Match 11 Jul 2010
ITL · Club Friendlies · 2010
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The models what they said before kick-off
Draw predictor · this site's own figures
Figure Sion SL Benfica What it means
N — no-draw run 1 1 matches in a row without a draw
Max N 8 18 this team's longest run ever
E — draw debt 0.20 0.19 expected draws over the current run
p50 — last 50 18.0% 18.0% draw rate over its last 50 matches
p100 — last 100 22.0% 20.0% draw rate over its last 100 matches
Draw % — all time 14.5% 23.5% share of every match drawn
Σ N 2 both sides' runs added
Σ E 0.40 both sides' draw debt added

These are the figures that held before kick-off: each side's record over every match it had played before 11 Jul 2010, 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
Sion 1,650 after: 1,658
SL Benfica 1,938 after: 1,930
Rating gap -223 home advantage included
Draws at this gap 20.1% 200–299 · 49,684 matches
Goals model · Dixon-Coles
Expected goals 1.08 – 1.85 home – away
Home win 21.5%
Draw 23.8% every level score added up
Away win 54.7%
Both together · the blend
Blended draw chance 23.0% 80% goals model · 20% Elo gap
Goals model said 23.8% form only
This Elo gap said 20.1% 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 20.6% five signals, then recalibrated
95% band 20.6% – 20.6% how unsure the fit is, not the match
The blend says 23.0% 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.