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Soccer Betting Guide: How to bet on soccer

Soccer Betting

The number of people betting on soccer continues to grow year-on-year. Gambling on sports is being legalized across the country, enabling more and more bettors to get stuck into soccer betting lines. From MLS to the Premier League, from the World Cup to Copa America, there are soccer markets available throughout the year. 

Whether you’re looking for soccer spread betting explanations or want to learn more about reading betting lines, we have compiled a comprehensive soccer betting guide. Even if you’ve never wagered on soccer before, this crash course will get you ready to evaluate the betting markets for value. If you're interested in reading more about how to bet on the MLS specifically, click here to access our MLS picks page!

So, before you bet on soccer games, take a quick look through this article to understand how to bet on soccer successfully. 

Table of contents

  1. ⚽Soccer betting lines
  2. 📈Soccer Asian handicaps
  3. ❓How to read soccer odds
  4. 💡Soccer betting strategies
  5. 📱Soccer betting sites

Soccer betting lines

It’s vital you know how to read soccer betting lines before you start gambling online. Here are some of the most popular markets to bet on soccer. 

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Moneyline

A moneyline is the simplest of soccer bets. These odds will usually be the first visible on any online soccer betting page. Betting a team on the moneyline is a wager on them to win the match. 

If you backed Manchester City on the moneyline against Liverpool, you would need City to be winning at the final whistle. Some sportsbooks will offer early payouts on moneyline wagers, however, which can save you from any potential comeback. 

Three-way

Three-way soccer bets are when you bet on one of three outcomes. These are a Team A win, Team B win or the draw. These are a form of moneyline wager – you will select either back a team to win or back the draw. For your bet to be marked a winner, you need that exact outcome when the final whistle goes. 

Two-way

A two-way moneyline removes the draw. Sometimes this is referred to as ‘draw no bet’. Bettors pick a team to win – their bet is a winner if that team claims victory, the bet loses if they suffer defeat, and all wagers in the market are voided if the match ends in a draw. 

For instance, if you backed Inter Miami on the two-way moneyline against New York City FC, you would receive your stake back if the teams drew. 

Spread

Sportsbooks generally set spreads between 0.5 and two goals. The favored team will be given a negative number, with the underdog given a positive. 

So, if you were to back Real Madrid -1.5 against Valencia, Real need to win by two clear goals for your wager to be marked as a winner. This can be 2-0, 3-1 or any other scoreline. If Real were to win by one goal, draw or lose the match, your bet would lose and Valencia would have covered the spread.

Occasionally, spreads will go above two in soccer betting. This is rare, however, and will be reserved for when a team is a very heavy favorite, like in a cup fixture. 

Double chance

The double chance market is exactly how it sounds. This gives you two chances to win on the game outcome. 

Most often this will be backing a team to win or draw the match, though the best soccer sportsbooks will also allow you to wager on either team to win (the odds will be very short in this market). 

If you backed the USMNT to win or draw against Brazil, your wager would pay out whether the US won 5-0 or drew 3-3. Brazil would have to win for your bet to lose. Double chance picks, with their shorter odds, are a good option when constructing a parlay. 

Goal line

The goal line is set by sportsbooks before a match. This is usually 2.5 for soccer betting, though you will occasionally come across games with the line set at 1.5 or 3.5. 

As in other sports, this is a case of betting on the over or under. You are trying to predict the total number of goals in the match, so over 2.5 goals means there needs to be three total goals for your bet to win. These goals could be all scored by one team or it could finish 2-2. 

If Arsenal were playing Tottenham and the line was set at 2.5, a bet on the under would payout if the final score was 0-0, 1-1, 1-0 or 0-1. Any other score would mean there had been over 2.5 total goals. 

Both teams to score

Both teams to score (BTTS) is among the most popular soccer bets. This is a wager on both teams in the match to score – you can bet ‘yes’ or ‘BTTS – no’. 

If you’ve backed BTTS, it doesn’t matter what the final score line is or how many total goals there are. For Aston Villa against Crystal Palace, your bet would win if it was 1-1, 5-1, 3-3 or 4-2. So long as both teams score, the bet is a winner. 

