How To Bet On Football: A Comprehensive Guide

It’s no shock that football is the most popular sports betting in the United Kingdom with 45% of punters placing bets on football betting markets.  

Therefore, it’s not really a surprise that the bookies are flooding the football betting options with more types of bet variations than ever. 

Whilst the average football bettor tends to go for the Premier League and Champions League for their bets, savvy bettors can find better value bets in the lower leagues or even foreign leagues.

This guide will provide help with understanding the football betting terminology, types of football bets and tips to increase your chances of success.

Football Betting Terminology

Whilst not as daunting as the terminology used in horse racing betting, there’s some commonly used terms that you should be aware of:

Full Time Result - Probably the easiest football bet to place.  You’re basically picking one of three possible outcomes, home team win (1), draw (x) or away team win (2). This bet is also known as 1x2 or win lose draw (WLD). This bet usually only applies to the result after 90 minutes (including injury time) but excludes extra time and penalties.

Early Payout - Also known as 2UP, this is the same bet as the Full Time Result bet but gives you an added bonus.  If the team you have bet on goes 2 goals in front at any point during the game, the bookies will payout the win bet. This can be utilised for extra profits if you are a matched bettor. Find out more in our Early Payout article.

Football Acca - An accumulator is an extremely popular football bet that combines different bets to offer enhanced odds. Because each of your choices must win to get any returns, the potential payouts can be huge.

Goals Over/Under - Also known as Goal Line Betting, this bet requires you to decide if there will be more or less goals than a pre-set amount. The industry standard for this bet is more or less than 2.5 goals. For example, if you bet that over 2.5 goals in a match and it ends 2-1 or 3-0, your bet wins. Similarly, had it ended 1-1 or 2-0 you would lose. 

Correct Score - A very straight-forward bet where you’re predicting the exact score that the game will end in. There’s no middle ground with this, your bet has to be correct to win.  Just for info - 1-1 happens approximately 11% of the time and is the most common scoreline.

HT/FT (Half Time/Full Time) - With the HT/FT bet you’re betting on the result at half time and full time.  Whilst it’s just one bet, you’re effectively betting on 2 games. You don’t have to have the same team for each half.  For example, you could bet on Liverpool to beat Arsenal in the first half and Arsenal to beat Liverpool in the second half. If Liverpool were 1-0 up at half time and the game finished 1-1 then your bet would win as Arsenal won the second half by 1-0. There are 9 possible half time/full time bet combinations you can choose from.

BTTS (Both Teams To Score) - This is a very straight-forward bet and one that seems to be extremely popular within football betting.  There’s no hidden complications with this bet, you either pick they will or they won’t both score in the match.  Some bookies do offer slight variations on this which we’ll cover later.

First Goal Scorer - As it suggests, you’re picking the player to score the first goal in a football match.  If your player isn’t the first goal scorer or gets subbed off before a goal is scored, your bet loses. Some bookies also offer this bet on a each way basis. Another format of this is anytime goal scorer.

Last Goal Scorer - Basically, the opposite of the first goal scorer bet.  You should expect the odds on the last goal scorer to be the same as the odds for the first goal scorer.

Half Time Result - This bet sort of revolves around full time result and half time/full time. As with the full time bet, you need to predict if you think one of the teams will be winning at the half time whistle or if you think it’ll be a draw.  The draw option will usually have lower odds as this happens approximately 25% of the time. 

Bet Builder - Bet Builders are a form of an accumulator bet that prevent any selections from clashing.  Most bookies provide bet builders these days and some offer their own pre-made bets that have boosted odds.  It’s also possible to mix and match the bets between different games with certain bookies.

Cards - The bookies have gradually expanded this market from the basic will a card be shown during the game. There’s multiple markets now that allow punters to pick how many bookings there will be and whether it’s over, exact or under that amount.  In addition to this, the card bets can be placed on specific players and which team will get cards individually or combined.

