Don’t Dismiss an Underdog

All too often when people look to place bets on soccer matches, they take the stronger side simply because it will “probably” win them money. But soccer is not really like basketball where they score seemingly endless amounts of points in one game and one team is very likely to get blown out. In a soccer match it can come down to one quick opportunity where a team can take advantage and put themselves ahead. Soccer is a game of chances, the team with the most chances more than likely will come out on top at the end of the day. That is where an underdog can make a killing, they just need one chance to escape with three points.

The English Premier League is a great league for underdogs. Common knowledge tells us that the top 4 teams in the EPL are Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Liverpool, they are more often than not favored in most matches, but all too often they are upset by lower tier teams. If a team like Burnley were able to upend Chelsea during the season the winnings for the person who bet on Burnley would cash out very nicely. The type of underdog team that is good to bet on is a team who plays at a very high pace. If you, as a heavy underdog, are trying to slowly possess a better team they will sooner or later make a mistake and the superior team will pounce. A high intensity offense is great because it can counter attack at the blink of an eye, and counter attacking is where underdog teams make their impact.

The right teams can pull a big upset at any time during the season, the trick is really finding out who these teams are. Things to look for are if one or two players carry a heavy load of the team’s goals. If the offense is only working through one or two guys it is predictable, but since these two players are great individual players, it is volatile all at the same time. Teams survive in the EPL every year by simply relying on one attacker. For a slew of years Blackburn essentially relied solely on Roque Santa Cruz for the majority of their goals, and they always managed to survive.

Mastering Prop Bets

A popular proposition bet asks a player to place a wager on what player will score the next goal in a match. The thing about soccer is that when a striker is hot, he often becomes unstoppable. Placing wagers on who will score the next goal is very difficult if you do not know much about the individual players on the field. Looking at the way a team is playing also helps when determining the next goal scorer.

With the addition of Live Betting to a lot of soccer betting sites it is easier to determine who may score the next goal. If the star player is being heavily marked, it may be wiser to bet on one of his wing man or supporting midfielders to score the next goal. Using proposition bets while using Live Betting is also a great way to bet on things like what team will have the next corner or which team will reach 5 corners first. If one team is dominating and relentlessly attacking it will become easy to see that they are more likely to reach 5 corners first. It also helps if you know the team you are betting on, how many corners a team earns is really dependant on how they attack.

Bet On Streakers

Betting on a streaking team is always smart because like a lot of other aspects of soccer, going on streaks is essential. Even if they streaking team is going for first place, maybe they are trying to move into a European qualifying spot, the streaking team is great to bet on. When a team goes on a streak it usually means they have found a groove of play that is helping them defeat consecutive opponents. When a soccer team has a solid attack along with a solid defense they will be tough to beat.

In a lot of cases in soccer, to move up the table a team has no choice but to go on a streak. The point system is to blame for that. A win is 3 points but a tie is only 1. A team that keeps tying may not be losing but they will be dropping down the table. The only way to win is to go on streaks, and once on a streak it is important to maintain that same style of play. Streaking teams are especially smart to bet on during tournaments and competitions too.

Play It Smart

If you bet on soccer by playing it smart you can expect to steadily make some money but never really make a large amount at one time. If you consciously look at the money line and the over/under of games before you bet on, you can make a pretty solid educated guess. If a team is near the top of the league and is playing a league bottom feeder, it can easily be seen how the better placed team will win. This works better on games where the teams are both mid table, that way there will not usually be a heavy favorite. This way of betting requires you to know about the teams you are betting on. If you go into a game blindly relying on the money line you cannot ever be sure of a win. If you are going to be betting on soccer it is probably a good idea to educate yourself about the teams in the league anyway. Knowing their styles of play and key players plays an integral part in deciding who to place a wager on.