13027 FC Avrasya 1,462 1,500
13028 FC Deutschkreutz 1,462 1,500
13029 Guarany Sporting Club 1,462 1,500
13030 Nacional Fast Clube 1,462 1,500
13031 Urjalan Palloseura 1,462 1,500
13032 Kickers Luzern 1,462 1,555
13033 KaVo 1,462 1,500
13034 Dongen 1,462 1,500
13035 FC Schmitten 1,462 1,500
13036 Würzburger Kickers 1,462 1,642
13037 Acheron Kanalaki 1,462 1,500
13038 FK Turnovo 1,462 1,501
13039 Walton & Hersham 1,462 1,500
13040 R. Union Halloise 1,462 1,500
13041 Valletta 1,462 1,509
13042 FC Ueberstorf 1,462 1,500
13043 Volga Nizhny Novgorod 1,462 1,630
13044 Inter Jyväskylä 1,462 1,500
13045 Leones Negros UdeG 1,462 1,503
13046 Guildford City 1,462 1,512
13047 Malvik IL 1,462 1,500
13048 Neset FK 1,462 1,573
13049 Rulmentul Bârlad 1,462 1,500
13050 K. VV Belgica Edegem Sport 1,462 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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