Football Betting Tips

Football is one of the most popular sports to bet on in the UK, with punters able to place wagers on a massive range of competitions from all over the world.

Here at BettingTop10, we absolutely love betting on football and as a result, we’re also determined to help you pick out the best football betting sites in the UK.

We go through Top Football Betting sites daily, making sure our punters receive the best bonus offers, security & betting experience, plus our own system of live football betting odds on a huge number of markets, and our daily football betting tips.

We compare the best football betting odds from our top bookmakers and deliver it LIVE to our punters.

BettingTop10 UK is The best place to start when talking about football betting is odds, as these can be confusing for anyone who is brand new to gambling.

Football betting odds can be calculated in two main ways – decimal or fraction – and the latter is the one most commonly used by the UK’s biggest bookmakers, although you can usually choose between them.

In fraction odds, the number on the left is how much you win for your stake, represented by the number on the right.

So, for example, in Premier League betting if a team is priced up at 2/1 it means your winnings are £2 for every £1 you decide to stake and for a 5/2 bet, you win £5 for every £2 that you want to place on that selection.

Decimal odds are used on exchange markets such as Betfair and some people find them an easier way to see how much they could be in line to win.

Odds of 2.00 would be 1/1 when displayed as a fraction, which is typically known as evens.

In other cases, they are easy to work out as they are simply the fraction odds plus one – to represent the stake – so 4/1 as a fraction would be converted into 5.0 in decimal terms.

How To Bet On Football?

Here at BettingTop10 we want you to be a winner, so this guide will cover everything you need to know about football betting, from the basics to more advanced tips.

With so many different football betting sites offering online bets, it can be hard to know where to start, but you can also check out our bookmaker reviews to help you decide which account to open.

Read on for details of types of betting on the glorious game, as well as information about odds, tournaments and tipping, in our Betting Top 10 guide to football betting in the UK.

How to Choose the Best Betting Site to Bet on Football?

When choosing the best football sites, there are a number of elements to consider. Most online bookmakers in the UK will prioritise football as it’s extremely popular with punters, however not every one of these football betting sites is likely to suit your needs.

First of all, you’ve got to make sure that the site is legitimate and safe. All of the football betting sites listed at BettingTop10 are fully licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and will have to adhere to a number of rules which offer fair play to punters.

If you’re unsure about the legitimacy of your chosen site, you can simply browse through the list on our site or check with the UK Gambling Commission.

Realistically, most UK punters who bet on football will stick to 4-5 leagues with the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and the Championship amongst the most popular. However, there may be other divisions and tournaments which offer better value and even if you’re the only person wanting to place a bet on the Nigerian second tier, it’s nice to know that it’s possible.

It’s always advised to choose football betting sites which offer a decent range of competitions as you never know which games you’ll want to include in your accumulator.

• Market Coverage

Most punters will utilise a handful of markets including 1X2 (or 90 mins as it’s sometimes known), Both Teams to Score and First Goalscorer.

However, there is now an increased appetite for more specific offerings such as Shots on Target and Player to be Carded markets. Many football betting sites are starting to slowly add these markets to their current crop, however sites such as 888Sport and Bwin lead the way when it comes to these types of markets.

• Accumulator Enhancements / Incentives

Many UK punters who regularly bet on football enjoy placing a Saturday afternoon accumulator and it’s strongly advised to look for UK betting sites which offer something for those who routinely try and win big with a weekend multiple.

Some football betting sites will offer money back on accumulators that fall short by a single selection and others may boost your returns should each of your picks come in. These are ideal for those who regularly bet in this way.

• Other Offers and Incentives

If you regularly bet on football, it’s nice to know that your loyalty could be rewarded. We strongly advise looking for UK betting sites who offer their customers the chance to boost their odds, to increase their returns and to enjoy enhanced prices on popular selections.

• Cash Out / Live Streaming

Many football betting sites will also give punters the chance to cash out their bets throughout the course of the contest. Sometimes, a punter may find themselves in a winning position and it’s nice to have the option to cash out before the inevitable last-minute goal scuppers your accumulator!

Likewise, if you’re betting on top European leagues, it’s nice to be able to dip in and follow the action. Many betting sites for football now offer their customers the chance to stream matches from a variety of competitions and it’s a great way of keeping across all of your bets.

Following are the most popular leagues for UK

• English Premier League

The top flight of English football is generally regarded as ‘the best league in the world’ and attracts an extremely high calibre of player. The best football betting sites will likely

prioritise the Premier League and televised games in the UK tend to have the largest number of betting markets available. Occasionally abbreviated to the EPL, it is a league which attracts worldwide interest and runs from August-May each year.

