Soccer is the most popular sport globally, with games played across every continent. While the European leagues like the Premier League and Champions League get the most attention, smaller events like the MLS still see plenty of action.
As well as being the world’s favorite sport, soccer is one of the most popular betting sports. Betting on soccer is very easy – even beginners can get started without much experience. Follow our guide below to discover what to watch out for when you place your first bet on soccer, including markets, competitions, and more.
Markets and Odds
The markets you’ll find for soccer are similar to those available in other professional sports – for instance, moneylines, prop bets, and futures. A top soccer sportsbook and a popular betting site, Bovada, Bovada will give you access to these markets and more soccer-specific betting lines.
You can review some of the most popular soccer bet types below to get to the nitty-gritty of soccer betting:
Over/Under
Like many US sports, soccer has over/under-betting. Over/under betting is where you bet whether a final scoreline will be over or under a certain amount chosen by a sportsbook. However, soccer games are usually far lower scoring than US sports, with results like 0-0 being very common. Consequently, unlike US sports, over/under bets tend to be over/under 2.5, 1.5, or 3.5.
Both Teams to Score (BTTS)
Both teams to score bets are wagers where you must predict whether both teams will score a goal during a game. Scoring is rare in soccer than in other sports, with many games decided by just one goal. In addition, it doesn’t matter who wins or how many goals there are, just that both teams hit the back of the net. You’ll often see BTTS bets in our BetMok predictions.
Soccer Points Betting
The points spread is a common bet type on events like the NFL and NBA, but you can also use it to wager on soccer. With this type of wager, the sportsbook gives one team an imaginary deficit and one a goal advantage. If you wager on the team with a deficit, it has to overcome that deficit for you to win your bet. If you bet on the team with the advantage, it just has to hold that advantage. Therefore, the result of a soccer points bet may be different from the final result of a soccer game.
Yellow Card Prop Bets
While a yellow card may not seem like the most exciting part of soccer, many betting fans love to predict which players will pick up a caution. You can choose individual players or wager on how many cards a team will get overall. Some sportsbooks let you wager on how many cards will be shown in a game, regardless of the team.
Form, Injuries, and Previous History
Form is huge in soccer, as even the best players globally can go through spells where they play much worse than their ability. Likewise, teams that people consider the worst in the league can fight with the very best. That’s just what Leicester City did when it won the Premier League in 2016. If you are betting on soccer, you should always consider player and team form.
Injuries are also vital to the fate of a soccer game and your soccer betting. If a star player is missing, it can hugely affect a team’s chance to win. In addition, injuries during a game can change momentum, which is crucial for in-play betting. Make sure you know the injury situation before betting on a soccer game.
Soccer games are famous for their electric atmospheres, which can be amplified in games with history. Soccer has some of the most famous sports rivalries in the world, and any people’s predictions can go out the window in these games.
Competitions
Each soccer team is usually guaranteed to play a certain number of competitions yearly, usually two domestic cups and a domestic league. An example of these would be the FA Cup, League Cup, and the Premier League in England. However, top teams in many divisions can also qualify for competitions to play against elite teams from other leagues. The UEFA Champions League is the most famous example of these types of tournaments.
Often, playing in more competitions is tiring, and fatigue can lead to teams dropping results. Even if a team is heavily favored, consider how its schedule may affect how it plays and whether its performance deteriorates over time.
It’s important to keep in mind the past history and future progressions of each team and how they might impact their performance. This way, you’ll tailor your wagers to the team’s dynamic performance, which will yield objective predictions that are more likely to bring you profits.