Soccer fans have it easy. A match is taking place somewhere in the world almost every day of the year. Soccer betting is thus a 365-day-a-year sport for those who have learned and enjoy it safely. This year, that group is set to be joined by a slew of newcomers, with the 2022 FIFA World Cup in November only increasing mainstream betting interest. Betting on soccer can be an interesting and thrilling way to watch the game, whether you’re searching for an excuse to watch a certain event, or you just want some skin in the game.
If you’re new to sports or sports betting, this post will walk you through some of the fundamentals and several methods to navigate the soccer betting markets. For starters, you would of course need a good betting app or site to wager your money through. Why not check out 1bet.co.com and find the best newbie offers there waiting for you?
Of course, no one bet, or betting strategy will guarantee success. But, at the very least, the information below should give you a sufficient basis to know what you’re doing when it comes to picking the bet or tactics that suit your style.
Always pay attention to lineups and injuries
Any bettor is expected to keep up with injury news. However, injury monitoring is not always sufficient. Lock in bets, especially on individual players, until you see the official starting lineup for that match. If you want to wager on a player scoring a goal in a match, for example, be sure he is both healthy and in the starting lineup. You may lose a decent price on the bet by not betting ahead of time, but that is preferable to losing the entire wager before the game has even begun.
Coaches and management frequently rotate players based on pre-determined workload plans that are not made public, even if a player is healthy and playing consistently. In other circumstances, certain players are chosen versus specific opponents based on specific skill sets that align with the match’s tactical strategy. As a result, predicting who will play from game to game is difficult. Simply wait till the lineups are revealed.
Check team history and trend
Trends, as in other sports, are an essential component of soccer betting research. Soccer match previews sometimes include historical patterns between two clubs, including at the exact stadium where the match would be played. Recent trends, however, are increasingly important, especially with teams changing players and managers from season to season. A team’s recent performance versus the opponent (or against an opponent with a similar style and quality) is more important to a bet than a head-to-head encounter from a decade ago.
Consider who the home and road team
When handicapping a match, road and home form might come into play. Teams frequently play quite differently at home than on the road. Leicester City, for example, was outstanding within the comfortable confines of its King Power Stadium in the 2021/22 Premier League season, with 10 victories, four ties, and five losses (a cumulative +11 goal difference at home). Four of their five home losses were against clubs ranked in the top five. On the road, they won four games, drew six, and lost nine, with a -8 goal differential (i.e., they allowed eight more goals than they scored on the road).
That bad road form carried through to subsequent contests. Leicester City was knocked out of the FA Cup on the road at Championship side Nottingham Forest, they were eliminated from the Europa League group stage after losing twice on the road, and they were knocked out of the Europa Conference League semifinals after losing 1-0 on the road at AS Roma. It’s also critical to understand when there’s no discernible difference between home and road splits. It does not affect every team, and the statistics will demonstrate this.
Don’t listen to the industry buzz all the time
While keeping up with the narratives, transfer talk, general discussion, and pregame and postgame statements by managers and club officials attempting to create the narrative is part of being a fan, such media-hyped tales frequently have little actual influence on how a team plays on the field. When it comes to assessing a team’s success or failure in a match, current trends, recent encounters versus an opponent (or comparable opponent), and player form all weigh more significantly. Yes, huge news and narratives still can disrupt a team’s preparations or psychological composition, and they must be monitored.
The published material expresses the position of the author, which may not coincide with the opinion of the editor.