Scorecast - Scorecast bets are a type of double bet where you predict the first or last goalscorer of the match and the correct score.  Scorecast bets are incredibly difficult to land which is why the potential rewards are so appealing. 

Wincast - A variation of the scorecast bet but this time you need to predict a player to score anytime and a team to win.

Draw No Bet (DNB) - Draw No Bet is the same as a full time result bet but removes any concerns about it being a draw as the draw is removed from the DNB betting market. DNB bets provide a safety blanket for punters as they get their stake back if the match ends in a draw. This bet can suit cup matches as both teams might push for a result to avoid extra time or replays.

Card Points - These bets are a little obscure and can be difficult to find sometimes.  A bookie will offer pre-set numbers of points for a match and then you can choose if the points will be under or over.  A yellow card is worth 10 points, a red card is 25 points and 2 yellows resulting in a red card is 35 points.

Asian Goal Line - The object of this bet is to predict how many goals will be scored, and is similar to an over/under bet.  However, Asian goal line bets offer quarter and half goal options on top of full goals.  They also provide refund options.

Asian Handicap - Asian handicap betting is becoming more and more popular in the UK.  These bets are more complicated than most football bets but they are a good option when two teams aren’t evenly matched.  They also offer better odds than the standard 1X2 bets. Read our Asian Handicap Betting for a full explanation.

How To Place Football Bets

So, we’ve had a look at the types of football bets that are on offer.  Let’s have a look at how we place these bets and what the different football betting markets look like.

For these examples, we’re going to use Bet365 as they offer the most comprehensive range of football betting markets.

Full Time Result

This bet is the most basic of football bets and requires you to pick either a home team win, an away team win or a draw (1X2).  Should your selection be incorrect, your bet loses.

In this example, here’s a Champions League Game Between Feyenord and AC Milan:

So, it’s as simple as picking a team to win or the draw and entering your stake amount to place the bet.

As you can see, there’s two betting options here which we included on purpose.  The first ‘Full Time Result’ betting market will payout on if your team goes 2 goals ahead (Early Payout), irrespective of the final result.

The ‘Full Time Result - Enhanced Prices’ market offers slightly better odds because they remove the Early Payout offer. 

Football Accumulator

Accumulator bets are extremely popular bets with football fans on a weekend because the potential returns can be massive for very little outlay.  You must add at least four selections to your bet slip to create an Acca.

Most causal bettors will pick a selection of teams to win but you’re not restricted to only betting on teams.  If you want to, you can add correct scores, goal scorers etc to it. 

Here’s an example of such a combination in some midweek Champions League fixtures:

As you can see, a £1 stake can offer very handsome rewards if the bet were to land. Accumulator payouts are calculated by multiplying the odds of each selection for the total odds.  Multiplying the odds from this bet would be as follows:

• 7.0 (6/1) x 2.35 (11/8) x 13.0 (12/1) x 3.2 (11/5) = 684.32 total odds.

The more selections you add to an Acca, the higher the odds will be and the bigger the winning payout can be.

This type of acca is a standard acca where all of your selections have to win or the bet loses.

However, there’s other types of accumulator bets that are also known as bet multiples.  A lot of these types of acca bets can offer a safety net in that all of your choices don’t have to win in order to get some returns.

Goals Over/Under

This bet, also called goal line betting, involves you picking the amount of goals that will be scored during a match.  There’s pre-set goal lines and your job is to predict whether there will be more or less goals scored than the goal line you’ve chosen. 

The pre-set industry standard for all bookies is under or over 2.5 goals. However, they do offer alternative options.  

Here’s an example of the Over/Under markets for a UEFA Champions League game between Celtic and Bayern Munich:

You’ll notice that the bookies odds are offered in 0.5 variations.  This removes any confusion and the option  of the exact number of goals being scored. 

Goals over/under bets can be good bets if you think there’s going to be a few goals but you’re unsure who might win the game.

Some bookies do offer variations of goals over/under bets where you can choose the market as both teams combined or narrow it down to the home or away team.  Sometimes this can be filtered even further down to the first or second half.  These additional options are usually added to bet builders.

