Betting Corner - Over/Under Goals Explained

BETTING ADVICE - The over/under bet is a simple bet offered by bookmakers which allows you to bet on whether or not there will be more or less goals than a set number of goals determined by the bookmaker. Usually, the bookmaker will set the goal level at 2.5 goals. With the over/under football bet, because the bookmaker usually adds half a goal onto their goal quote, there are only two outcomes: either the total of goals is under 2.5 or over 2.5 goals.

The odds offered for over/under goals bets depends on the odds of each team in the outright match betting. If there is a large gulf in class between the two teams playing, it is fair to assume that there is a stronger likelihood of more goals being scored. But even not taking this into account, generally speaking the 'over' price will always be the shorter of the two prices, and the 'under' price will be bigger (e.g. over 2.5 goals might be 8/13, and under 2.5 goals 6/5).

Betting the over/under market is worth considering only when your homework on a match suggests that there might be an extreme result, by which we mean you believe that there will be very few goals or lots of goals. If for example there is a match where you believe each team has a very mean defence, and you think that the bookies have not taken this into account enough when compiling their over/under prices, then betting under 2.5 goals might be worth considering. Similarly, if the match is contested by two teams whose defences are suspect, or are weakened by the absence of key defenders, then a bet over 2.5 goals might be worth considering if you feel the bookies have not fully accounted for this.

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