Tottenham and Everton played out a goalless draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, leaving both sides without the win they needed for very different reasons. The match failed to deliver the goals our model had anticipated heading into kickoff, with neither side able to break through a tightly contested contest.

Our pre-match prediction leaned toward a 1-2 Everton win, backed by a draw probability of 28% — so the stalemate wasn't our primary lean, but it was well within the plausible range of outcomes. The model had weighted Everton as slight favourites based on their away form and goal-scoring record, while Tottenham's injury struggles and recent struggles were flagged as significant headwinds. That context held true during the match, yet the scoreline remained blank on both sides. What was supposed to be a high-scoring affair based on the teams' head-to-head history instead became a battle of attrition.

Tottenham will be frustrated to drop points at home given the pressure they're under, while Everton leaves having collected a point on the road. The model missed the outcome here — it had expected both teams to find the net and for Everton to edge it — but that's football: defensive discipline and wastefulness in front of goal can overrule the underlying form. This was a rare occasion where neither side's attacking threat made good on what the numbers suggested they were capable of.