Here’s an example of how a bet on the standard 2.5 goals market works:

• Over 2.5 Goals: There needs to be at least 3 goals scored for this bet to win. Scores such as 3-0, 2-1 and 2-2 would see a winner.

• Under 2.5 Goals: For this bet to win, there must be 2 or less goals scored in the game. 1-0, 0-0 and 1-1 would be a winning bet.

Correct Score

There’s not really much we can say about this.  It’s very simple. You decide what the final score will be and you’ll either win or lose.

Predicting the exact final score of a match is extremely difficult so you’re likely to get good odds most of the time.  Whilst you might get good odds, your chances of success are difficult so it might be worth looking at alternative bets.

Sticking with Celtic v Bayern Munich, let’s say Bayern have been struggling away from home and you fancy a shock win for Celtic.  

When you find the correct score on the bookies website, it will look a little something like this:

If you head to the correct score market on the bookmakers website, you can use the plus and minus buttons to enter any score you wish to.  

On this occasion, because Celtic aren’t likely to win, Bet365 are offering odds of 67.00 (66/1) on a 3-0 win.

As you may have seen from the example, Bet365 also offers the same type of bet but the correct score at half time.

Half Time/Full Time

With the HT/FT bet you’re effectively splitting your bet into two mini games. You need to predict the result at half time and full time. A full time draw is also an option.

You can also pick one team to win the first half and the other team to win the second half. There are a total of nine possible outcomes from this bet and you can choose any of them.

Let’s have a look at what the nine options are in the below example of a football match between Liverpool and Arsenal:

• Liverpool / Liverpool

• Liverpool / Draw

• Liverpool / Arsenal

• Draw / Liverpool

• Draw / Draw

• Draw / Arsenal

• Arsenal / Liverpool

• Arsenal / Draw

• Arsenal / Arsenal

A winning combination could be something like this:

Both Teams To Score (BTTS)

This is a yes or no bet - Will both teams score in the match or not? 

Interesting Fact - During the 2023/24 Premier League season, both teams scored in 62% of the matches. Source: Footystats.

Given these stats, it’s no shock that opting to bet that both teams will score gives lower odds than betting that they won’t. 

As we mentioned in the intro, some bookies will offer different options on their BTTS markets.  These can include Both teams to score in the first half, both teams to score in the second half and both teams to score in both halves.

Here’s an example of those markets:

First Goal Scorer

In order to win a first goal scorer bet you need to pick the player that scores the first goal in a match.  Own goals DO NOT count by the way.

If your player doesn’t score the first goal or is subbed off before there’s a goal, your bet will lose. An alternative to the first goal scorer is the last goal scorer.  The odds for both first and last goal scorer are usually identical.

There are some other alternatives in the scoring market.  You could choose a player to score at anytime during the game or pick a player that will score more than one goal. Other options include the goal method (outside the box or header) by a player and a player to score or assist.

There’s all manner of scoring markets out there if you look closely enough.  Finding them is a different ball game.

Here’s an example of some of the goal scorer betting markets available at Bet365 in a match between Monaco and Benfica:

We did mention earlier on that it’s sometimes an option to an each way first goal scorer bet. 

This is no different to a normal each way bet in that your stake is split in half.  Half will be bet on your player scoring first and the other half will be placed on the player scoring first, second or third (place bet). 

The place part of your bet will have reduced odds though which are normally a third or a quarter of the win odds. 

Bet Builders

Bet Builders are one of the newer betting options that bookies are keen to push to customers. If done with care, these ‘create your own bet’ types of bets can be very profitable.

They are similar to an Acca but all of your selections are in one match and there can be literally hundreds of options to bet on.

Some bookies offer ready made bet builders (sometimes boosted) to customers so you don’t have to do any work.

As you can see, Bet365 don’t mess about when it comes to offers. They have plenty of pre-made bet builders for you to choose from and have even boosted the odds.  That said, the bookies aren’t daft and want to take your money off you so it’s likely that these offers are weighted in their favour.

