Match ☆ 15 Aug 1997
ENG · Championship · 1997
ENG Bradford City
Current form · last 20
W W D W W W D L L W W W W D D W D D W L
Latest results · oldest first
Current league place
#7 / 24 · ENG · League One · 2026/27
As of this morning · domestic league only
0–0
FT · Draw
ENG Stoke City
Current form · last 20
W W W D W L L D L W W D W W W L W D W W
Latest results · oldest first
Current league place
#4 / 24 · ENG · Championship · 2026/27
As of this morning · domestic league only
HT 0–0
View head-to-head record →
The models what they said before kick-off
Draw predictor · this site's own figures
Figure Bradford City Stoke City
N — no-draw runmatches in a row without a draw 6 7
Max Nthis team's longest run ever 12 12
E — draw debtexpected draws over the current run 1.30 1.67
p50 — last 50draw rate over its last 50 matches 24.0% 22.0%
p100 — last 100draw rate over its last 100 matches 20.0% 25.0%
Draw % — all timeshare of every match drawn 23.0% 27.9%
Σ Nboth sides' runs added 13
Σ Eboth sides' draw debt added 2.96

These are the figures that held before kick-off: each side's record over every match it had played before 15 Aug 1997, computed exactly as the predictor computes today's. Draw score and rank are left out: both place a team against the whole field, and the field can only be scored as it stands now.

Team strength · Elo
Bradford City 1,505 after: 1,505
Stoke City 1,545 after: 1,546
Rating gap +25 home advantage included
Draws at this gap 26.3% 25–49 · 73,141 matches
Goals model · Dixon-Coles
Expected goals 1.39 – 1.07 home – away
Home win 43.5%
Draw 28.2% every level score added up
Away win 28.3%
Both together · the blend
Blended draw chance 27.6% 70% goals model · 30% Elo gap
Goals model said 28.2% form only
This Elo gap said 26.3% strength only

The mix is the one that scored best over 544,576 matches — the two are averaged on the log-odds scale, not simply added.

The regression · the logistic model
Logistic draw chance 29.5% five signals, then recalibrated
95% band 29.5% – 29.5% how unsure the fit is, not the match
The blend says 27.6% the older published reading

A regression over five signals — the goals model, the draw rate at this Elo gap, the expected goals in the fixture and the competition's own base draw rate — with an isotonic map on top to put the level back where reality is. Held out on a decade it never saw it beat the blend above, which is why both are shown here while one is chosen. Unlike the two readings above it, this one is not leak-free: the model was fitted on all of history, this match included, so for a played match it is a description rather than a prediction.

Both figures are what the models knew before this match — neither ever reads the result it is describing, so they can be compared with what actually happened. Measured over 160,869 priced matches the goals model is slightly worse than the bookmakers (how it is scored), so a high draw chance means an even, low-scoring match rather than value. Descriptive statistics, not betting advice.

League table · Championship · 19971998 Final standings

This edition’s latest indexed table, not the standings before this match. Both teams are highlighted.

# Team P W D L GD Pts
1 Nottingham Forest Champion 46 28 10 8 +40 94
2 Middlesbrough 46 27 10 9 +36 91
3 Sunderland 46 26 12 8 +36 90
4 Charlton Athletic 46 26 10 10 +31 88
5 Ipswich Town 46 23 14 9 +34 83
6 Birmingham City 46 19 17 10 +25 74
7 Sheffield United 46 19 17 10 +15 74
8 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 18 11 17 +4 65
9 Stockport County 46 19 8 19 +2 65
10 West Bromwich Albion 46 16 13 17 -6 61
11 Crewe Alexandra 46 18 5 23 -7 59
12 Oxford United 46 16 10 20 -4 58
13 Bradford City 46 14 15 17 -13 57
14 Tranmere Rovers 46 14 14 18 -3 56
15 Norwich City 46 14 13 19 -17 55
16 Huddersfield Town 46 14 11 21 -22 53
17 Bury 46 11 19 16 -16 52
18 Swindon Town 46 14 10 22 -31 52
19 Port Vale 46 13 10 23 -10 49
20 Portsmouth 46 13 10 23 -12 49
21 Queens Park Rangers 46 10 19 17 -12 49
22 Manchester City 46 12 12 22 -1 48
23 Stoke City 46 11 13 22 -30 46
24 Reading 46 11 9 26 -39 42