Football Betting Strategy: Secondary Markets Explained

Richie Delaney

August 16th, 2021

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These days, bookmakers are focused on giving the punter as many opportunities to bet as possible, and we see that in evidence with such diverse football betting markets as ‘first goal to be an own goal’, ‘who will register a clean sheet’ and ‘who will concede a penalty’. Here are some of the many options outside of win markets that are available online.

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'Draw No Bet' and ‘Double Chance’ Markets

If you try to navigate yourself around football betting markets offered by the best online bookmakers, it is difficult to know where to start. However, the markets themselves are pretty self-explanatory. If you are browsing Premier League betting odds, for example, and want to place a bet on Chelsea to beat West Ham, but without there being the chance of a draw, then you can use the ‘draw no bet’ market. If you think that Chelsea will either win or draw at full-time then you can bet on the ‘double chance’ market, which gives you both options, although at a diminished price.

‘Win to Nil’ and 'Correct Score' Market

If you feel that Chelsea are going to win without their opposition scoring, then the best market to use is the ‘win to nil’ market, which allows you to bet on Chelsea not conceding a goal. Predicting the correct score is a very popular market among punters, too; as its name suggests, you are required to guess the correct score at the end of the match. The odds for this market are usually very good, because predicting the outcome is almost pure guesswork.

'Goalscorer' Markets

Goals and goalscorer markets can pay off well when approached correctly. Predicting the first goal scorer can be difficult, seeing as there will be a chance of any one of eight or nine players likely to get on the score sheet. Of course, theoretically, any one of twenty-two players can score, but there is less chance of a defender scoring than a forward, for example. This, along with ‘anytime scorer’, ‘first to score for their team’, ‘last goal scorer’, and ‘first to score two or more goals’ each follow the same pattern: odds are offered by bookmakers for each respective outcome and you simply bet on whichever development you think will happen. This is a secondary market that’s always worth a look at when considering a punt.

'Half-Time / Full-Time' Market

Estimating the correct score at half-time and full-time is also a popular option, as is guessing who you will think will be ahead at both stages. For all these secondary football betting markets, the odds provided are bound to be better than the straight ‘win-draw-lose’, so it is worth hunting around for the market that suits you best.

Top Goalscorer betting is available on plenty of football leagues and tournaments. To win on any League Top Scorer market, you simply pick the player who is going to score the most goals throughout that particular campaign.

It could be the Premier League Top Scorer, it could be the Champions League Top Scorer, or it might even be a tournament like the World Cup - where you’re betting on who will win perhaps the most coveted Golden Boot of them all.

Cards Markets

Bookmakers have sections devoted to “Cards” when it comes to the pre-match betting markets and these type of markets also lend themselves well to In-Play betting.

The first card betting market you’ll generally see is “Number of Cards in Match” which is a straight choice between Over / Under a certain number of cards.

For a standard game, you might expect the line to be 2.5 cards, although it could be a good deal higher for a match such as a derby or one involving teams with poor disciplinary records. You can also bet on a particular player to be booked.

This is a really fun market where you’re literally picking out someone who is going to have a card brandished in his direction during the course of the game. You might see the favourite trading at around 3/1 although several players generally trade at the 9/2 mark which can represent a decent return.

We then have something called Card Handicap where you can bet on which team will get the most cards and there are also markets such as Asian Total Cards, First Card Received, Time of First Card, Team Cards, First 10 Minutes and Red Card in the Match.

The Sack Race Market

This market is available for some off-pitch betting. Dubbed 'The Sack Race', top bookmakers take bets on which manager will be next to fall on his sword or pushed out the door. Even though the market is colloquially known as ‘The Sack Race’, you may often find it more formally named as ‘Next Manager to Leave’ at your preferred bookie.

The average tenure of a Premier League manager has plummeted in recent years as a result of the increasingly cut-throat nature of the business. Relegation can prove financially catastrophic for a top-flight club and owners with little patience now sack their managers with alarming regularity when results go south.

At the other end of the table, failure to achieve a top-four finish to qualify for the Champions League can also doom managers at elite clubs, ensuring that the managerial merry-go-round becomes a fascinating feature of every season.

The sack race has, therefore, become an extremely popular market for those interested in Premier League betting. It can be an extremely lucrative one, and it is worth paying close attention to the rumblings of discontent among fans at all the struggling sides.