When looking for profitable betting possibilities on a football match, punters should constantly pay particular attention to the goals markets. Total goals, both teams to score, and anytime goalscorer are just a few of the intriguing goals markets available at the leading betting sites.
Betting on football entails much more than merely forecasting a match’s outcome. Even if you are unsure which team will win the game, goal markets allow you to get amazing odds. If you think the game will be open and enjoyable, or if you think it will be dull and low-scoring, these markets provide excellent betting value.
This article will go through the most important goals betting markets available in all of your favorite events, including the Premier League. It will also show you how to combine them to get even more bang for your buck. You’ll learn how to bet on goals markets, receive insight into the research you should do ahead of time, and find out which bookies give the greatest odds. Here are a few of our favorites:
Scores by both teams
When looking for value on a given match, this is one of the most important betting alternatives available to you. You’re given two easy choices: do you want both teams to score or not? You are not required to anticipate the outcome of the game. It can end 1-1 or 7-4 if you bet on both teams to score. You will get paid out if both teams find the back of the net at some stage.
The odds in this market will differ from game to game. It all comes down to how good each team’s defense is and how dangerous they are in front of a goal. If both teams want to park the bus, the odds on both teams scoring are usually very good.
The odds are likely to be much shorter in a match between two aggressive teams who tend to throw caution to the wind, pour men forward, and take risks. However, combining both teams to score bet with another goals market to generate bigger odds is an option. We’ll go through this method in further depth later.
Total Goals
This is a forecast for the total number of goals scored by both teams throughout the game. The bookmakers will establish a total goals line and give you the option of betting on the over or under. The 2.5 total goals line is the most prevalent. You can bet on under 2.5 goals if you believe the game will be tight and low-scoring, or over 2.5 goals if you believe the game will be high-scoring.
If you bet on under 2.5 goals, you will be paid out if the game ends with two goals or less. You’d get paid out whether the game ended 0-0, 1-1, 1-0, or 2-0 in favor of either club. If you bet on over 2.5 goals, you will only be paid out if the game ends with three or more goals.
Some newer bookies only allow you to bet on over or under 2.5 goals, while the majority will enable you to bet on over/under 1.5, 3.5, 4.5, and so on. Each match, once again, has variable odds.
If it’s a game between two sides who don’t play very daring football, betting on over 2.5 goals could be a good bet. If both sides are used to playing high-scoring games, you may need to go for more than 3.5 or even 4.5 goals to find value. In a mismatch, this is also true. When England plays San Marino, you won’t find good odds on over 2.5 goals, but odds on over 4.5 goals might be more intriguing.
Adding Total Goals from Both Teams to Get a Score
Combining both teams to score with over 2.5 goals is an excellent option if you anticipate an open, entertaining game between two sides who look powerful in attack but shaky in defense.
Let’s imagine Liverpool is facing West Ham in the Premier League at Anfield, and both teams have important defenders injured. You might come across odds of 4/7 on both teams scoring, which means a NZ$20 bet would return NZ$11.43 if successful. Over 2.5 goals may be set at 2/5, resulting in an NZ$8 profit on a NZ$20 wager.
If none of those odds appeals to you, you might combine both sides to score with over 2.5 goals, thus combining the two bets into a single wager. You may therefore expect to see odds of 4/5, resulting in a more appealing NZ$16 profit on a NZ$20 bet.
You might perhaps take it a step further by adding both sides’ goals for a total of over 3.5 goals. That would likely increase the odds to roughly 13/10, resulting in a profit of NZ$26 on a NZ$20 wager.
Both teams to score and under 4.5 goals is another solid choice. This is a good market to bet on if you think both teams will score, but you don’t expect the game to be particularly high-scoring. Combining both teams to score with under 4.5 goals always yields a higher potential profit than betting on both teams to score alone.
