Football Betting

Football Betting Odds

A big advantage of joining one of the best football betting sites is that you will have access to the football odds you want. Searching markets, spotting a value bet, and putting your stake down at an appealing price is quick and easy to do once you have signed up.

All bookmakers have odds but it is important to get the best odds possible so any potential returns will be bigger. All of our recommended bookies are known for having excellent football prices, which is one of the reasons we rate them so highly.

Bet365, Betfred, and Midnight have competitive odds across many different matches and tournaments. No bookie will agree on prices so it is always best to compare before betting. Some bookies, such as bet365, will offer odds boosts as well, especially if you have a certain number of legs in an accumulator. Betting on football odds at the best price, taking advantage of odds boosts, or betting somewhere you trust is all part of finding the best football bookie.

Football Betting Bonuses

Another factor to consider when betting on football, is taking advantage of the best betting bonuses. New customers can usually claim a welcome bonus once they have registered an account and this can then be used for wagering.

Free bets, a matched deposit bonus, or bet-and-get bonuses are always popular options, just be sure to check terms and conditions before choosing your preferred betting offer so you are familair with wagering requirements or bonus deadlines.

Here is a list of the bonuses available with our chosen football betting sites:

Football Betting Markets

It is quick and easy to browse a huge range of football betting markets online. We can distinguish two different types of soccer bets depending on the immediacy of the bet taking place and the final outcome. First up, there are outright bets around competitions and players, such as at major international tournaments or overall league winners. Secondly, there are match bets on individual football games and what happens within them.

In order to attract more customers, bookmakers have come up with hundreds of markets that come under match bets. We’re going to cover the most popular and explain them for you. But first, we’re going to highlight a few of outright markets you might consider.

Football Outright Bets

These bets are settled longer in the future and are based around outright winners of leagues, cups and tournaments, or individual awards within them. Here are a few of the standard outright bets most bookmakers offer. You should always consider the fact that these could take many months to be decided, such as betting on the outright winner of the Premier League.

Tournament/League Winner – An Outright Bet

Instead of backing a team to win just one match, this bet is more of a long-range prediction. Depending on when you place the bet, you might have to wait a few months for this bet to settle. If you back a team to win a league or tournament at the start, you will notice their odds shorten the better they do. This could make your bet look even better when you’re sitting on a much bigger price. Getting on at bigger odds before odds shorten is part of the appeal with this kind of wager.

Major soccer competitions such as the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA World Cup are perfect for an outright bet. Selecting the team you think can secure the trophy is an interesting wager and can give you plenty of interest over a long period of time.

Top Goalscorer

Betting on who will be the top goalscorer of the season or of the competition is another a popular outright bet for football fans. Much like with team outright bets, this can bring plenty of interest as you follow one particular player throughout a domestic campaign. Each goal they grab will edge you closer to landing your bet at the end of the season.

Football Transfer Betting

Another outright future market that has recently become available is transfer betting odds. This is all about betting on a player’s next club. This market is popular during transfer windows and can be helped by keeping up to date with transfer news and rumours and the needs of certain clubs.

This market will often be found in the specials section of the outright markets. It isn’t offered by all bookies at present but is well-covered by bet365. You may also see next club manager odds in this specials section as well.

Popular Football Match Markets

It’s worth taking a look at each of these individually and how you can take advantage of them. Bear in mind, you don’t have to be an expert on all of these markets but it does help to know the options you have should a value betting opportunity arise.

Full-Time Result – 1 X 2 Market

First thing’s first, the basic betting market – Betting on the full-time result. Punters have three options, to back the home team win (1), the away team win (2) or bet that the match will end in a draw (X). This is the betting market most punters start with. As we have already pointed out, the favourite doesn’t always win. While being on form or playing at home is an advantage, you should still look into the stats and player news first. These match winner bets are a popular choice for football acca betting, which we will also explain later.

Half Time/Full Time

HT/FT bets are all about predicting which team, if any, will be leading at the halfway stage and then again at the end. These bring higher odds because they are harder to predict. In a game between Chelsea and Liverpool you could go Liverpool – Liverpool, which would require Liverpool to be leading at half-time and then at full-time. Another option could be Liverpool – Draw. More risk and significantly bigger odds, the HT/FT bets are the bread and butter of punters with experience. These bets are a good way of boosting odds if you think on teams is likely to dominate from the start.

