The 17th of June saw Premier League action return to screens nationwide, with Aston Villa entertaining Sheffield United at Villa Park. This was the first match since April 9th, when Villa were thumped 4-0 by Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
This also means that sports betting is set to receive an immense boost, with 76.8% of the football viewing audience known to wager on their favourite teams and the outcomes of matches. You can even find the top football betting sites at www.bettingsites.info, as you look to target the best markets and highest value odds.
But what are the best betting markets in the world of football, and what sets them apart in such a diverse and competitive space?
The Handicap Betting Market
We’ll start with the handicap betting market, which offers a great risk-reward proposition to punters and enables bettors to achieve more competitive odds when backing the heavy favourites in a particular match.
For example, let’s look at the upcoming EPL fixture between Manchester City and Burnley at the Etihad Stadium on June 22nd. The average odds here are heavily in favour of Pep Guardiola’s attacking side, which is priced at around 1/6 to claim a comfortable win.
Handicap betting enables you to turn the odds in your favour, however, by establishing a fixed handicap that the favourites have to overcome if the wager is to come in.
In this instance, you could apply a -1.5 handicap to Manchester City, creating a scenario where Guardiola’s side has to win by at least two clear goals to secure you a return. This will have a direct and incremental impact on the odds, enabling you to achieve a viable return without overly compromising your chances of winning.
Of course, the key is to set a manageable handicap that takes into account the perceived difference between the two sides, while striking the ideal balance between your stake and the odds in question.
Some may argue that exact score betting works in a similar way, but with handicap wagers you’re only required to estimate the margin of victory rather than a completely accurate score.
The Draw No Bet Market
Next up is a relatively simple but effective betting market, and one that offers an additional layer of protection for your stake.
In simple terms, this removes the option of a draw from a particular wager, enabling you to back one of two available outcomes at slightly improved odds.
There’s statistical evidence to support this type of wager too, with just 27.52% of EPL games finishing in draws and the remaining 72.48% of matches delivering a definitive result.
This is also a particularly viable option when betting on a team that has a perceived advantage over their rivals, as such sides usually have an advantage in terms of the possession and number of attempts at goal that they’ll enjoy during the match in question.
Conversely, removing the draw when wagering on potentially cagey matches between evenly matched sides (or those competing in high-stakes games) may prove counterproductive, so you’ll need to tailor your strategy on the basis of each individual contest.
On a final note, it’s important to remember that if you place this type of wager and the match does indeed end in a draw, your stake will be returned to you.
This means that you increase your chances of not losing a percentage of your bankroll, even if you’re unable to back the right outcome.
The In-Play Market
We’ve already touched on the percentage of football fans who bet on games, with the majority of this audience placing in-play wagers as they watch the action unfold.
Aside from arguably enhancing the experience of watching football, this type of betting market has also been designed to increase the chances of winning in real-time.
The main reason for this is simple, as it allows thoughtful and engaged fans to make informed betting decisions based on the specific events that occur in games. To this end, in-play betting also offers access to a wider array of bets, enabling punters to profit from small and seemingly insignificant events.
Not only can in-play betting be rewarding for engaged fans who are often engrossed in matches, but it also benefits those who have a detailed knowledge of the sport and participating teams.
Such a knowledge base makes it easier to observe influential patterns during games and estimate factors such as goal timings and final results with greater accuracy.
On a similar note, in-play betting also enables you to capitalise on odds as they continue to shift in real-time. This can increase specific value propositions in some instances, and savvy fans can leverage such shifts to their financial advantage!
