Football Match Betting Guide

Learn about the most common football betting markets here!

There's a first time for everything and if you are new to the football betting scene then you have come to the right place. In this betting guide, we will go through everything you need to know for successful betting on football matches.

Single Match Betting

This one is perhaps the one that football fans like the most, single-match betting. Single match betting gives bettors the best odds as it represents the best and most obvious look at who the betting site thinks will win the outcome of a single match. So for example, Slovakia is playing Spain, the line for the bets will most likely heavily favor Spain simply because, on paper, they are the superior team.

An example is Spain could be a 4/1 favorite to Slovakia being a 11/1 underdog. What that means is that people using the single match betting option for their match, will see that Spain is the favorite in the tie and if money is placed on them to win, then the bettor will not get as much money back because of their odds whereas if Slovakia won the match, then more money would be won because of their odds. So for every £1, you bet on Spain, you will win £4 ( if you place £5 on Spain you will win £20).

When a bettor puts money on a single match bet they are doing this because they are hoping that their selection will win the match outright. The lower the odds on a team for a match, the more likely they are to win and vice versa.

Both teams to score

Both teams to score may be the most popular bet to place on a game after the 1x2 bet. Both teams to score or BTTS as it is commonly referred to is exactly what it sounds like.

You have two options to bet on here both teams to score: Yes or both teams to score: No. In a chosen match if the bettor thinks both teams will score they select yes whereas if they think both won’t they select the no option.

Odds will vary depending on the matchup. If Bayern Munich are playing Borussia Dortmund, the odds for both teams to score is likely going to be around the 2/5 mark. Whereas the no option will be much higher. Likewise, if Manchester City are playing League 1 side Sunderland the both teams not to score option will be likely in the range of 2/5 - 1/2. While both teams to score will have much more favourable odds.

Halftime/fulltime

This bet is one for those bettors who believe a team is going to strike early and win comfortably. Unlike with the win draw win market you are not just betting on a team to win after 90 minutes you are also betting on them to be leading at halftime.

As you are essentially dividing both halves into two games this means your odds for this bet will be better than backing a team to win after 90 minutes.

Handicap (European)

The handicap market is for bettors who believe they are not getting enough value from the win draw win market. Most bookmakers offer markets from -5 all the way to +5 (+1 is the equivalent of a double chance bet)

These bets are most popular in games where one team is heavily favoured over another. For example, in October 2021 Bayern Munich played  Augsburg. Bayern went off at odds of 1/5  whereas Augsburg were 9/1. Clearly, Bayern are expected to win but their odds are practically unbackable so bettors then turn to the handicap market.

The game ended 4-0 to Bayern. So bettors that placed bets on Bayern -1 (win by two or more), Bayern -2 (win by three or more) and Bayern -3 (win by 4 or more) would have won their bets whereas Bayern -4 ( Bayern win by 5 or more) was a loser.

Alternatively, those that bet Augsburg +1 ( Augsburg win or draw), Augsburg +2 ( Augsburg win, draw or lose by one) Augsburg +3 ( Augsburg win, draw or lose by up to two goals) and Augsburg + 4 ( Augsburg win, draw or lose by up to three goals would have all lost while Ho Augsburg +5 ( Augsburg win, draw or lose by up to four goals) was a winner.

Of course the higher the bettor goes to 5 on the minus scale the better their odds will be while on the plus scare the closer you go to 1 the higher their odds will be.

First Half Score

This option makes for some great entertainment as football betting selection, you are betting on the result up to half time. Picking the score for the first half can be tricky, but not impossible.

It is a hard bet to get right as you are counting on a team to score in the first half. So if it gets to the interval and the score is 0-0 then you lose your bet, however, if a team does score then your bet will win. With the betting option, you can also pick which team will score with some betting sites which makes it even more intriguing.

This is another bet where knowing your teams inside and out will benefit you as you will often find trends in when a team scores or concedes - with some being prone to scoring/conceding in one half or the other. While this may not mean that you will win this bet every time, it will certainly increase your probability of them coming home.

