How to Bet on Soccer: Markets, Odds and Stats from 17,937 Matches
October 23, 2026
Soccer betting is betting on football matches: which team wins, how many goals are scored, whether both teams score, the exact score, and side markets such as corners and cards. Unlike basketball or tennis, a football match can end level, so the main market has three outcomes: home win, draw and away win. This guide explains how to bet on soccer, how soccer betting odds work, the markets on a Premier League match and how they are settled, with figures from 17,937 matches in Europe’s top five leagues from 2016-17 to 2025-26.
How a soccer bet is settled
- 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Full-time markets are settled on regular time. Extra time and penalty shoot-outs do not count, so a cup tie that is 1-1 after 90 minutes is a draw for a 1X2 bet, whoever goes through.
- “To qualify” and “winner” markets are the exception: 22bet’s rules put them in a separate group that does include extra time and penalties.
- Abandoned matches: under 22bet’s rules at least 80 minutes have to be played for a bet to stand, except for bets already decided when the match was stopped.
- Postponed matches: a match postponed by more than 48 hours is void and the stake is returned; in an accumulator that leg counts at odds of 1.
Soccer betting odds explained
Most bookmakers outside the US and UK show decimal odds: the total return for each unit staked, stake included. A 22bet Premier League price list for Ipswich Town v Nottingham Forest showed:
| Selection | Odds | Return on 100 | Implied chance (1 ÷ odds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ipswich Town (1) | 3.175 | 317.50 | 31.5% |
| Draw (X) | 3.44 | 344.00 | 29.1% |
| Nottingham Forest (2) | 2.232 | 223.20 | 44.8% |
| Total | 105.4% |
The three implied chances add up to more than 100%, and the extra 5.4% is the bookmaker’s margin. Across the 17,937 matches in our data, the average bookmaker 1X2 price carried a margin of 4.9%. US sportsbooks quote the same price in American odds: 2.232 is +123 (a 100 stake wins 123), and a price below 2.00 is shown with a minus sign, such as −150 for 1.67. The Asian odds guide covers the Hong Kong, Malay and Indonesian formats.
Soccer betting markets
That Premier League match carried 506 selections in its main event, plus separate events for each half, corners, yellow cards, player statistics and specials. The main markets:
| Market | What the bet is on |
|---|---|
| 1X2 (match result) | Home win, draw or away win after 90 minutes. |
| Double chance | Two of the three results in one bet: 1X, X2 or 12. At Ipswich v Forest: 1X 1.684, 12 1.34, X2 1.385. |
| Draw no bet | A bet on one team in which a draw returns the stake. It is the same as a handicap of 0. |
| Handicap | A team’s score with goals added or taken away, including Asian quarter lines such as −0.25 or +0.75. |
| Total goals (over/under) | Over or under a number of goals scored by both teams, such as 2.5, and Asian lines such as 2.25. |
| Team totals | Over or under a number of goals scored by one team. |
| Both teams to score | Yes if each team scores at least once. At Ipswich v Forest: Yes 1.59, No 2.24. |
| Correct score | The exact final score after 90 minutes. |
| Half-time / full-time | The result at half-time and at full-time together, nine combinations. |
| Half markets | Result, handicap and total for the first or second half alone. |
| Corners and cards | Totals, handicaps and races for corners and yellow cards. |
| Player markets | Goalscorers and player statistics. |
Several selections from different matches can be combined in one accumulator, and most markets stay open during the match as in-play betting.
Home wins, draws and goals in Europe’s top leagues
| League | Matches | Home win | Draw | Away win | Goals per match | Over 2.5 | BTTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | 3,800 | 44.6% | 23.2% | 32.1% | 2.83 | 54.4% | 52.8% |
| La Liga | 3,800 | 45.5% | 26.2% | 28.3% | 2.62 | 48.0% | 51.5% |
| Serie A | 3,800 | 41.9% | 25.5% | 32.5% | 2.74 | 52.6% | 53.9% |
| Bundesliga | 3,060 | 44.2% | 24.8% | 30.9% | 3.10 | 59.8% | 58.8% |
| Ligue 1 | 3,477 | 43.9% | 25.2% | 30.8% | 2.73 | 51.8% | 52.4% |
| All five | 17,937 | 44.0% | 25.0% | 30.9% | 2.79 | 53.1% | 53.7% |
Seasons 2016-17 to 2025-26, 90 minutes only. One match in four was a draw, and the average bookmaker price for the draw was 4.08. The Bundesliga, with 18 clubs and 306 matches a season, is the highest-scoring of the five; La Liga is the lowest. In 2020-21, when most matches were played without crowds, the home win rate fell to 39.9%, from 44.0% over the ten seasons. Over 1.5 goals came up in 77.0% of matches and over 3.5 in 30.6%; 6.6% ended 0-0.
