Soccer is the most popular sport to watch and to bet on. You can bet on Major League Soccer (MLS), European leagues (Champions League, English Premier League, Italy Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1), Liga MX and the World Cup. The whole world is betting on soccer!
Here's what you need to know to get in on the fun with the rest of the globe.
How to Bet Soccer
Plenty of betting options exist with several online betting sites offering odds for every matchup. We’ll help explain the different types of soccer bets from moneylines, spreads and totals and more advanced betting markets like parlays and Asian handicaps.
We'll show you how to bet on all of them.
Odds Shark's Soccer Computer Picks
Moneyline
All you need to do for a moneyline bet is pick one team to win or for the match to end in a draw. A soccer bettor will see moneyline odds at any soccer betting site that are laid out like this:
| Manchester City | -140 |
| Chelsea | +330 |
| Draw | +305 |
The minus sign (-) in a moneyline bet represents the favorite. The plus sign (+) in a moneyline bet represents the underdog. This will be the case across all sportsbooks, although on occasion (depending on the matchup), all three lines in a three-way moneyline bet could be plus money (+).
Using the above example, if you think England will be victorious and you bet $100 on them, you would receive a payout of $171.43 - your initial $100 back plus $71.43 of winnings. If you believe France will come out on top and you bet $100, you'd receive a payout of $430. You would receive your initial $100 back plus your winnings of $330.
Totals (Over/Under)
Totals betting is when you bet on the number of goals scored by the two teams and whether the total goals will be OVER or UNDER the sportsbook’s prediction.
A full-game soccer bet is official at the completion of 90 minutes of play as well as injury time unless otherwise indicated on the sports sheets or oddsboards.
If the goals total is set at 2.5 goals for a match, and you believe the combined score for both teams will be three goals or more, you would bet the OVER. If you believe the combined score for both teams will be two goals or less, you would bet the UNDER.
Spread
In point spread betting, the oddsmaker adjusts the goal lines so that the underdog gets an advantage in the match. The dog will typically be given +0.5 goals prior to the start of the match. The favorite will begin with -0.5 goals. Soccer betting odds for spread bets would look something like this at an online sports betting site:
| Team | Moneyline Odds | Spread Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | -140 | -0.5 (-110) |
| Chelsea | +330 | +0..5 (-110) |
| Draw | +305 |
If you bet on the underdog at +0.5 goals, you would win your bet only if your team wins the game or the match ends in a draw. If your team loses the game outright, you'd lose your bet.
Player And Team Props
A proposition bet is a wager based on occurrences or non-occurrences during a match. These incidents may not affect the outcome of the match or even the final score, unlike point spreads, totals or straight-up bets.
Prop bets are what we call novelty bets because they can consist of individual player or team milestones. Prop betting involves bets made on practically anything related to a soccer match, and can range from:
- • How many red cards will Tottenham be given?
- • Which team will be scored on first?
- • How many goals will be scored in the first half?
- • How many goals will Harry Kane score?
- • How many shots will Son Heung-min get on net?
Now that we have provided you with some soccer betting strategies and a few soccer betting tips and helped you understand how to bet on soccer, the rest is up to you. Best of luck with all your soccer wagers.
Futures
A futures wager is ideal if you’re looking to make long-term soccer bets. You could bet on which club will win the European Championship or you could bet on which player will be the league MVP.
The one problem with betting on futures odds, especially if you make large bets on favorites to win the tournament, is that your money could be tied up for the length of the season.
Odds Shark's Soccer Futures
Advanced Soccer Betting Options
Now that you understand and have mastered the basics of soccer betting, let's take a look at some more advanced ways to bet on soccer. That's parlays, live betting, and Asian handicaps. All are more advanced but highly popular ways to bet on the sport.
Parlays
A parlay allows you to combine multiple bets into a single ticket. While a parlay increases the potential payout, the risk grows along with it. Each leg of the parlay has to hit for the whole ticket to cash.
