Football Predictions This Week: August 17 - August 23, 2026
A Packed Week of Football Action
From the streets of Monterrey to the stadiums of Europe, the week of August 17–23, 2026 delivers a compelling spread of football across 14 competitions. With 30 matches analysed by our AI forecasting model, there is plenty to unpack — from high-confidence calls to genuinely unpredictable encounters. Let's walk through the highlights.
Monday's Big Picture: Liga MX Leads the Way
Monday is the busiest day of the week, and Liga MX opens with two intriguing fixtures. In the standout match of the pair, Santos Laguna vs Guadalajara sees our model lean heavily toward the visitors, assigning a 62% away-win probability and predicting a 0-1 scoreline. With a confidence rating of 61/100, this is one of the more assured calls on the day. Guadalajara appear to be in a significantly stronger position, and the model reflects that clearly.
Tijuana vs Cruz Azul offers a tighter picture — a predicted 1-2 away win with a 41% away-win probability and confidence of just 53/100. Cruz Azul are favoured, but this one could go several ways.
MLS: Away Teams Dominate the Forecasts
Major League Soccer delivers two fixtures on Monday, and in both cases our model sides with the visiting side. Austin vs Dallas is predicted to finish 1-2, with Dallas holding a 42% win probability against Austin's 32%. The model's confidence sits at 54/100 — a moderate call, but a directional one.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Sounders vs Vancouver Whitecaps Pacific Northwest clash is predicted to end 1-2 in favour of Vancouver, who carry a 48% win probability. With a confidence score of 56/100, this is one of the more interesting MLS narratives of the week — away sides asserting themselves on the road.
Coppa Italia: Four Matches, Mixed Signals
Italy's domestic cup competition provides four Monday fixtures of varying predictability. The clearest forecast comes from Sassuolo vs Cesena, where our model predicts a 2-1 home win with a healthy 57% home probability and confidence of 59/100. Sassuolo are expected to control this one.
Cremonese vs Sampdoria is also tipped as a narrow home win (1-0, 46% home probability, confidence 52/100), while both Pisa vs Empoli and Palermo vs Lecce are called as 1-1 draws — the model finding little to separate either pair. Confidence is relatively low for these two matches (47 and 46 respectively), underlining how competitive and unpredictable cup football can be.
Liga Portugal: Benfica the Clear Favourite
One of the week's most lopsided probability pictures emerges from Casa Pia vs Benfica. Our model assigns Benfica a 71% away-win probability, predicts a 0-2 scoreline, and does so with a confidence rating of 62/100. This is one of the highest-confidence away forecasts of the entire week. Benfica are expected to travel to Casa Pia and handle business efficiently.
Serie A: Internacional Tipped Comfortably
In Serie A (Brazilian), Internacional vs Remo stands out as one of Monday's most confident predictions overall. The model forecasts a 1-0 home win for Internacional with a 57% home probability and a confidence score of 63/100 — joint-highest of the entire week. Internacional are expected to use home advantage effectively against Remo.
Champions League: Intrigue on Tuesday
Tuesday brings six Champions League fixtures to the schedule, though several team pairings are still listed as TBC. Of the confirmed names, two matchups catch the eye.
TBC vs Viking is predicted to end 2-1 in favour of the home side, with a 52% home probability and confidence of 51/100 — a modest but directional forecast. More interesting is TBC vs AEK Athens, where our model predicts an away win for AEK Athens (1-2 scoreline), assigning the Greek side a 38% win probability against the home side's 33%. With confidence at just 43/100, this is among the least certain calls of the week, but the slight lean toward AEK Athens is notable.
The four fully unnamed fixtures show predicted scorelines of 1-1 and three 1-0 home wins — suggesting the model generally expects home sides to hold the upper hand in the early Champions League rounds, though confidence across these games remains in the moderate 46–52/100 range.
Tuesday's Remaining Action
Liga MX resumes on Tuesday with two stronger forecasts. Pachuca vs Puebla is predicted 2-1 to the home side with a 57% probability and confidence of 57/100, while Necaxa vs León is also tipped as a 2-1 home win at 54/100 confidence. Liga MX home sides look well-placed on Tuesday.
The ASEAN Championship features Thailand vs Singapore, with Thailand heavily favoured — a 62% home-win probability and a predicted 2-0 scoreline — though confidence sits at 50/100, reflecting the natural uncertainty in regional international competition.
In the Russian Cup, CSKA Moskva vs Akron carries the joint-highest confidence rating of the entire week at 63/100, with a 2-1 home win forecast and a 63% home probability. CSKA look like the most assured domestic cup prediction on Tuesday.
Finally, Gimnasia y Esgrima Mendoza vs Talleres Córdoba in Liga Profesional de Fútbol is a genuinely open affair — predicted 1-1, with probabilities of 36% / 31% / 33% across home, draw and away outcomes. At just 41/100 confidence, this is the week's most uncertain fixture.
Weekly Summary
This week's 30-match slate offers a rich variety of football, with Benfica, Guadalajara, Internacional, and CSKA Moskva standing out as the model's most confident picks. Champions League intrigue arrives on Tuesday with fixtures still to be fully confirmed, while competitions like the Coppa Italia and Liga Profesional deliver genuinely unpredictable encounters where the draw is always in play. Overall, our AI forecasts point to away sides punching above their weight in MLS, home dominance in Liga MX and the Russian Cup, and a fascinating midweek European programme just beginning to take shape.