Linfield vs Ballymena United: result 2-1 and analysis
PremiershipRegular Season - 27Kick-off on January 31, 2026 at 03:00 PM (UTC)Windsor Park, Belfast
Full time
What was the result of Linfield vs Ballymena United?
Linfield won 2-1 on January 31, 2026.
Goalscorers
- 11′M. YatesLinfield
- 53′568973Ballymena United
- 90′S. McEleneyLinfield (o.g.)
Official lineup for Linfield vs Ballymena United
The starting elevens fielded at kick-off.
Linfield
- 8K. McClean
- 20M. Yates
- 29M. Fitzpatrick
- 21J. Archer
- 23A. Frizzell
- 26I. Baird
- 15B. Hall
- 24S. Brown
- 27E. McGee
- 33D. Leahy
- 1C. Johns
Ballymena United
- 11D. O'Conchubhair
- 22S. Edogun
- 8A. Jarvis
- 10P. McEleney
- 31K. Corbally
- 12I. Rutkowski
- 5D. Toure
- 16M. Clarke
- 24S. McEleney
- 25D. McCallion
- 30B. Wade
What is the recent form of both teams?
Over their last 15 matches in all competitions, Linfield have 9 wins, 3 draws and 3 defeats; Ballymena United have 4, 3 and 8.
The competition is shown for every match: in pre-season, several of these games are friendlies.
| Date | Opponent | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 28, 2026 | Ballymena United(home) | 1-0 | League Cup |
| Jan 24, 2026 | Crusaders FC(away) | 1-0 | Premiership |
| Jan 16, 2026 | Larne(home) | 0-0 | Premiership |
| Jan 13, 2026 | Carrick Rangers(away) | 0-0 | Premiership |
| Jan 10, 2026 | Bangor(home) | 1-0 | Irish Cup |
| Date | Opponent | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 28, 2026 | Linfield(away) | 0-1 | League Cup |
| Jan 17, 2026 | Dungannon Swifts(away) | 0-2 | Premiership |
| Jan 13, 2026 | Cliftonville FC(home) | 2-2 | Premiership |
| Dec 30, 2025 | Bangor(away) | 0-2 | Premiership |
| Dec 26, 2025 | Coleraine FC(home) | 2-0 | Premiership |
What does the head-to-head say?
Across the last 6 meetings: 4 Linfield wins, 1 draw, 1 Ballymena United win.
| Date | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 28, 2026 | Linfield 1-0 Ballymena United | League Cup |
| Oct 25, 2025 | Linfield 2-1 Ballymena United | Premiership |
| Sep 16, 2025 | Ballymena United 1-0 Linfield | Premiership |
| Feb 7, 2025 | Ballymena United 2-2 Linfield | Premiership |
| Nov 9, 2024 | Linfield 2-0 Ballymena United | Premiership |
| Aug 10, 2024 | Ballymena United 0-2 Linfield | Premiership |
Last archived meeting: Linfield vs Ballymena United on Jan 28, 2026
How many goals should we expect?
Linfield score 1.5 and concede 0.7 goals per match over their last 15; Ballymena United score 1.2 and concede 1.5.
| Club | Goals scored / match | Goals conceded / match | Clean sheets | Both teams scored | Over 2.5 goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linfield | 1.5 | 0.7 | 9 | 5/15 | 6/15 |
| Ballymena United | 1.2 | 1.5 | 3 | 7/15 | 7/15 |
Over the last 15 matches in all competitions.
Where do both teams sit in the table?
Linfield sit 2nd in Premiership (25 points from 10 matches) and Ballymena United sit 8th (12 points from 10 matches).
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Linfield | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 25 |
| 8 | Ballymena United | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 14 | 12 |
A question about Linfield vs Ballymena United?
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How does Footlab AI compute this prediction?
The model combines both teams' Elo ratings (anchored by competition pool), their recent form weighted by opponent strength, home advantage and a Poisson matrix for scorelines. When bookmakers publish odds for the match, their consensus is built into the calculation: that is what proved most accurate on past matches. Its accuracy is measured continuously on the predictions actually published. Methodology and measured accuracy