If you back ‘BTTS – no’, only one team can score in the game for your bet to win. A goalless draw would also make your bet a winner. 

BTTS is a popular betting option in same-game parlays and can be paired with the game total or moneyline. 

Futures

A soccer futures bet is a wager on the outcome of a future event (or events). These are bets often placed months in advance of when the market will be settled. Considerable odds movement throughout the year enables bettors to find some great value in futures markets. 

When it comes to soccer betting odds, futures cover everything from league and cup winner markets to Golden Boot and Ballon d’Or betting. Some sportsbooks will give you the opportunity to wager on other statistical categories, such as the goalkeeper to keep the most clean sheets or a player to have the most assists in a specific competition. 

Head-to-head futures are available with some soccer betting sites, too. This could be wagering on whether Chelsea or Arsenal finish higher in the Premier League table, or a bet on which Los Angeles team will get the most regular season wins. The range of futures bets is huge. 

Half-time/Full-time

The half-time/full-time market requires you to correctly pick the half-time result and the full-time result. 

If Liverpool were facing Bayern Munich, for example, and you backed Bayern Munich/Liverpool, you would need Bayern to have the lead at half-time and Liverpool to come back and win for your bet to win. Of course, the odds for this wager would be lengthy. 

Alternatively, this can be useful when backing a heavy favorite. If Juventus are playing a bottom-half Serie A team, they might be a short price to win the match, and maybe you don’t fancy backing them against the spread. Instead, you can go Juventus/Juventus to get some longer odds than if you just went with the moneyline. 

Props

Prop bets can come in various forms. The standard props for football matches are based around the goal scorer and card markets – top online soccer betting sites will allow you to wager on first, last and anytime goal scorer, plus give you the option to bet on players to score multiple goals.

Closer to kick-off, sportsbooks open up more player prop markets. These will include passes, shots, shots on targets, saves, tackles and much more. Most of these markets will be a similar over/under, others will be a ‘milestone’, like backing Bruno Fernandes to have 60+ completed passes.

Derivative odds

Derivatives cover a lot of different markets in soccer odds. Alternate spreads and alternate totals are a good place to look for derivative odds – these are markets that will be released after the main game lines (moneyline, spread, game total).

Survey these markets to see how the odds move as kick-off approaches. What price do they tend to open at? How many sportsbooks cover these specific markets? 

Analyze how the odds move once they have opened. Are other bettors betting in a particular pattern on a certain market? Do some sportsbooks overlook certain markets, leaving plenty of value?

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Soccer Asian handicaps

Gaining its name because of its origins in Indonesia, Asian handicaps are a form of spread betting. The growth of online soccer betting has seen a marked increase in the popularity of Asian handicaps.

Like other spread betting, the favored team will have a minus number, effectively giving them a handicap at the start of the match. The underdog will be given a positive number. 

An Asian handicap can be an integer, .25, .5 or .75. If the line is .25 or .75, the wager will be split in half between the closest integer and .5. 

For instance, a bet on Chelsea -1.25 would effectively be half your stake on Chelsea -1 and half on Chelsea -1.5. For the bet to completely win, Chelsea would need to win by two clear goals. If they won by one goal, you would get half your stake refunded. 

The same goes for game total markets. Again, the option to bet 2.25 or 2.75 is there, and can be a way to sit on the fence if you don’t feel confident in backing over or under two, 2.5 or three. 

How to read soccer odds

Even if you’ve wagered on other sports, it might help to have soccer odds explained. The premise remains the same if you’re familiar with sports gambling, and reading the odds should be relatively straightforward.

If Atletico Madrid are +100 on the moneyline, that means you need to bet $100 to win $100. 

This is an Evens bet. From there, you have odds-on selections, which will start with a minus, such as -150. Longer plus odds will mean bigger payouts for the same stake. 

A -150 wager at $100 would have winnings of $67. Flip those odds to +150 and the payout for a $100 wager would be $150 plus your original stake. 

If you’re ever unsure about how to read soccer odds, sites like Aceodds provide a useful bet calculator to work out your potential winnings. 

Soccer betting strategies

Developing your soccer betting strategy takes time. Depending on your betting habits, stakes and commitment to research, it’s important to find what works for you. Spend time looking into different markets, analyzing all the available data and placing bets to discover a strategy that can deliver regular winners. 

