Football betting has come a long way in recent years, and thanks to the huge range of football betting markets now available punters are no longer restricted to just betting on a team to win or draw.
There are a wide range of alternative football betting markets that bettors can enjoy, taking in goals, cards, corners, throws, half-time/full-time scores, goalscorers (first, any time, etc), and so much more that betting on football has become much more fun and exciting!
Here, we’ve picked out some of our favourite football betting markets to help you see where you can seek out alternative bets.
- 8 of the best football betting markets to bet on
- Half-time full-time betting
- Anytime goalscorer
- Goal-line under/over betting
- Both teams to score (BTTS)
- Both teams to score per half
- Result and both teams to score
- Cards, corners and more
- Build your bet
You can also check out our Top Football Betting Tips article here, which will help you hone your football betting process.
8 of the best football betting markets to bet on
While there are many different markets to choose from, one of the most popular football betting markets is anything relating to goals.
When it comes to goals there are a number of popular ways in which you can bet on a game with some success. These are betting on markets involving the total goals in a game, which player scores and when, and betting on both teams to score.
You will find other football bet market options like Asian Handicaps, time of the first goal, but these are a little more complicated and risky.
A great place to start for newcomers who are betting on goals for the first time is the half-time full-time market.
Half-time full-time betting
The half-time full-time market is one our favourite football betting markets. Not because it’s always a winner – that’s far from the truth – but when you see an opportunity where a team is so likely to win that their odds are ridiculous, the potential for them to be winning the game at half and full time also increase.
Now their odds will still be shorter (smaller) than most, but it’s better than say 1/3 for them to win the whole game. You may get something better like a 5/6 or better sill evens at 1/1.
Let’s say Man City are on a five-game winning and goalscoring run and they play Burnley or Southampton. City are clear favourites to win at 1/6, but their odds for half-time full-time are 4/5. Those are better numbers to me than 1/6, so I prefer to have them winning at the end of both halves for a chance of bigger returns.
Anytime goalscorer football betting market
As a sports betting and football fan, it’s easy to get a feel for the outcome of a particular game and that feeling can be enhanced by understanding the goal scoring efficiency of a team. Take the top teams for example:, Man City, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona.
You know these teams have goals in them from all areas of the pitch, so it makes betting on goalscorers more accessible. That little bit of extra knowledge can encourage gamblers to lean towards particular players. The added cushion of an ‘Anytime’ goal gives you a slight bit of comfort over the first or last goalscorer scenario.
Naturally, the odds decrease when you pick a striker, as they are the most likely to score at any time in a match. But if you’re looking for better odds on scoring midfielders for example, or the chance of a defender ‘nicking’ one, this is the market for that situation.
As such, this another of our favourite football betting markets. You can take advantage of free bet offers on these markets as well!
Goal-line under/over betting
One of the most popular football betting markets is the total goals market. The general line used by bookmakers is 2.5, so you bet on whether there will be two goals or less in the game, or three goals or more. Using the .5 line means that it is two-way and there must be a winner. This line cannot end in a draw.
This is not the only line that you can bet on using this market, as there are alternative goal lines to use. For example, if you think a game will be very high scoring and you are looking for a value single bet to place, you could use the over 3.5 line, or even the over 4.5 line. With the ability to change the line, you can place a variety of different bets and attack the betting market in any way you like.
As well as increasing the line you can also decrease it if you wish, in order to give yourself a better chance of winning. The over 0.5 goal line is becoming increasingly popular with fans who enjoy accumulator betting, who use this line to try and find a few bankers to put together.
When using this line all you need to have is more than one goal in each game you choose. The odds are too short to place single bets, but you can place an accumulator on a few games together, and a lot of people now do this instead of placing a standard accumulator.
The total goals betting market is certainly the most flexible when it comes to what you can bet on, and what type of bets you can place. Go for a value single on a big line, or lower the line to give you a list of odds on chances that you can put together in an accumulator.
The opportunities are endless, and although this is a relatively new way to bet, many people are already doing it and everyone has their own method that they are implementing.
Both teams to score (BTTS)
The other common method of betting on goals in football is to use the both teams to score market. Betfred romped ahead with this market a few years back, branding it with the popular title “goals galore”, which is now synonymous with this particular market.
This is not as flexible as the total goals betting market, but it is another very simple way to place bets on goals in football, rather than choosing a team to win. The market is as simple as it sounds – you’re betting on both teams to score. The options are yes or no, so you either back both teams to score in the game, or you wager that both teams will not score in the game.
Like many other forms of betting on goals in football, this game is ideal for neutrals that are looking to have an interest without choosing a team to win. When you watch a football game you are hoping to see end to end action, with plenty of goals.
Both teams to score per half
There is no real option to change the line here to enhance the odds or decrease them, if you would like to place an accumulator. However, one way of using this bet to gain value is to change the type of bet you are placing.
Instead of backing both teams to score, you can back both teams to score in the first half, or both teams to score in the second half. This will really enhance the price and make the bet ideal for a value single if you are looking to place a bet at a big price on this type of market.
Result and both teams to score
Like the goals galore concept, adding in a result will boost the odds to bigger values, but will increase the risk and lessen the likelihood of that outcome.
For example, Liverpool v Chelsea might be 5/6 for both teams to score, but for Liverpool to win and both teams to score might be a bit longer at 4/1, rendering that outcome less likely.
Football betting markets: Cards, corners and more
Goals are definitely where the majority of bets are wagered outside of the actual result itself. But with data recording become more detailed around a football match, it opens up opportunities for alternative bets.
Throw-ins, cards, goals kicks, corners and free-kicks are all being recorded as a number on a database, and this paves the way for anyone to challenge that outcome and bet on it. It’s then down to the ambition of the betting site to acquire that information and package it into markets for punters to gamble on. One card to be shown in the first 10 minutes, total cards, first half throw-ins odd/even, and so on.
These alternative markets are often easier to predict than goals. If you’re certain there’s an attacking game coming up, the chances are that there will be lots of goal kicks & corners, or a local derby might be a card fest if the stakes are high!
Request a bet and build your bet
In our modern era of data-driven gambling, we find ourselves open to accessing markets that are backed up by a variety of outcomes, and bookies have started packaging these bets into a build-your-own bet slip styled combination strategy.
Paddy Power have the #whatoddspaddy hashtag on twitter, Skybet have their request a bet contact feature, and Bet365 have a bet builder function that you can use on their website or app. You can compare betting websites here, and