In the list of betting options on a match, some bookies include “both teams to score and over/under 2.5 goals.” Others simply let you make these bets using the Bet Builder feature. Bet builders are available on sites such as Bet365 and 888 Sport. At some betting sites, they’re referred to as “same game accumulators” or “same game accas.”
Combining Goals and Winner Markets Together
Let’s imagine you wish to wager on Tottenham’s victory vs Brighton. First and foremost, you’ll examine the statistics. If Spurs are in good form and Brighton is looking lethargic, odds of 8/13 for Tottenham to win can be available. In such a situation, a winning NZ$10 bet would result in a NZ$6.15 profit.
Another possibility is to combine Tottenham’s victory with a goals market. You may bet on Spurs to win and over 2.5 goals in the game if you think they will blow the Seagulls away. In that situation, they’d have to win 3-0, 2-1, 3-1, and so on in order for you to get paid, but your potential profit would be far bigger. The odds would increase to roughly 5/4, resulting in a profit of NZ$12.50 on a NZ$10 bet.
If you believe Spurs will win with a low-scoring victory, you may want to bet on Tottenham to win and under 3.5 goals. That would most likely result in odds of 6/4, implying a far bigger possible reward. You could even go crazy and combine Tottenham to win, both teams to score, and over 3.5 goals using the bet builder option.
Team Goals
This is a forecast for the number of goals a team will score in a match. You don’t have to be concerned with the opposition’s performance. When Real Madrid hosts Valencia at the Bernabeu, you can bet on them to score more than 2.5 goals. If they score three times, you’ll be paid out whether the game ends 3-0, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, or 3-9. Some bettors enjoy the laser-like focus on a single team.
Exact Goals
This is more difficult than betting on the over/under since you must forecast the exact amount of goals scored in a game. If you can pull it off, though, you will make a large profit. You can also place additional bets to increase your chances of winning.
For example, in a Serie A match between Roma and Fiorentina, you can opt to put a wager on exactly two goals and another on exactly three goals. If both options are priced at 10/3, you could cover them both with the same investment and still profit handsomely if any of them comes in.
You can also wager on the exact number of goals aside will score. If you’re not sure what Fiorentina will bring to the table but know a lot about Roma’s lineup, you might bet on Roma scoring exactly two goals. Your bet will pay you if they score precisely two goals, regardless of how many times Fiorentina manages to score. When betting on precise goals, we recommend taking advantage of a free bet offer:
Clean Sheet Betting
This basically entails placing a wager on a team’s ability to retain a clean sheet throughout a game. It makes no difference how many goals they get. All they have to do is keep the opponents at bay for 90 minutes to make your wager pay off. It’s similar to betting on a side to win by a solitary goal, but it protects you if the game ends in a draw. When the opposition appears ineffective in front of the goal and you predict a close, low-scoring match, you can consider betting on a team to keep a clean sheet.
Scorer of the first goal
This is a rather basic wager on who will score first in a given match. In this market, the star striker for the stronger side is usually placed as the favorite. As you move down the list of players, the odds will get longer and longer. You’ll eventually rise to the position of rank outsider, a defensive player who rarely enters the box.
If England were to play France, Harry Kane would be the 4/1 favorite to score first, followed by Kylian Mbappe at 9/2, Antoine Griezmann at 5/1, Raheem Sterling at 6/1, and so on until Kyle Walker is 66/1. Simply pick who you think will score first, decide on a stake amount, and put your wager.
You can cover various participants in this market once again. You should get a refund if the player you bet on does not start the game and is not on the field when the first goal is scored.
Scorer of the most recent goal
This is identical to the first goalscorer, but the only difference is that you must predict who will score the last goal. Unless a single player has a habit of scoring final-minute goals, the odds for first and last goalscorer are often identical.
Goalscorer at any moment
Betting on a player to score first or last is generally a far more enticing alternative. It basically entails forecasting whether or not a player will score at any point throughout the game. You’ll be paid out if that player scores, whether it’s to open the scoring, equalize in the first half, or score the penultimate goal in a 5-0 rout.