While there is a plethora of factors to ponder when betting on soccer, we have picked out a few key things to consider as part of your soccer betting strategy. 

Head-to-head records

Head-to-head records can be very informative when placing soccer bets. Teams in the same league will play each other multiple times per season, giving bettors a decent sample size to look at. 

If a team has a knack for getting the better of a specific opponent, it’s worth wondering why that might be. Are there particular bets that have been profitable in previous matches? Does the referee end up handing out a lot of cards? 

It’s important to give yourself some context for past matchups, too. A lot can change between meetings, particularly if it was in a previous season. Injuries, managerial switches and fluctuations in form can mean that some past meetings are not as useful for informing your betting choices. 

But sometimes it can be very significant. It can become a psychological thing if a team has repeatedly betean a certain opponent. 

Coaching matchups

Getting further into the details of a head-to-head, how managers/head coaches have fared against each other can be revealing. It can be a clash of styles, or perhaps it’s a case of one just having the upper hand on the other with tactical decisions.

If the two managers have previously worked together, that can be something to consider. As Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson famously had an exceptional record against his former assistants. Mikel Arteta took over Arsenal after working under Pep Guardiola, which has clearly had an impact on their early managerial duels. 

Coaching matchups won’t always influence your decisions with soccer spread betting. On occasion, though, it can be a decisive factor in which markets are best to back. 

It is worth looking at how managers have got on when they have faced off at previous clubs, too. 

Team form

Team form is one of the staples of any betting preview. Looking at a team’s recent matches should be the first thing you do when deciding on your wagers. 

WhoScored and FB Reference are two excellent sites to research soccer form. While league tables will often include latest results, it’s useful to look in-depth at how teams have fared overall. 

Domestic cup competitions and continental tournaments add to the schedule. Looking just at league form will not give you a full picture of how a team has been performing. Instead, check how much rest they’ve had since their last game, and see if the manager has been rotating his squad. 

It’s important to delve further into their recent matches beyond the results. 

Utilize statistics

There is widespread accessibility of soccer statistics. The top leagues have an enormous amount of data publicly available. Official websites provide some statistics, but other stats-focused platforms have even more to scroll through. 

It’s not just shots on targets and corners, either. You can look at where teams are shooting from, how many progressive passes they make, and which players are generating the most expected assists. 

Analytics have played a massive role in soccer betting over the last decade or so. Expected goals are a much better predictor of future performance than other, traditional statistics. Familiarize yourself with soccer statistics old and new. 

Betting trends

Alongside general football statistics, there’s also data on betting trends to absorb. WinDrawWin is just one site that shows you how teams have fared in certain markets, including both teams to score, over 2.5 total goals and average corners. 

If Bournemouth have a knack for winning as an underdog, that’s something worth knowing before placing your wager. If Liverpool have seen BTTS land in six consecutive away matches, it’s probably a bet worth considering for their next match on the road. 

You can add to this by looking more specifically at certain situations. Do Manchester City rarely cover the spread after Champions League action? Are Tottenham always in low-scoring matches after international breaks? 

Popular soccer betting sites

Outside of the World Cup, soccer betting might often take a back seat to the NFL, NBA and MLB, but interest in soccer in the US continues to trend upwards. As a result, sportsbooks are prioritizing their soccer odds packages. 

If sports gambling is legal in your state, there will be countless good options when it comes to choosing a sportsbook. BetMGM, Caesars, FanDuel and DraftKings lead the way. All have specific strengths when it comes to soccer betting, so it is worthwhile looking into what each of them can offer you. As ever, keep your eyes peeled for sign-up promotions, too. 

The top online soccer sportsbooks will check numerous boxes. A user-friendly interface is a must, and the odds need to be competitive. Reliable and informative customer service is also a necessity. Live streaming is something to bear in mind, and we would always advise looking at the available promotions and betting features that are on offer. 

It can be beneficial to have multiple betting accounts across different sportsbooks. This means you have instant access to different markets and odds. Before placing any wager, make sure you check out an odds comparison site to ensure you are getting the best possible price. 

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