Correct Score

This market requires you to correctly predict the final score of the game. Each outcome will be given odds by the bookie. Perhaps both teams have poor defences but in-form goalscorers and so you may like to wager on 3-2 or 3-3. Perhaps it is the opposite and a 1-1 draw is the most appealing outcome to bet on.

Remember, if you want to bet on the score of a game to be 0-0, you should ALWAYS bet on there to be 'no goalscorer' instead. This means you will get paid out even if an own goal results in the game finishing 1-0.

Goals Over/Under

Goal-line bets, or in this case, over/under bets are great for football matches, especially if both teams favour offensive play. Regardless of who the match winner is, or even if there isn’t a victor, you can still win if you predict the number of goals

On the other hand, some soccer matches are tight affairs with not many goals. Take, for instance, the French Ligue 1. On average, the number of goals scored per game is significantly lower than the average goal count in an English Premier League week, or Italy's Serie A. A similar market to this is to predict if the number of goals scored will be odd or even.

Both Teams to Score (BTTS)

In this market, you can bet that both teams will or won't score in a given match. This, again, is a market where the final result isn't of concequence. You just need both teams to find the back of the net or for one to keep a clean sheet depending on your prediction.

This bet should be considered when you have two teams that like to attack or to double up with the outright winner wager. Bookies do tend to offer a market for a team to win but BTTS. This is good for bets where one team is much stronger and likely to win the game, but also has the chance of letting one in along the way.

Player Bets

Having an football player bet is another appealing aspect of wagering on this sport. While player-focused bets are included in both the outright and match markets mentioned above, we thought we’d dig a little deeper into this for you. Instead of betting on outright team results, you can simply bet on individual player performances. Be it scoring first, getting booked, having a shot on target, or making a certain number of tackles.

Player to Get Booked

This is exactly what you would expect it to be. Each playerwill be given odds on their chances to be booked. Some players, such as defensive-minded players or those with a proven record of picking up a booking, will be shorter than others. Simply wager on the player you think will get a yellow card in the game. A straight red card also counts as a winner in this market. Picking two or three players to be booked in a single match as an accumulator bet is also very popular and a way of boosting odds.

First/Anytime Goalscorer

This wager is all about picking the player that will score in the game. You can either try and name the first goalscorer in the contest or a player that will net anytime during the match. Some bookies will allow you to place each-way bets that cover both. It’s important to know that own goals do NOT count towards the first or anytime goalscorer bets. The first player to net for their own team will be the winning bet here.

Football Handicap Betting

The best football booies will also have a range of handicap markets available if each and every fixture. This is another thing to assess before deciding which bookie to join.

Handicap betting is a great way to increase the odds and potential winnings in one-sided matches. In many cases, a bookie will allow you to place a handicap bet, which means that before the game even begins you can bet as if a particular team has already scored a goal. That way, the strengths will be balanced, and the odds will be much higher.

For example, in a match between Manchester United and Arsenal, Arsenal is a clear favourite before the gam begins. But if you play (-1) handicap on Arsenal, it would be like the game started with 0-1 lead for United. So now Arsenal will need two or more goals to win, or just one goal to draw. In case you believe one team is good enough to win by a wide margin then the handicap markets can be appealing an offer better odds than just backing one team to win without an advantage or handicap.

Football Accumulator Betting

Having accumulators on football is a good way to boost potential winnings and increase odds for a number of different matches. These bets are harder to win but the odds will be much bigger if you successfully predict a number of match results. Just remeber that all legs must be correct for you to win.

There are many different types of accas you can place. An accumulator on the outcome of many different individual matches is the most common option but there is also the chance to combine predictions for a single game too, which we’ll discuss in more detail later.

Some betting sites are better for placing accas than others. The top bookies for this will show you your potential accumulator returns and even offer enhanced payouts depending on the number of legs you choose.

Football Bet Builders

These are also accumulator bets but involve selections in the same football match, instead of results of many different games.

Not every bookie will allow you to place same game bet builders but the very best do have this option. Betfair and bet365 both have this available. This could be accas on bets like the number of corners, bookings and shots on target in one match.

Best Bookie for Acca Betting

With accumulators, also known as accas, being so popular with football punters, we thought we’d nominate our top selection on this topic. bet365 has excellent acca bet bonuses and their bet builder for same game multis is among the best around. Also look out for cash out bet offers if a number of your acca legs are a success. That said, Betfred is also good in this regard, especially given their coverage of the top football leagues in Europe.