For example, let's say you combine these three bets for a game between Manchester City and Chelsea into a +400 same-game parlay:
| Parlay Legs | Odds |
|---|---|
| Manchester City To Win | -140 |
| Erling Haaland To Score At Any Time | -110 |
| Both Teams To Score | -150 |
| Parlay Odds | +400 |
For the +400 parlay to cash out, City must win, Haaland has to score at any point in the game and both teams have to score at least once. If any of the three legs miss, the bet fails and you lose the bet. High risk, but high reward -- you can see how much you'd win on a multi-leg bet with our parlay calculator.
Live Betting
Live betting allows you to wager on the game after the puck has been dropped. Rather than sportsbooks guessing at the outcome, the live odds are based on how the game is going!
City might have been favorites before the game, but if they allow a goal in the first 10 minutes, Pep's men might quickly be dogs on the moneyline. And with plenty of game time left, there's plenty of time for the Sky Bue to turn it around. That's found value, my friends.
Asian Handicap Betting
Like the runline in baseball or the puckline in hockey, Asian Handicapping does not include the draw as a betting option while giving an advantage to the underdog.
The oddsmaker creates the spread with two options and not three. When the draw is taken out, it gives each team a 50 percent chance of winning.
| Your Wager | Full Win | Partial Win | Full Loss | Partial Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -0.25 | Win by 1 Or More | Lose By 1 Or More | Draw | |
| +0.25 | Win by 1 Or More | Draw | Lose By 1 Or More | |
| -0.5 | Win by 1 Or More | Lose By 1 Or More Or Draw | ||
| +0.5 | Win By 1 Or More Or Draw | Lose By 1 Or More | ||
| -0.75 | Win by 2 Or More | Win By 1 | Lose By 1 Or More Or Draw | |
| +0.75 | Win By 1 Or More Or Draw | Lose By 2 Or More | Lose By 1 | |
| -1.0 | Win By 2 Or More | Lose By 1 Or More Or Draw | ||
| +1.0 | Win By 1 Or More Or Draw | Lose By 2 Or More |
While it may be somewhat confusing at first, Asian Handicap soccer betting is a really great way to help reduce risk when learning how to bet on the sport.
Typical wagers give bettors a one-in-three chance to win. The Asian Handicap offers a one-in-two chance to win.
Where To Bet On Soccer
Our experts have done all of the heavy lifting for you. We've broken down all of the sportsbooks out there and ranked them based on a number of factors such as which ones have the best odds, reliability and features or promotions. See our review to get all of the information you need to find the right book for you.
Soccer Betting Tips & Strategies
There are a number of ways to handicap soccer games, we'll give you a few of our favorite ways to do so.
Strategy #1: Recent Performances
There's nothing more telling of future performances than recent performances. A dip in form over a team's last five games could indicate a systemic issue that could last for some time. Conversely, a bad team that's picked up a number of wins or has gone unbeaten in their last five could might not be the dog the odds suggest they are.
Strategy #2: Injury Report
Before putting a bet on any game, you need to know how's out. If a team is without a talismanic striker that's scored over a third of their goals, maybe don't be so keen to bet them on the moneyline.
Strategy #3: Scheduling Advantage
Some teams just don't know how to play on the road, while others play at Fort Never-Lose. You have to know when the bad road team visits the strong home team.
International Tournaments
Best-on-best tournaments are something soccer does best. National teams are constantly facing off against each other in massive tournaments. And we cover each of them!
World Cup
Every four years all of the best go head-to-head at the World Cup to sort out who's the top dog in the sport. Argentina won the last World Cup in 2022, and we had you covered with computer picks and odds all along the way in Qatar.
Euro
In the two years between the World Cup, all of Europe meets to settle regional bragging rights. For the 2024 Euro, Odds Shark gives you daily live shows dissecting odds, groups, and our picks. We're going to be a one-stop shop for all of your Euro betting needs.
Copa America
The Copa America is the oldest international soccer tournament in the world. Just like the Euro's the Copa takes place in the two years between World Cups. The 2024 Copa is a special one because it includes both North and South America.
The Odds Shark team is covering the 2024 Copa from opening kickoff to the finals with a daily live show, expert picks, breaking down all of the odds for all of the games, as well as group predictions.