Final correct score

This is one of the hardest football bets to get right but the betting odds are worth the risk. By trying to pick the correct score of a match you are asking for a lot to go right for you.

Let’s say a bettor has put £5.00 on a England v Croatia match and has picked the Three Lions to win 1-0. If England scores within the first six or seven minutes, then for the rest of the match you are not wanting either team to score because if they do, you will lose your bet.

On the plus side, if you do get it right, then the odds and winnings are impressive simply because it is so hard to predict the outcome of a match. You have three ways the match can end, win, lose or draw. It certainly does make for interesting viewing that is for sure.

Number of Goals

Much like the yellow/red cards and corners, another betting market in football is the number of goals in a match.

With most sites, it is set as an over/under total and normally is not high. For the most part, it is set at 2.5 over or under which is a tantalizing prospect. Much like the correct score, the odds will be higher because it is hard to predict.

A game involving Germany and France has the potential to be high scoring and go over the 2.5 mark set, but also because of the quality of teams, there is a real chance it will be low scoring and that is where you have to take the risk.

Win Draw Win/ 1x2 Bet

Technically a type of match betting, the Win Draw Win bet a is a three-way bet where you are guaranteed to win as it covers all the potential outcomes of a football game, i.e. a home win, away win or a draw.

If we use an example, say you are betting on a Premier League match between Liverpool & Arsenal using the Win Draw Win bet. It means you will be betting on Liverpool to win, Arsenal to win, and also the possibility of a draw all at the same time. Of course, two of these bets can't come home but the one definitely will. The ideal situation is that the one that does pays enough to cover the wager on two that do not - hence you make a profit.

The Win Draw Win bet only applies to the regulated 90 minutes of a football game. This means if the game goes into extra time, the wager will have already been completed.

Double chance

The double chance bet is basically a safer version of the draw no bet option. There are three options when choosing a double chance bet;

Home team win or draw         away team win or draw        home team or away team win

Unlike the draw no bet option if your team draws you also win this bet. This of course means the odds for double chance will not quite be as strong as draw no bet but the bet is a lot safer. Bettors will utilise this bet when they think an underdog as a chance of causing an upset or at least grabbing a draw

Draw No Bet

This bet sees you remove the possibility of a draw, and leaves you to bet on one team winning to ensure your bet comes home. However, if there is a draw, then you get your stake back. Hence, you have coverage for everything except in the case of your backed team losing.

Yellow/Red Cards

Perhaps one of the most left-field things that a person can put money on, but if you know your football well, then you will have a good idea of who is likely to receive a caution during a match.

Most betting sites will offer several football betting options regarding yellow and red cards. For example the number of yellow cards in a match, the number of red cards in a match, and the total number of cards shown in a match.

It is a quirky yet entertaining piece of betting power as you can have a lot of fun with it. Keeping with the England theme, you may want to place a bet of Harry Maguire being cautioned during the match as he is a defender. Some betting sites might not give you the option to select an individual player, but rather just the total number of cards that can be shown in either color.

Most of the betting options will be an over/under a certain amount, for example, over/under 5 cards shown in the match with odds of €1.90 depending on the teams.

Corners

Like the yellow and red cards, betting on corners is another selection that increases your interest in a match. Although hard to pick, it is great fun. When looking at matches it is important to look at who is playing as they will tell you a lot about whether or not you should go ahead with the bet.

If we look at the examples of a game between The Netherlands and North Macedonia. On paper, the Netherlands is by far the better side so they should be in attacking areas more than Macedonia. So the odds for the Netherlands and corners will likely be low because they are expected to be attacking more than their opponent.

Much like the yellow and red cards, most betting sites will give you the option of over/under a certain number. Whatever this number is should determine if you should bet on it. If the over/under is set at seven corners for the game, then odds are the Dutch will get seven corners awarded to them during the match.