In-Play Football Betting

In-play football betting, sometimes known as live betting, is a great way to access other betting opportunities and markets. It works like regular pre-match betting, just with one important difference – you place stakes and choose markets after the game has started.

All the best football bookies will offer in-play wagering. This makes it easy to react to what you are seeing while the match is underway. Is a player close to a booking? Is one team looking dangerous on the counter-attack? You may spot a betting opportunity that you didn't expect before the game started. Odds are changing all the time with in-play markets, so it is important you keep track of these and place your wager at the right time.

Another great use of in-play betting is for hedging. This is where you take advantage of odds changes to put yourself in a positions to gain a profit. Perhaps your team goes a goal ahead so you back the opposition at a bigger price to guarantee a profit as long as there isn’t a draw. Or perhaps you can also get the right odds on the draw as well to make sure you are in a winning position.

In-Play Betting Markets

Live betting markets for football tend to be the same as those available pre-match. However, there are a few specific options that you find more suited to in-play betting and when you want to bet on live goals. Here are some of the most interesting in-play betting markets.

• Match winner - Odds will change as the action changes and especially as goals fly in. Betting on a match winner can also be done in-play.

• Next team to score – Simply select which team gets the next goal. Assess which team is on top as the action is taking place.

• Next player to score – This isn't an easy bet to win but betting in-play means you can see where player is performing well or getting into goalscoring positions.

• Time of the next goal – Here you can bet on the timeframe when any of the teams will score next goal. There are a few different options to bet on, like to score in the next 10 minutes, or between 60 and 90 minutes. This is a market specific to in-play betting.

Football Betting Strategies to Consider

Once you have picked a football betting site you can start to look into factors that will help you spot good wagering opportunities. Below we have listed some strategies to help guide your betting decisions.

• Team and Player Form – Form is key in any sport and knowing a player is performing well can have a big impact on what bets you make. Team form and previous head-to-head results can also be looked at

• Football News – Keeping ahead of all the football news can be a big advantage. Knowing a star player is missing with injury or a key man is coming back into contention can help you betting.

• Key Match-ups – Knowing where key battles will take place on the field can be great for booking bets or where one side may have an advantage. Will the winger give his full-back a difficult afternoon that could lead to a booking?

• Get the Best Odds – Make sure you always shop around for the best odds for the bet you want to place. This can instantly boost your winnings.

• Consider Stats - Be sure to check out some stats before you bet. Which team gives away more fouls? Which players are on form? Who has the best home record? You can also look into how many cards a certain referee has produced this season.

Best Football Leagues and Competitions For Betting

There are hundreds of football leagues and competitions around the world and each brings with it different betting opportunities. Each league or competition is also covered differently by different bookies. Comparing the markets available for each and quality of odds for the ones you want to bet on the most is always a good idea.

Premier League

The Premier League is an elite competition, with 20 clubs competing for glory each season. It was founded in 1992 by the top 5 teams at the time, Everton, Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal, as teams looked to take advantage of lucrative TV deals.

Although it’s a national competition, punters from all around the world focused on the Premier League and its star players. This means all football bookies will have odds available for every clash. Matches are also easy to watch due to TV deals and such a huge interest.

Championship

England's second tier competition is one of the most competitive league's in world football. Matches come thick and fast as clubs battle it out for a lucrative place in the Premier League. The end-of-season play-offs provide another dynamic and betting opportunity as well.

FA Cup

The oldest cup competition in the world has it all. Top clubs in England battling for the famous trophy or smaller clubs looking for a giant-killing. These matches add another interest to the English football calendar.

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League is the premier continental football club competition in Europe. Clubs from all European countries compete for a spot and the aim to be crowned Europe's best. Millions of punters from around the world like to bet on this tournament as it pits the best against the best from each league.

FIFA World Cup

The peak international tournament that can stop nations and make front page as well as back page news. The best stars come together with their countries to lift the iconic trophy. Betting for this is popular, espeically when it comes to top goalscorer, and group qualification outright wagers.

Conclusion

The best football betting sites have everything covered when it comes to betting on this sport. The top leagues, international tournaments and cup comptitions are all available. Match odds, outright prices and manager and transfer specials are all available.

The best options have a large range of football markets, competitive odd and odds boosts, and also make betting easy with apps, live streaming and additional features such as bet builders, detailed stats, and great bonuses. All the bookies on our recommended lists stand out in this regard, with bet365 being a particularly strong choice.