Therefore, always check the offers to make sure they are offering you value.  Sometimes, you are better off making your own and utilising your knowledge of the football world. Also keep an eye out for any offers relating to bet builders as these can be profitable.

If you choose to create your own bet builder, just head to a football match and look for the bet builder option and then use your skills to build the winner.

Whilst the majority of the bookies refer to this option as a Bet Builder, keep an eye out for different terminology. For example, Betfred use ‘Pick Your Punt’ and Sky Bet use ‘Request A Bet’. 

Cards

As we mentioned earlier, there’s pretty much a betting market for anything and everything when betting on football these days and that includes bookings during the game.

Now who would have thought things would change so much that we have an entire betting market dedicated to yellow and red cards.

Amongst these bets are number of cards in a match, both teams to receive a card, individual player cards, team to receive the first card, the time of the first card and how many cards a team will receive.

Scorecast

Your mission here is to predict the first goalscorer and the correct score at the end of the match. 

Scorecast bets are very difficult to predict which makes them gold dust for bookies. Yet, a lot of bookies have removed them as a standalone option. In fact, 888 Sport was the only bookie we could find to offer the scorecast bet at the time of writing this article. A bit odd!

If you’re struggling to find specific scorecast markets, you could still place a double bet on the first goalscorer and the correct score.  Be Warned - the odds on a double are a lot lower than proper scorecast bets. 

Hopefully, this has given you an idea how many betting markets there are in football betting and we’ve covered off all of the main types of bets.

For many punters, betting on football adds some extra excitement to a sport they enjoy.  It’s important to keep to this approach rather than relying on it as a form of income.  

That said, there’s no harm in putting yourself into a stronger position when placing your bets.  Betting blindly and unprepared can be very costly.

So, no more delays, let’s have a look at some things that you should consider when betting on football.

Research And Analysis

If there’s one thing you need in your betting box of tricks, it’s the ability to research what you’re betting on.  We can’t emphasise this enough.  There’s no replacement for informed betting decisions.

• Head to Head History: Look at past results between the two teams. See if it’s a local derby or there’s any patterns that could influence an outcome.

• Suspensions and Injuries: Keep an eye out for team news. The absence of key players can have a drastic impact on a team’s performance.

• Form: Delve into individual team stats, recent form, home and away results etc. A team might play better at certain venues.

Manage Your Bankroll

• Stake Size: Don’t jump in with large stakes if you’re new to betting. Even when you have more experience, it’s wise to keep your stakes at between 1% and 5%. This should help when you hit bad patches.

• Budget: Set yourself a budget that’s affordable to lose as you can’t predict losing streaks.

• Don’t Chase Loses: This is vital. Don’t increase your stakes to recover any losses, it rarely ends well. Stay within your budget and stake size.

Utilise Resources

• Use Available Stats: You can access sites like Footy Stats and KickOff UK to look at data for a vast amount of leagues and teams.

• Compare Odds: Always try and find the best odds for the bets you want to place. Websites like Oddschecker can provide the odds from across most of the bookies.

• Use Industry Experts: Find reputable websites and publications such as OLBG to get useful insights about upcoming football matches.

Avoid Emotional Betting

• Control: Trust your research and the statistics and not your heart. Betting using your heart instead of your head could lead to bad decisions.

• Ride The Wave: Remember that losses are inevitable with betting and look at a strategy that relates to long-term gains instead of quick profits.

Diversify Your Bets

• Don’t restrict yourself to one betting strategy.

• Consider making smaller bets across different games and markets instead of one larger bet one the result of one game.

• Don’t just stick to match results. Look at other football betting markets such as corners, goalkeeper saves or goal scorers.

• Using this approach can spread the risk

Conclusion

If you love your football, the football betting markets give you the opportunity to enjoy the sport you like and add a bit of extra excitement by using your knowledge to your advantage.

By using available resources, researching your markets and adopting a good strategy, you can increase your chances of success.