The odds on a player scoring at any point in the game are always lower than the odds on that player scoring first or last. That makes sense because it’s easier to forecast whether a player will score at any point throughout a game. When betting on anytime goalscorer markets, though, you have a significantly better chance of winning.
Markets for Alternative Player Goals
A diverse selection of betting markets on player goals is now available from a number of bookies. You might bet on Neymar scoring two or more goals in a game versus Monaco if you think he’ll have a field day. You’ll get better odds this way than if you just bet on him to score at any time.
You may even bet on Neymar scoring three or more goals, or even four or more goals if you want to get the best odds. You can also wager on him scoring a header, a penalty kick, or a goal from outside the area. You can even bet on a player scoring your own goal while watching the game live at your favorite online bookmaker!
The First Goal’s Time
This market lets you guess when the game’s first goal will be scored. It makes no difference which team scores the first goal. Some bookmakers break it down into 10-minute chunks. You might wager on the first goal being scored in 0-10 minutes, 11-20 minutes, 21-30 minutes, and so on.
Others break it down into 15-minute intervals, allowing you to wager on 0-15 minutes, 16-30 minutes, and so on. If you like, you can cover many increments. Simply strive to ensure that if one of your predictions proves to be right, you will make a profit overall.
Even or Odd
This is a strange bet that asks whether the total number of goals scored in a match will be odd or even. It’s similar to placing a bet on red or black on a roulette wheel. This isn’t a very sophisticated bet, and it’s probably best avoided.
Markets with Limited Interval Goals
Most of the above mentioned bets can be trimmed down into smaller intervals to produce more appealing odds. Instead of betting on both teams to score in the second half, you might wager on both teams to score in the first half. Alternatively, you may bet on over 2.5 goals in the second half rather than over 2.5 goals in the entire game.
The options are endless. You may wager on a team scoring exactly one goal in the first half, both teams scoring in each half, an odd number of goals in the first half, a team scoring two goals in the second half, and so on.
How to Place Goals Market Bets
When you go to a betting site and select a game you’re interested in, you’ll be offered a variety of betting alternatives to choose from. Total goals, both teams to score, and exact goals markets are usually near the top of the list, but you’ll have to go a little deeper to uncover some of the specialist goals markets described earlier. If any games are currently in progress, live markets will be available. Some bookies are better for in-play betting than others; here’s a list of our favorites:
When you locate a market you like, click on the odds next to it to add it to your bet slip. Decide on the amount you want to bet. If your gamble is successful, the bet slip will tell you how much money you could win. To confirm, simply click “Place Bet.”
Betting Strategies for Goals Markets
To make goals betting markets a success, follow these guidelines:
- Conduct extensive research. When a team plays, keep track of how often both teams score. Divide the games into two categories: home games and away games. Calculate each team’s average goals per game and how often they score above 2.5 goals or under 2.5 goals when they play.
- Place each game in its proper context. If both sides have a lot on the line, it could be a tense match, and under 2.5 goals might be a good bet. Over 2.5 goals or over 3.5 goals may be appealing if both teams have serious injury problems at the back.
- Make sure you think about all of your possibilities. If you’re not sure about betting on under 2.5 goals, try under 3.5 goals.
- Check our Asian total goals markets for a more advanced football betting technique, which allows you to secure half wins, incur only half losses, or receive your money back as a push in specific conditions.
- For added value, consider combining two or more selections in a football accumulator. You could combine both teams to score bets on Arsenal vs. Manchester United and both teams to score bets on Newcastle vs. Everton into one acca for better overall odds.
- For increased value, consider merging various selections within the same game. Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals, as well as both teams to score and under 4.5 goals, are excellent bets. You can also improve your chances by betting on a team to win and under 4.5 goals, or a team to win and over 1.5 goals. We also recommend you to check Football 1×2 betting.
