There are many betting types to choose from during a football match. While a bettor, your job is to be aware of all available betting options, markets and which have the highest winning average. If we compare two betting experts, we will see that one is best prepared for a specific market, for instance the “corners” market, while the other feels more comfortable in the “Asian handicaps” market. Therefore, to begin with, it is important to know which market you tend to better adapt, in order to totally focus your betting strengths on it. In this tutorial we will talk about the “Both teams to score” betting strategy, which may represent an excellent opportunity to win with sports betting.

“Both teams to score” mathematics

In order to perform a detailed analysis on this betting strategy, we will use the following competitions:

  • Premier League 2012-2013
  • La Liga 2012-2013
  • Ligue 1 2012-2013
  • Serie A 2012-2013

The Premier League numbers: from 380 matches, in 204 both teams scored, about 54%.

The La Liga (Spanish professional league) numbers: from 380 matches, in 203 both teams scored, about 53%

The Ligue 1 (French professional league) numbers: from 380 matches, in 182 both teams scored, about 48%

The Serie A (Italian professional league) numbers: from 380 matches, in 192 both teams scored, about 50%

When comparing a simple bet that gives us the chance of Team A or Team B to win or draw (which represents a mathematical 33% odd), one of the “Both teams to score” greatest advantage is the 50% winning chance by choosing “yes” or “no”. Beside this odd above average, in a bookmaker such as Bet365 the average, in fact, goes from 1,55 up to 1,85. If we set an average of 1.67, we can say it is an excellent odd for a 50% winning chance.

Some bettors may argue that simple bets can reach up to 2.50 for the team to win, or even 5.00 for a not favourite team to win being the guest team, however, we know that the changes to hit the guess is low, since beside the draw and the other team winning (which reduces the odds to 33%), we know beforehand that it is much easier to analyze a match where “Both teams to score” than the win of a guest team, which is not the favourite and presents a 5.00 odd. Therefore, considering the winning chances, the odd values and the chance to make a simple analysis, we concluded that “Both teams to score” market has plenty potential to be exploited.

Practical example of live odds fluctuations

Lets follow a practical example of the Spanish Super Cup match between Atl Madrid and Barcelona. Keep in mind that before betting all bettors should have already performed their analysis in order to be prepared for betting in this market. We don’t recommend any bettor to simply follow a match without analyzing it previously. This means it will be driven by the odds value and nothing else.

When the match started the odds for “Both teams to score” where 1.57 for Yes and 2.25 for No, as the following image shows:

Atl Madrid v Barcelona opening

Shortly after the match started, the Atl Madrid offensive force surprised Barcelona’s not inspired middle filed. Thus, “Both teams to score” odds rose quickly, not only due to the amazing Atl Madrid players’ shape in front of their supporters, but also because Barcelona had come from a landslide winning against the Levante and scored 7 goals on that single match. Therefore, both teams to score on this match was pretty much likely. Almost at 10′ the odds were 1.72 for “Both teams to score”, as you can see in the following image:

Atl Madrid-Barcelona Live

In fact, at the 12′ David Villa scored an outstanding goal and only at the 66′ the new joiner Neymar scored for Barcelona and the match ended up with a draw. Actually, it is not always recommended to wait for the odds to rise, however, whenever you analyze the match and feel it is likely that both teams will score, you should consider to bet on live.

Another “Both teams to score” huge advantage

Another interesting aspect is that we know that sometimes a goal can completely change a football match, which, for instance, forces managers to replace players, switching a defender over a striker, in order to allow the team to be more offensive. The “Both teams to score” gives us the chance to take advantage of these matches turnovers, in order to get an excellent odd, when one of the teams have already scored, and the other didn’t. Lets see the following two examples, where one of the teams scored:

PSV-AC Milan

Lyon-Real Sociedad

As it was mentioned above, you must not only analyze the match you intend to bet on, but also the specific betting market you will have to pay attention while it occurs. We can see that both matches were still at the half-time, meaning there was enough time to the other teams to score too. If we look to the PSV V AC Milan match, we knew PSV had won the Eredivise League (Dutch professional League) previous 3 matches, scoring 11 goals. Therefore, since there was still the entire second-half to be played, taking advantage of a “Both teams to score” odd of 1.66 would be a great option, since in fact, PSV’s striker Tim Matavž scored 1 goal at 60′. 

When to bet on “Both teams to score”

As mentioned before, it is require to analyze the matches before its start, to understand if this market may succeed. Lets see some relevant factors to consider in your analysis:

  • What is your team’s game scheme and style? The 4-3-3 defines an attack team, while a 5.4.1 presents a much more defensive one.
  • Which are the suspended players? In this case, it would be amazing to find an analysis mentioning that one of the teams would play with an alternate goalkeeper or with an absence defense.
  • How does the team performs in front of the supporters and how does the guest team is used to perform at outside matches? This is an extremely important aspect to be analysed, since many teams widely vary their game style depending on the atmosphere they will play on.
  • What is the match context? Both teams are fighting for a title? Is it the championship final stage? Is it a classic?
  • Good teams as guests facing middle table teams that play at home are, as a rule, good matches to be analyzed. A good example is the Premier League 2012-2013 final standings, where the four first table teams, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal scored 20 goals in their first four matches as guest teams. While at the end of the table the four worst teams, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Wigan Athlectic and Sunderland in their matches as guests scored only 15 goals.
  • Does the team have a good striker? A Top goalscorer? Regarding the teams mentioned above, for instance the Manchester United have Robin van Persie as a top goalscorer, the Manchester City the amazing Edin Džeko, Chelsea the outstanding Frank Lampard and finally the Theo Walcott from the Arsenal.

With this data, it is extremely easy to analyze a match at the “Both teams to score”, furthermore at the Premier League where, as a rule, the teams score many goals.

Conclusion

The “Both teams to score” is a market that deserves to be well studied and prepared, since it is an amazing opportunity to win. If you properly analyze your matches and follow all mentioned tips, for sure you can count on a pretty positive payback. As mentioned before, your starting point odds are 50%/ 50%. However, if you analyze and study the matches previously, you increase your winning odds.

Enjoy your bets!