The other option you will have is the total amount of corners for both sides and it will likely be over/under again.

Clean sheets

If you are looking for a bet that is more defensively focused than attacking then clean sheet betting are ideal but what does clean sheet mean in betting? Well, it simply means that you are betting on a team in the match to not concede a goal. Therefore, if you know a team concedes very few goals then you will this could be considered to be one of the best football bets for you.

There are few things to consider before making a clean sheet bet. The obvious one is that the team you bet on will have to not lose as by nature, if they have lost they would have conceded (with the exception of tournament football betting where there may be the exception of a extra time or a penalty shootout which is usually excluded from the bet). The next is that you can still bet on a "bore draw" and beneift from both teams not conceding and thus, achieving a clean sheet.

Often it is the case that a team doesn't even need to be the favorite in a game though for this to payout as many underdog teams play for clean sheets, particuarly against bigger teams. As well as this many teams may play for a clean sheet in tournament as to avoid going out on the "away goal" rule or going out on a negative goal difference. In other instances, a favorite team may not be the best bet as they have a strong attack, who scores a lot, but may not have a solid defence and so concede often also.

An important element of clean sheet betting is that it requires a solid knowledge of the team you are betting on and tracking their previous form. Hence a research is a keen element to your football betting strategy in this case.

First Goalscorer

One of the favorite betting selections and usually the best football betting odds will be the first goalscorer. Players like Robert Lewandowski, Olivier Giroud, Cristiano Ronaldo will be high on the betting lists to score the first goal for their team as they are the main attackers.

Betting on the first goal scorer is always fun but if a goal comes from an unknown source, i.e. a defender, then your bet will lose which and you must be ready to take the hit.

Who will score next

The who will score the next bet is usually one the experienced bettors benefit from. They can know that in some games you can bet while the match is live. If Harry Kane scores for England first against Scotland, then the bettor can do a live bet on who he/she thinks will be the team to score next and place a bet on that team.

Time of Goals

Perhaps one of the hardest to get right, predicting the time goals are scored. Most betting sites will give you several options i.e between 0-25 minutes, 25-45 minute mark, and so on. The fact that predicting if a team will score is hard enough, let alone trying to pick the timeframe in which they will score is extremely hard, but again because of the odds that will be on offer, it can be worth the risk.

Scoring in certain parts of the pitch

It seems betting sites have made it possible to bet on just about anything, but when it comes to scoring, there are numerous inventive ways to bet. Our last one is the scoring in certain parts of the pitch and as the name suggests, a player scoring in a spot on the field.

Most goals happen inside the box or just outside, but from the left or the right is a little bit more unusual. Predicting this is hard but if you want to play it safe, selecting a goal to happen in the penalty area pretty much covers you, although the odds will be less because it is likely that will happen.

Accumulators

Can't decide? Then why not combined a few of these options with accumulator betting. This is where people can make really big bucks. Accumulators or a multi-bet is a selection of numerous options that people can bet on in a single match and then roll all of them into one “accumulator” bet for better odds.

You might like to put on an accumulator bet that includes the odds of two different teams winning their matches. For example, you could include England and Denmark to both win their opening matches at combined odds of about 17/10.

You might also want to create a bet slip that combines different bet types from the same match. An example of this type of bet is a person who will select Harry Kane as a goal scorer and his odds might be 4/1. Next, they will select England to win the match and those odds could be 6/1. Then lastly they might put in there that both sides will score a goal in the game with odds of 8/1.
For this kind of bet you'd be well off checking out Bet365 or Unibet and their bet builder functions, where you can combine almost any bets from the same match into an accumulator.

So all in all, what the accumulator bet does is add up those three odds and combines them to make one set of odds. It also makes for a more enjoyable footballing experience because you are hoping for many different things to happen during the match.

However for your bet to win, all of the selections have to happen. So Harry Kane has to score, England has to win the match, and both sides score. If England wins 2-0 and Harry Kane scores, the bet will lose because the opposition did not score.