What Does BTTS Mean in Betting?

Every football fan enjoys a high-scoring shootout and the both teams to score (BTTS) betting market can make these types of matches profitable for punters.

BTTS is one of the most popular types of football bets offered by betting sites. The following guide covers strategy tips and BTTS rules, so you can attack this market with confidence.

BTTS Meaning Explained

BTTS is an abbreviation of 'both teams to score' and you'll notice that many football betting sites use the abbreviated term when listing odds for this market.

You can answer 'yes' or 'no' to the BTTS betting market. 'Yes' to BTTS meaning that you are backing both teams to score and 'no' meaning that you are backing against both teams scoring.

How to Bet on BTTS

To bet on the both teams to score market, click through to the football section of a betting website and choose the match which interests you the most.

Scroll through the most popular markets until you find 'both teams to score'. In the case of a match between Manchester United and Arsenal, for example, you might see something like this:

Manchester United v Arsenal - BTTS

• Yes - 6/10

• No - 6/5

If you bet on Yes at 6/10 for this game, you need Manchester United and Arsenal to score at least one goal each. The outcome of the game doesn’t matter and you would win your bet if the match ended 5-1, 3-3, 1-1 etc.

If you bet on No at 6/5 for this game, then you need at least one of Manchester United or Arsenal to fire a blank. A goalless draw would be ideal, although a victory to nil for either side would also land you a profit with this type of BTTS bet.

The BTTS market is always popular in a World Cup year. You can find great BTTS promos and more World Cup betting offers at our recommended betting sites.

More BTTS Betting Markets

• BTTS and Win: With the BTTS and win market, you're backing both teams to score and one of the teams to win, usually at pretty decent odds. You want one team to emerge victorious but you also want their opponent to register a goal.
• Total Goals/Both Teams to Score: This type of bet combines the over/under goals market with BTTS. For example, you can back both teams to score and for there to be over 2.5 goals in a game to get higher odds. If you backed under 2.5 goals and both teams to score, you'd need a 1-1 draw for your bet to win.
• Both Teams to Score in the First Half: With this bet, you back both teams to score within the first half, or you bet against both teams scoring in the first half. The odds are usually stacked against both teams scoring in the first 45 minutes.
• Both Teams to Score in the Second Half: The odds aren't quite as stacked against both teams scoring with this market. Both teams scoring in the second half is more common than both teams scoring in the first, but 'no' will still be odds-on here.
• Both Teams to Score in Both Halves: If you select 'yes' here, you are backing both teams to notch at least one goal each in the first half AND both teams to score again in the second half. This is highly unlikely, meaning you'll get long odds if you back it and short odds if you bet against it.
• Both Teams to Score No Draw: When you back both teams to score no draw, both teams must find the net and one team must win for the bet to be successful. If you back this outcome, a 2-1 win for either team sees you landing your bet, as does 3-1, 4-1, 3-2 etc.

BTTS and Win - How to Combine Result/Both Teams to Score

Sometimes you might fancy a team to win, only to discover that their 1x2 odds are too short for you to back. At this point, it's worth exploring the BTTS and win market to boost the odds.

Let’s say Manchester United are trading at evens to beat Arsenal in the Premier League at Old Trafford. You might fancy the Red Devils but also think they’ll claim a victory as part of a high-scoring encounter against the Gunners.

You could then scroll to the BTTS and win market and back United at 11/4 to win along with both teams to score.

Alternatively, a bookie might be offering 11/4 for a Manchester United win and the 'no' option for both teams to score. This is effectively saying that United will win the game and keep a clean sheet.

BTTS Strategy Tips

Now that we've established how BTTS betting works, it's time to look at some strategy tips for the both teams to score market.

The next time you pull up your favourite betting app to place your footy bets, keep these BTTS tips in mind.

Use the Latest Football Stats to Place Your BTTS Bets

Here comes the million dollar question: how do you know which option to choose in BTTS betting? To answer this question let’s put it into context.

At the beginning of the Premier League season, it is especially difficult, as there is no data available regarding any of the teams and you only have historic stats from previous campaigns to help with your choice of BTTS bet.

However, as the campaign progresses, we have more current Premier League stats available, and we can do our homework on the BTTS market.

Sometimes it’s a simple case of going through a team’s recent matches and seeing if any patterns can be detected when looking at the previous scorelines. For example, Liverpool during the 2020/21 season had three consecutive matches that looked like this:

Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool

Everton 2-2 Liverpool

Liverpool 2-1 Sheffield United

When it came to the Reds facing West Ham in their next game, it made sense to back both teams to score - even though this would have been a less likely outcome in other seasons.

Jurgen Klopp’s side came from 1-0 down to win the game 2-1. This BTTS bet didn’t involve heavy research and was a simple case of checking prior results for clues as to what might happen in the next fixture.

Place In-Play Both Teams to Score Bets

Shrewd punters often wait for a game to kick off before deciding to place their BTTS bets, using in-play betting markets. Adopt a patient approach here and it could well pay off.

If you think about it, it makes sense considering that a manager is unlikely to divulge too many tactics before the game starts, although the formation and style of play become obvious just a few minutes into a match.

Are both teams adopting an attacking approach and carving out chances immediately? Is one side set up defensively to frustrate the opposition?

Ask yourself these questions when you watch the opening exchanges and make a judgement based on what you see. Also take a look at the early stats. Shots on target and XG (expected goals) statistics can be great indicators of whether both teams will score.

Consider Different Football Leagues for BTTS Bets

Another useful BTTS tip is to look beyond the big-name league when placing bets on this market.

It might be that you know the English Premier League inside out - but so do new betting sites. With popular leagues like the English top flight, or Spain's La Liga, you might find it hard to gain an edge with BTTS betting.

However, the good news is that there are hundreds of football leagues being played all over the world and some involve a higher average goal count than others.

Therefore, if you’re looking to place bets on the 'yes' option with the BTTS betting market, whether it's a single or accumulator, then it pays to consider some of the lower leagues or more obscure European leagues, where you might be able to detect a pattern.

It’s effectively spreading your net wider in search of a profit and many punters are able to catch an early price and profit this way.