Model accuracy

Champions League: how our match model actually scores

These are backtest numbers.

Every match below was graded after it was played, by a model that never saw a result from the seasons it is scored on. Not the same thing as a record published before kick-off, and we will not call it one.

753 Champions League matches, 2021-22 to 2025-26, graded on home, draw and away.

Model retrospective (backtest) 2021-09-14 to 2026-05-30 Champions League proper, qualifying rounds excluded Calibration curve

The headline numbers

58.2% Right call on 753 matches
48.7% Always backing the home side
0.933 Log-loss, lower is better
4.8pp Calibration gap on home wins

Season by season

The two most recent seasons ran under the 36-club league phase, which is why they carry more matches.

Season Matches Correct Accuracy Log-loss RPS We said home Home actually won
2021-22 125 73 58.4% 0.936 0.193 47.9% 44.8%
2022-23 125 73 58.4% 0.896 0.183 47.5% 48.8%
2023-24 125 71 56.8% 0.911 0.184 47.5% 48.0%
2024-25 189 108 57.1% 0.951 0.213 47.8% 50.8%
2025-26 189 113 59.8% 0.951 0.205 47.5% 49.7%
All 5 seasons 753 - 58.2% 0.933 0.198 - -

The last two columns are the average home-win probability we quoted, against how often the home side actually won.

Are the probabilities honest?

The gap between what we said and what happened. Smaller is better.

Outcome Calibration error Brier score How often it happened
Home Win 4.8pp 0.211 48.7%
Draw 3.8pp 0.151 18.6%
Away Win 3.2pp 0.185 32.7%

The full reliability diagram, bin by bin, is on the model transparency page, and the same payload is available through our API.

The season engine is graded separately, season by season, in the 2025-26, 2024-25 retrospectives.

Model: C_hybrid_2015 + goals attack/defence (form_att/form_def), z_shrink=0.90, draw_coupling=0.03, frozen-protocol refit on seasons 2015-2021, holdout 2022-2026 evaluated once

Reuse this data — CC BY 4.0

The Champions League 1X2 model accuracy (backtest) dataset is free to reuse, including commercially, under CC BY 4.0 — attribution with a link is the only requirement. Copy-paste credit:

Data: <a href="https://www.predixsport.com/champions-league-model-accuracy">Champions League 1X2 model accuracy (backtest) by Predixsport</a> (CC BY 4.0)