• Serie A

Serie A first rose to prominence in the UK back in the 1990s courtesy of Football Italia. However, it remains extremely popular with punters and football betting sites offer hundreds of markets on the Italian flight each weekend. With household names such as Juventus, AC Milan, Inter and Napoli all plying their trade in Serie A, there is always plenty of interest.

• La Liga

The top flight of Spanish football remains very popular in the UK with El Clasico always attracting a decent worldwide audience. Many of the best betting sites for football will place La Liga prominently on their site and although games involving the likes of Osasuna and Levante may not get the pulse racing, there are always ways of finding value in this league.

• The Championship

With over £90million and a place in the Premier League at stake, it’s little wonder that the second tier of English football is full of drama and excitement on a weekly basis. This league always delivers on entertainment and it is a reliable source of goals. UK bettors enjoy backing goals at this level.

• MLS (Major League Soccer)

The MLS is constantly expanding and with players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Frank Lampard having played in the states over the last decade, there is plenty of interest from UK punters. Most football betting sites will offer various markets on each and every game and with many goal-heavy games taking place on a regular basis, this is a division is extremely popular with bettors.

• 1X2 / 90 Minute Market

The simplest of all football betting markets. All UK betting sites will have these markets available and it is simply a case of predicting which team will win. Or if the game will end all-square. These are extremely popular with accumulator bettors.

• Over 2.5 Goals / Under 2.5 Goals

Another staple of football betting sites is the Under/Over market. This will ask punters to predict how many goals will be scored in the game. Football punters will need to look for teams who score lots of goals or sides who regularly concede sloppy goals if they are betting on Over 2.5 Goals.

• Anytime Goalscorer

In the UK, there are a variety of goalscorer markets available, however, backing a player to find the net at any time is arguably the most popular. Although in-form strikers tend to be shorter in the football betting odds, this market is perfect for backing goalscoring midfielders or defenders in a set-piece heavy side. The player can find the net at any point in order for this bet to pay out.

• Total Corners

Most football betting sites now offer punters the chance to predict the number of corners per game. This is ideal for sides who deploy wingers or a team that are chasing the game. Many UK betting sites offer punters the chance to predict which team will have the most corners as well as match totals.

• Handicap Markets

These are particularly handy for seemingly one-sided matches. If a team is expected to dominate, and the football betting odds reflect this, handicaps are an ideal way to find some value. Favourites can be backed -1, -2 and -3 and these allow the dominant team to win with plenty to spare. -1 would require your chosen side to win by a 2-goal margin or greater (subtract 1 from their score and they’ll still be winning).

Underdogs can also be backed on the handicap markets. UK football betting sites will offer +1 and +2 markets on the perceived outsiders and this suggests that they can keep it tight and will not be easily beaten.

Betting Tips and Football Betting Strategies

There is no guarantee of picking winners when it comes to betting on soccer, however by simply doing your research and knowing how that affects the betting markets can give you a significant advantage. Here are three things to look for:

• Check Team News / Injury List

Every team will have a star player and their absence can significantly change the course of a contest. If you’re willing to wait until an hour before kick-off, then it’s advised to check team news before placing a wager. However, it’s fairly straightforward to find a list of injuries and suspensions online, so always check this before betting. Most football betting sites will react accordingly, however, if you can get there before them, this is your chance to grab the value!

• Check Schedule / Analyse Priorities

With an increasing amount of competitions being played each year, teams are now being forced to prioritise specific matches in order to keep their key players fresh. It’s always best to avoid backing a side domestically following a tough midweek Europa League fixture whilst many sides in the UK will forego a cup in order to prioritise the league. Fan forums are quite a good way of gauging the mood, and this should always be considered.

• Spot a New Manager Bounce

When a new manager arrives at the club, the majority of players will often buck up their ideas. An incoming boss may also deploy a back-to-basics approach which enables the team to build from the back and keep things tight. If you can spot a side that have/will benefit from a managerial change, then this is one way of getting ahead of the bookies.

Statistics can also be very useful for following trends and finding patterns in a team’s results, so a look at the numbers can often be beneficial when making football betting predictions.

But remember that the beauty of football is that anything can happen and results are sometimes very unpredictable, so there is only so much good that studying the form book will do for bets.

It is for this reason that accumulators are not always the best type of football bets to go for as well, with predicting the result of a few different games something that is very hard to get right.

Instead, it can be a better idea to simply pick out a couple of solid bets rather than chasing a big win by putting 10 bets into an accumulator that only has a very small chance of coming in for you.

Value is always the key to success in gambling, as taking a good price from a betting site, even if you do not necessarily think the outcome will happen, is likely to result in profits in the long term compared to just going with your gut.

