One of the most popular bets you can place as a football fan is an over/under. Whether it’s Sky Super Sunday or there’s a few mid-week EFL games on, people place this type of bet all the time. You can’t blame them, either, as it’s incredibly easy to do. The only slightly tricky part is navigating the countless over/under markets that are available, but we’ll talk about that a little later.
What is an Over/Under Bet in Football?
An over/under bet in football is a wager on whether a team will score over or under the specific number of goals predicted by the sportsbook. You’re not interested in who wins. Instead, it’s just about the goals that get scored.
⚽ 💰 Let’s say that Nottingham Forest are playing West Ham at home in the Premier League. You login to your sportsbook (e.g. Sky Bet) and the ‘Under’ is 0.5 goals with high odds of 16/1. If you place a bet on this and the game finishes 0-0, you win. This is because the total number of goals scored in the game was below 0.5.
However, it’s not just the number of goals that you can wager on in this type of bet. There are usually options to bet on yellow cards, corners, shots, and all other types of in-game events, too. Most of the time, though, fans tend to stick with the number of goals scored markets, with ‘Over/Under 2.5 Goals’ being the most popular one.
🎯💰 An example of one of these other markets would be if you bet on Erling Haaland to score ‘Over’ 1.5 goals against Southampton. In this case, it means you’re betting on him to score 2 or more goals. Even though it’s Haaland, one of the most prolific strikers ever in the Premier League, the odds would typically be quite high for this, as scoring over 2 goals is never a guarantee for any striker in this league.
Making sense so far? Great. No matter which team you support, it’s all about finding over/under markets that you genuinely enjoy betting on, whether you want to bet on goals scored, assists, or something completely different. But whichever you decide to go with, it’s highly recommended that you always check the odds so that you know there’s genuine value there.
For instance, if two teams are playing each other in the Championship and the ‘Over’ odds for 0.5 goals scored are 1/100, these odds are not worth it. A £10 bet here would only return £0.10, which simply isn’t worth it. This is why finding good over/under odds is incredibly important. Luckily, though, most sportsbooks do have them.
How to Win at Over/Under Betting in Football
- Get Over/Under Betting Tips
If you’re a newbie to football betting in general, it’s highly recommended you start by getting Daniel Craymer from BettingTools free over 2.5 goals tips. He’s a betting expert who has taken today’s most popular market (‘Over’ 2.5 goals) and regularly provides tips around it for upcoming games across Serie A, the Premier League, and more. The bet slips themselves are always built for you, so all you have to do is hit the ‘Bet Now’ button and you’re good to go.
Naturally, you can also find a lot of similar tips on social media these days. Because football betting is so popular, it’s led to a huge influx of betting tipsters creating accounts there. Before a big weekend of action, they’ll usually send out their over/under predictions and people can follow along with them if they want to. Some accounts you might want to check out include @JamesMurphyTips and @Footy_Tipster. And if you don’t have an account on X (formerly known as Twitter) it only takes a few seconds to sign-up.
- Make Bets Based Around Style of Play
Every single over/under bet you place should be based around style of play. It’s really simple. Once you know a team’s style of play, it helps guide your betting decisions.
Think about a team like Liverpool for a second, who’ve surprised everyone in the 2024-25 season by storming to the top of the Premier League, excelling in the Champions League, and scoring lots of goals in the process (101 in total so far). They’re playing dominant, front-foot, and highly attacking football, so betting on them to score over 1.5 goals in any game — even when they play one of the big-hitters — is generally worth it. What you wouldn’t want to do is bet on Liverpool to score under 1.5 goals in any game between now and the end of the season, as they’ve only done this twice during the entire campaign so far.
Essentially, a team’s style of play should always dictate the over/under bets you place. If a team is attacking, you should be focused on the ‘Over’ markets. But if a team is more defensive and scores very few goals, then it’s the ‘Under’ market you want.
- Look at Recent Stats for Players and Teams
Stats are your best friend when it comes to over/under betting in football. Before any game, you should do a deep dive into team and individual player stats so that you can figure out exactly where your money needs to go. Is one team on a run a 6-game run of clean sheets? Bet on the other team to score under 1.5 goals. Are two relegation favourites playing each other? Bet on under 2.5 goals? It’s all about taking stats into account, analysing them, and placing your bets accordingly. This way, you can avoid the fatal error of betting without any structure or logic, which usually leads to continuous losses.
- Time Your Bets Correctly
In football betting, the timing of your over or under bet can be vital. Sometimes, odds can be much more favourable if you place them way in advance. Remember, as a game gets closer and more bets start flying in from other people, this can cause a huge shift in the odds, so make sure to keep that in mind. And at the same time, it’s also a good idea to watch games in real-time with your own eyes (e.g. using a stream) so that you can place live bets.
- Study Referees
Lastly, another tip for winning on your over/under football bets is to study referees. Naturally, this is only something you should do when you’re betting on potentially yellow cards, red cards, or penalties, as referees have a direct influence on them.
Let’s say that Anthony Taylor is refereeing a game in the Premier League. He’s a referee with a strong reputation for giving out cards to players — and even holds the records for most yellow cards given in a Premier League match — so betting on ‘Over’ 3.5 cards in any game managed by Taylor can sometimes be worth the risk, especially if it’s a big derby or the two teams have an intense rivalry.
So, before you bet on cards or penalties, always check who the referee for the game is. Based on that referee’s history, you can then place your bet accordingly. It only takes a minute to check this information, too, which is why it’s a no-brainer.
Summary: Mastering the Over/Under Markets
Make no doubt about it, over/under bets are more than worth it when you can get them right. However, they can be tricky sometimes, so it’s important to give yourself any possible advantage that you can. A great place to start is by following the advice given in this guide, from following professional tipsters to analyzing player and team stats. And don’t be afraid to experiment with different markets, either, as over/under betting is no longer just limited to the number of goals scored. Have fun!
