When it comes to certain markets, the fact that it is extremely difficult to figure out what is going to happen means that the odds that you’ll be offered are likely to be much higher than other bets.
You might be convinced that Liverpool are going to beat Everton in the Merseyside derby, for example, but the odds on the Match Result will be lower than, say, a 2-0 win in the Correct Score market. That is what makes it a tricky thing to bet on; the fact that you need to be specific in the wager that you’re placing. If you’re right, your bet wins, but if you’re wrong it loses.
Correct Score Betting Explained
The Correct Score market is arguably one of the easiest to understand, perhaps only March Result wagers. You are literally trying to guess what the score will be at the end of the 90 minutes of football. If you’re right then your bet will be a winner and you’ll be paid out on it, whilst if you’re wrong then you won’t and your stake will be lost. For this type of bet, the only thing that matters is the score at the end of the game, which means that the manner in which those goals are scored is irrelevant. They could be penalties or screamers – it’s irrelevant.
That means that, unlike with some other bets, you don’t need to worry about the goals being own goals. Provided they are given and are therefore included in the tally at the end of the match, they will count towards your bet. In other words, if you bet on the Correct Score being 3-1 and three own goals are scored for one team and one own goal is scored for the other, your bet will be a winner as long as they were scored for the teams that you predicted. It is handy to consider what it is that you think the score will be and go from there, but remember it is a difficult bet to get right.
Do Your Research
If you’re planning on betting on the Correct Score market, you’d be silly not to do plenty of research beforehand. As mentioned, this is an incredibly tricky market to bet on, so if you were to go into it just ‘using your gut’ then the likelihood is that you’ll lose your bet. Intuition is not a sensible thing to use when placing bets at the best of times, let alone when it comes to one of the most difficult markets out there. The good news is that there is plenty of information available that you can turn to when you’re doing your research to give yourself the best possible chance.
Defensive Records
The first thing that you’ll want to do is to have a look at whether the two teams involved have good or bad defensive records. This information can go alongside similar research into what both teams are like defensively in order to give you a sense of whether or not to bet on a lot of goals or not many. Next up, do some research into the form of the main attacking and defensive players for each team; is there a main striker missing or has the goalkeeper got an injury? Take this into consideration when placing your bets, but bear in mind that high scores aren’t as common as you think.
Fewer Goals Common
We all like to imagine that football matches are full of goals, but in reality many of them aren’t and it is just the fact that goals still in our heads and high-scoring matches standout that allows us to think that goals happen all of the time. During the 2021-2022 campaign, for example, 0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 1-1, 2-0, 0-2, 2-1 and 1-2 accounted for 225 of the 380 final scores achieved that season. In other words, more than 59% of the games that took place during the season finished with fewer than three goals having been scored. That is not something that many people betting on the Correct Score would think about.
Knowing the Teams
If you want to have the best chance of doing well with your bet, you will want to combine a wealth of research with some knowledge about what to expect from a football match. High-scoring, Manchester City, playing against a team that has the worst defence in the league might well win 5-0, for example, but two mid-table teams that have struggled for goals all season are unlikely to be involved in a seven goal thriller. Bearing that in mind when you’re placing your bet will increase your likelihood of having a decent bet, but remember it is a tough market to get right.