Ante-post is a phrase used for bets that are placed at least a day in advance of the event and while the term is more commonly associated with greyhound betting and horse racing, betting on the winner of a competition before it begins falls into the same bracket.

A popular long-term ante-post bet in the UK is to pick out the winners of different leagues and add them into an accumulator, which can often result in massive odds being offered. A football tipster may well suggest a four or five-team accumulator to be placed.

For instance:

• selecting the winner of the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two could result in a four-selection accumulator offering odds more than 100/1, depending on which teams have been picked, but these bets are very hard to get right.

The major downside to ante-post betting is the long wait you have until you can collect your winnings, of course, but on the other hand it can also be a good feeling to know a large amount of money could be coming your way in the future.

While there are a lot of conflicting football betting systems out there, the golden rule to keep in mind always, when making selections is to always be thinking about value.

Lots of UK gamblers have their own guidelines that they stick to, for instance never betting on or against their own team to win, but value is really the most important factor to consider.

Betting sites will usually have very similar odds for a bet but it is always worth checking them all out to make sure you are getting the best possible price, therefore maximising your earnings.

Odds can also change very quickly in football betting so once you have picked out a selection you want to go with, find the best price and place the wager before the odds change too much.

The number of football tournaments and events it is possible to bet on is massive, with a lot of UK bookmakers offering the chance to gamble on matches at very low levels, while youth team and reserve games can also be used for bets too.

In the UK, the Premier League is one of the most popular competitions to place football bets on due to the high level of exposure the tournament receives throughout the course of the year, with lots of Premier League betting tips up for grabs.

The Champions League is another good option for those who like to watch Europe’s elite do battle and these are among the many events that bookies have odds on that take place every year.

Most leagues throughout the world work on an annual basis too and the way the football calendar is organised means there is almost always a few matches happening somewhere in the world.

Internationally, the World Cup is by far the largest tournament for betting on football but as it only comes around every four years it can be a long wait, unless you want to place ante-post bets.

The European Championship and the Olympic Games are also every four years – they happen in the same year – but the Africa Cup of Nations happens every two years. The Copa America will take place every four years starting from 2020.

However, Premier League betting odds will be the primary focus for a lot of punters in the UK and most football tips today focus on this league too.

Popular Tournaments and Events

The FIFA World Cup

Taking place every four years, the FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of world football and there are always hundreds of markets priced up by football betting sites in the UK. This tournament will take place over the course of a month and it showcases the best talent that the game has to offer. It is one of the most popular betting events on the calendar, especially with every single game shown live on TV.

The European Championships (Euros)

Similar to the World Cup, the Euros take place in the four years and are extremely popular with punters in the UK. This tournament showcases the cream of the crop when it comes to European football and matches are always competitive. UK betting sites will have their ante-post outright markets priced up months in advance and there will be hundreds of special offers available ahead of the tournament opener.

Champions League

Football betting sites will heavily promote the Champions League throughout the course of the season and there are always plenty of enhancements and offers available on this annual event. This is a club competition which begins in September (after qualifying) and concludes in June. It determines which side are the best in Europe and the winners are rewarded with a place at the Club World Cup.

Europa League

Although it often plays second fiddle to the Champions League, this event is still hugely popular especially when English Premier League sides are involved. There are always copious betting markets available throughout the course of the season, with plenty of Thursday night enhancements offered by UK betting sites.

Copa America

The South American equivalent of the Euros, this event takes place every four years (although it has now been played for two consecutive year) and showcases the best that the continent has to offer. With two invited guests also taking part, it is always a hugely competitive event and the odds tend to reflect this. Although many of these games take place overnight (to UK bettors), it is generally worth staying up for.

There is no guaranteed way to make quick money out of betting on football – if there was then everyone would be doing it and betting sites would be closing due to bankruptcy!

But by taking some time to research potential selections and always ensuring that the best price available with bookies is taken by carrying out careful odds comparisons, it is possible to earn a regular profit through sports gambling.

No football betting strategy is ever going to be completely foolproof and the unpredictability of football means it is always possible that no matter how well-researched a bet is, and how good value a price is, the bet could still lose through no fault of your own, even if it featured among the best football betting tips.

For example, a referee could make a bad decision to give a penalty that has the result of downing your bet, or a team’s star striker could miss an open goal to give his side a win – these things can always happen in football.

It is therefore key to never stake more than you can afford to lose and it is a good idea to keep track of your winnings and losses, perhaps in a simple spreadsheet, so you can easily see where you may have been going wrong.

Some luck is always required to be a winner in football betting but when making your football predictions today, stick with our advice here at BettingTop10 and we can help you to boost the balance of your betting site accounts.

The Team at BettingTop10 UK Hopes you find this information helpful & wish you Luck on your future football bets!