So, you want to find the best team to bet on! Well, who doesn’t? Football is a high-voltage game with an ever-changing landscape—And relying on past data isn’t always sufficient.
That’s why we’re making this guide. We’ll discuss all of the essential considerations for making an informed decision when selecting a good team to bet on.
5 Tips to Improve Your Odds in Football Sports Betting
Let’s go over the five essential tips you must remember. Look at these as guiding principles more than unbreakable rules.
1. Analyze Team Performance
The team’s historical performance and recent form contribute heavily to its odds. This is general knowledge but something that must be kept in mind, as we often forget to brush up on our knowledge of a team’s recent performance.
Consider win-loss records, point differentials, offensive and defensive stats, and home and away performance above all else.
Teams that have been consistently successful and boast a strong offensive output generally have a better chance of winning. A solid defensive performance also tends to be a more betting-friendly quality.
You could also look into the betting sites and the odds they are offering. This is a great exercise to learn about who wins more often.
Here’s how you begin: Select one of the most reliable betting sites Canada – comprehensive sportsbook resources like Bodog are beneficial and dependable. Their odds are pretty accurate, as they have been operating a sportsbook since the late 90s.
Now that we’re on the topic, here’s how you find which bet is more profitable:
- Odds are provided as numbers with a plus (+) or minus (-) sign. The minus sign marks the favorite (the team is more likely to win according to the oddsmaker), and the plus sign denotes the underdog (less likely to win).
- The “+” sign tells you what you will win with a $100 wager. The “-“ sign tells you what you will need to wager to win $100.
- On Bodog, the odds for Chelsea winning the Premier League is +1500, and for Man City winning, it is -135. Bodog clearly (and sensibly) favors Man City over Chelsea, for example.
- You would need to wager $135 on Man City to win $100 (if Man City wins).
- Now, assume you knew Chelsea would win by some miracle and were absolutely sure of it. If you bet $100 on Chelsea, you’ll earn $1500 (if Chelsea wins).
- Bets don’t need to be $100 – this is just the baseline for odds calculation. You can bet $50, too, for example, and you will earn $37 on Man City.
- The original bet amount is always returned, so winning on Chelsea will actually give you $1600, and winning on Man City will provide you with $235.
2. Study Betting Trends
This one goes without saying—You must study the current betting trends to figure out what’s happening. This is crucial to improve your chances.
Ideally, you want to analyze the trends and patterns associated with a particular team, such as the one you’re thinking of betting in favor of or against.
Additionally, look for teams that consistently cover the spread or even exceed expectations set by the oddsmakers. It’s also pretty important to pay attention to teams that perform well as underdogs or in specific situations (such as primetime games or divisional matchups) to diversify your bets and get the most bang for the buck.
3. Coaching and Strategy
Evaluating the coaching staff and their strategy might sound mundane or unnecessary, even, but let us tell you that it’s pivotal. Good coaching and strategies can make or break a game.
Eddie Howe turned the fate of Newcastle around with pretty much the same players, for example.
Many coaches are known for excellent game planning and making effective in-game adjustments. This can easily lead to favorable outcomes for the bettors. Coaches with such a reputation also excel at managing the clock, making adjustments, or exploiting opponent weaknesses.
We have covered football for a while now, and in all of our research, including the analysis we did for the best betting strategies for the last FIFA World Cup, one thing that turned up as an important factor was the role played by the head coaches and their strategy.
4. Player Personnel and Injuries
You should always be on top of things when it comes to team rosters. Monitor the roster, including the key players and their injury status. Injuries to star players or key contributors often lead to a significant impact on a team’s performance.
It’s not all pure math. The action is heavily influenced by team morale and confidence—Both of which can suffer negatively if a key player is out due to an injury as the team faces a formidable opponent, a clutch rival, or if it’s a high-stakes game.
Usually, teams that have a natural depth and resilience fare better in overcoming injuries. On the other hand, many football teams heavily rely on a few star players, and the absence of one can be seriously detrimental to their performance.
5. Home Field Advantage
One can never underestimate home-field advantage, regardless of how many times a team has lost at home. Also, some teams have a stronger home-field advantage than others. These teams tend to perform exceptionally well in front of their home crowd.
The home-field advantage is primarily all about the spectators. In fact, researchers found that the “match dominance of home teams, as measured by shots on target, was reduced by approximately half in the absence of spectators.”
The home crowd’s energy provides an extra boost to a team’s performance and can create an intimidating atmosphere for the opponents.
This can easily lead to more favorable betting outcomes.
In Conclusion
Hopefully, our guide will help you make better decisions when betting on football teams. Of course, nothing mentioned here is an exact science. Variables change, and you never know when you’ll get lucky (or unlucky!).
But keep these things in mind and approach betting systematically with a set budget, and you’ll not go wrong. Take it from the experts!
