Football research and analysis is vital if you want to succeed with your betting in 2019.
Despite the importance, bettors are often unsure of what football research to do and the best methods to use.
But not to worry. In this article, we’ll look at the key things to analyse, the best strategies to employ and what this means for your football betting.
Let’s get started.
The popularity of football betting
You probably don’t need me to tell you that betting on football is incredibly popular in the UK and Europe.
In Britain alone, £250 is bet on football every second. When you add in Europe and other countries around the world this soon becomes a ridiculous number!
It just goes to show how popular betting on football really is.
Football punters are often on the lookout for ways to increase the number of winning bets they place.
Whilst there are various strategies you can employ to win more footy bets, one of the best methods is research and analysis.
It’s a proven fact that bettors who complete football research are more likely to win their bets than those who bet on gut instinct.
So just how important is football analysis in 2019 and beyond?
Football research and analysis
Let’s not dodge the bullet, placing winning bets on a regular basis is not easy and don’t believe anyone who says it is.
If it was, everyone would be winning football bets.
However, if you invest time and effort, you can increase your chances of placing winning bets more often.
That’s where football research and analysis comes into its own.
So we know research and analysis is crucial for your betting strategy, but what should you look for?
Key areas to research
One of the main questions you’re probably asking is what areas you need to research and analyse?
The aim is to find valuable markets where you think the bookmakers have overpriced the odds.
Whilst these markets don’t come around too often, it’s important you spot the opportunities and act quickly when they do.
Here are three areas you should definitely consider when researching your football bets:
- Recent form
- Head to head results
- Team news and injuries
Let’s check out each of these in more detail.
Recent form
To kick off your football research I recommend you start with recent form and latest performances.
Looking at recent results and overall performances is one of the best ways to assess how good a team really is.
If you can avoid it, don’t just look at results as they can sometimes be deceiving. A team may get a result on paper but perform poorly in the game.
You might be wondering how far back you should consider a team’s form. In short, the longer the better. I would say the minimum is the start of the current season.
Overall, looking into the recent form of a team is one of the best bits of research you can do for your football betting.
It gives you a great insight into how a team is performing and whether they are worth betting on.
Head to head results
Another aspect you should consider in your football research is head to head results.
Sometimes recent form is thrown out the window when it comes to certain fixtures. This is especially the case when fierce rivals play each other.
The Manchester Derby is a great example. These games don’t often play out as you’d expect.
On the other hand, a team may have a great run of results but their next fixture is against a bogey team that they don’t often perform well against.
This is the kind of information you can analyse when looking at previous meetings.
Whilst you shouldn’t always rely on head to head data, it still gives you a good idea of how teams perform against each other.
Team news and injuries
There’s no denying it, team selection and injuries can play a big part in the outcome of a fixture.
That means it’s vital for you to keep a close eye on this information.
Teams can look and perform very differently with certain players included or missing.
For example, let’s say Harry Kane will miss a fixture for Tottenham. You’d probably determine their chances of winning would be significantly reduced without their main goalscorer.
It’s also important to consider the busy schedule that many teams face. Managers often rotate their squads for midweek games so this is something to bear in mind when looking at team selections.
Furthermore, you should look at who’s going to fill in for injured or rested players. At big teams like Man City and Liverpool, they have great squad depth so player quality doesn’t drop.
However, smaller teams that play in European leagues may struggle with two games a week.
This is all information you should consider when researching your football bets.
Obviously, bookmakers have access to this information and they take this into consideration when pricing the odds.
However, you’re looking for those opportunities where there’s more value available.
How much research is enough?
How long is a piece of string?
The more football research you do, the more informed you’ll be when it comes to picking bets.
I guess it comes to down to how much you want to win your bets.
Different methods to research football bets
So what methods can you use to research your footy bets? Here are a few options:
- Watch the latest games
- Free information online
- Paid services
Watch the latest fixtures
Arguably the easiest way to research your football bets is to watch recent games.
You get a great idea of how a team are performing when watching an event live.
You don’t need to watch every game, watching highlights on MOTD is often enough. It’s also free to air, meaning no expensive subscriptions to pay for.
Free information online
If you can’t find the time to watch the latest games, you can research your football bets by reading information online.
What’s great about this method is that it’s generally free. Thankfully we live in an era when you can access an endless amount of information almost instantaneously so it doesn’t need to take that long.
You can find match reviews and previews at many different websites including the BBC, Skysports and Sporting Life to name a few.
These articles are often written by experts who know what they’re talking about, so they’re worthwhile listening to.
Paid services
Last but not least, you can also use paid services to help you research your footy bets.
These websites often gather important information and statistics to help you pick bets.
You’ll often receive tips along with graphs and an endless amount of data directly to your inbox.
There are plenty of websites out there and you can check out our review of Betballers by clicking here.
Research, research, research
As you’ve probably gathered from reading this far, research is key to success in football betting.
The more informed you are, the better bets you’re likely to place which in turn should mean more profit in the long run.
Whilst research and analysis take time and effort, it’s vital if you want to succeed with your betting strategy in 2019.
As I mentioned earlier, I guess it comes down to how much you want to win your football bets.
What research do you do before placing football bets? Let me know by leaving a comment below right now.