The most common correct scores
1-1 was the most common final score, in 11.9% of matches, ahead of 1-0 (9.3%), 2-1 (8.9%), 0-1 (7.1%), 2-0 (7.0%) and 1-2 (6.9%). Most matches are close: 37.6% were won by exactly one goal, as many as were won by two or more (37.4%), and the rest were draws.
How often the favourite wins
The favourite is the team with the shorter price. Using the average bookmaker price before kick-off:
| Favourite’s odds | Matches | Favourite won | Draw | Chance implied by the price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Below 1.50 | 3,761 | 75.9% | 15.7% | 76.4% |
| 1.50 to 1.99 | 6,233 | 56.5% | 24.8% | 57.8% |
| 2.00 to 2.49 | 6,010 | 43.5% | 28.6% | 44.8% |
| 2.50 to 3.49 | 1,912 | 36.8% | 32.6% | 38.5% |
| All | 17,916 | 54.1% | 25.0% |
In every band the favourite won 0.5 to 1.7 percentage points less often than its price implied, because the price includes the bookmaker’s margin, and the closer the match, the more often it ended level. The 20 matches priced as exact co-favourites, and one with no prices, are left out.
Half-time and full-time
44.1% of goals were scored in the first half, and 40.5% of matches were level at half-time. The team leading at half-time went on to win 74.0% of the time. The most common half-time/full-time results:
| Half-time / full-time | Share of matches |
|---|---|
| Home / Home | 26.4% |
| Away / Away | 17.6% |
| Draw / Home | 14.8% |
| Draw / Draw | 14.7% |
| Draw / Away | 11.0% |
| Home / Draw | 5.2% |
| Away / Draw | 5.1% |
| Away / Home | 2.8% |
| Home / Away | 2.3% |
Before you bet on soccer
- Check the period. Full-time markets end at 90 minutes plus stoppage time; only “to qualify” and “winner” markets count extra time and penalties.
- Read the line. A handicap or total on a half (2.5) cannot push, a whole number (2) can be refunded, and a quarter line (2.25) splits the stake across two lines.
- Know what the price says. Odds of 2.00 imply a 50% chance before the margin; the table above shows how close prices have been to actual results.
Every season figure above describes hundreds of matches and says nothing certain about the next one. Sports betting is for adults 18 and over. Set a budget before you bet and stop when it is used up.
22bet
20Bet
Soccer Betting FAQ
How do you bet on soccer?
Pick a match and a market, such as the 1X2 result, total goals or both teams to score, and enter your stake. A decimal price shows the total return per unit staked: a 10 bet at 2.20 returns 22 if it wins.
Does extra time count in soccer betting?
No for full-time markets: they are settled on 90 minutes plus stoppage time, and extra time and penalties do not count. Markets on which team qualifies or wins a trophy do include them.
How do soccer betting odds work?
Decimal odds are the return per unit staked, stake included: 3.00 returns 300 on a 100 stake. One divided by the odds gives the implied chance, 33.3% at 3.00. The implied chances of all outcomes add up to more than 100%; the excess is the bookmaker’s margin.
What is the most common score in soccer?
1-1, in 11.9% of 17,937 matches in Europe’s top five leagues from 2016-17 to 2025-26, followed by 1-0 (9.3%) and 2-1 (8.9%).
How often do soccer matches end in a draw?
In 25.0% of matches in the top five leagues over ten seasons, from 23.2% in the Premier League to 26.2% in La Liga.
How often does the home team win in soccer?
In 44.0% of top-five-league matches from 2016-17 to 2025-26. The away team won 30.9%.
What is double chance in soccer betting?
A bet that covers two of the three results: home or draw (1X), draw or away (X2), or either team to win (12). It wins if either result comes up, at a lower price than each result alone.
What does over 2.5 goals mean?
The bet wins if three or more goals are scored in the match. Over 2.5 came up in 53.1% of top-five-league matches over ten seasons, from 48.0% in La Liga to 59.8% in the Bundesliga.