English Premier League Betting Guide
Navigate the world of Premier League betting with our expert guide, covering formats, markets, and winning strategies.
Last updated: August 28, 2023
The Premier League is the elite class of English football (soccer). It is the most popular soccer league globally, and it has grown in the last several years following the capital investments in pretty much all big football clubs in the competition.
After all, English clubs have featured in the UEFA Champions League final (the continent’s flagship event for clubs) in all but one of the previous six years, a run that includes an all-English final between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in 2018/19.
As such, the English Premier League (EPL) naturally also attracts the biggest betting action both in England and across the planet. The number of fans has been on the rise in the United States for years now, being on a great path to climb the Top 5 list when it comes to the most popular sports in the country.
Now that more states have embraced legal sports betting in the US, Americans will be keen to place wagers on the world’s strongest football league. Our comprehensive guide has everything you need to know before starting your soccer betting adventure with the English Premier League.
What is the English Premier League?
The English Premier League, often called the EPL, is England’s top-tier professional football (soccer) league. It features 20 of the best football clubs in the country competing in a season-long tournament. Known for its global popularity, the EPL showcases high-quality matches and intense rivalries, making it one of the most-watched and competitive leagues worldwide.
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English Premier League Format
The current Premier League format was born in 1992 when the clubs parted ways with the Football League (which controlled the entire professional soccer in the country up until then).
The top tier of English football was renamed into the FA Premier League. Back at the time, it had 24 teams. The number was reduced to 20 before the 1994/95 campaign and has never changed.
The competition itself uses a double round-robin system. Each of the 20 teams faces every other outfit in the league twice during a season, with one fixture at home and one away. Thus, Every team plays 38 matches in a regular season, totaling 380 games during an entire season. The season usually kicks off in August and lasts until May.
The scoring system is different from the US professional leagues. There are no overtimes in Premier League games, meaning three different outcomes are possible. Teams get three points for a win, one for a tie, and zero for a defeat. The outfit with the most points at the end of the campaign earns the trophy.
When two or more sides have identical points after 38 rounds, other metrics are utilized to determine the final standings, including goal difference, goals scored, and the head-to-head record.
The top four Premier League teams get to qualify for the UEFA Champions League (the most important club continental competition). The fifth and the sixth-placed teams qualify for the UEFA Europa League (a secondary continental competition), while the seventh-placed outfit advances to the UEFA Conference League (a third-string continental competition).
The bottom three sides of the table are relegated to the second class of English football. This is very important to know because you need to be aware of each team’s motivation in the season’s closing stages.
Some sides may battle for the title, the others for the top four or the top six finish. The bottom-half outfits tend to avoid the relegation zone (the last three positions), while some teams will have nothing to play for in the last several rounds of the campaign.
The Most Popular EPL Betting Markets
Now that we’ve covered the basics, we can move toward the fun part. Essentially, soccer betting differs from betting on NBA, NFL, NHL, or MLB. The EPL betting markets are quite similar, but some of them carry different names and have somewhat distinct rules.
That said, all soccer markets are simple and very easy to understand. The range is massive for Premier League betting, whether you are looking to place a wager on individual games or outright season bets (futures).
We will make sure to cover all the major ones, highlighting the major distinctions from the traditional US sports betting markets and sharing important tips related to English Premier League betting.
Moneyline
Unlike in traditional US sports, the moneyline bet has three potential outcomes in Premier League games. Some sportsbooks may call it Full-Time Winner or 1×2 betting. Essentially, you pick the winner of the match. Since soccer matches have three potential outcomes, you can back a home win, a tie (or a draw), or an away win.
The home-court advantage generally plays a big role in Premier League betting, as 43.8% of matches in the last six years have ended in home wins. The visitors have picked up 33.4% of victories, while only 22.8% of games have ended in ties (without a winner) during this period.
Example:
- Manchester City to win at -110
- Tie at +240
- Liverpool to win at +320
Double Chance
This market increases your chances of winning by allowing you to combine two of three possible outcomes into a single bet. You can thus either back a home win or tie, an away win or tie, and a home win or away win.
Nonetheless, this market also shortens the odds. If the home win was priced at the +100 odds, the home win or draw double chance pick will be paid around -440 odds.
Example:
- Manchester City to win or tie at -440
- Liverpool to win or tie at -125
- Manchester City to win or Liverpool to win at -320
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Tie no Bet
In this market, sportsbooks remove the tie as the option, allowing you to back either the home win or the away win pick. If the match ends in a tie, your stakes will be refunded. The odds for the home win, and the away win picks are shorter than standard ones but longer than those offered by the double chance market.
Example:
- Manchester City to win at -250
- Liverpool to win at +210
Correct Score
{i:lmisc/epl2.png:EPL Betting Correct Score:large-right}This is one of the toughest markets to land because instead of predicting the winner of a game, you also need to successfully predict the correct score. The odds are much more attractive, but this is certainly not the market you want to focus on while seeking long-term profit from EPL betting.
Example (of some possible scores):
- Man City 1-0 at +550
- Man City 2-0 at +800
- 0-0 Tie at +750
- 1-1 Tie at +550
- 2-2 Tie at +1700
- Liverpool 0-1 at +1100
Anytime Goalscorer
This market has grown in popularity in recent years. You practically do not care about the outcome of the match. Instead, you just need the player you have picked to score a goal at any point during the game. If the player you’ve selected does not feature at all in a game, the sportsbook will refund your stake.
If you want to get higher odds, instead of any time, you can back the first or the last goalscorer or a player to score two goals or to complete a hat-trick (three goals).
Similarly, you can bet on a player to have an assist anytime in a game. You can also back a player to either score or have an assist or to both score and assist in a match.
Example (for anytime goalscorer):
- Erling Haaland at -110
- Mohamed Salah at +150
- Julian Alvarez at +150
- Phil Foden at +170
Handicap (Spread)
In the USA, we call it spread betting, but don’t be surprised to see this market labeled as Handicap or Asian Handicap when placing English Premier League bets. The basic thing about this market is that a weaker team is given a head start. The line of a spread depends on the difference in quality between the teams involved, but you will rarely see it higher than 2.5 goals.
The most common handicap line is 1.5 goals. In this case, you bet on whether the favorite will beat their rivals by two or more goals difference. If you find some teams in the league on a horrendous run of form at any point, you can target them and back their counterparts to celebrate comprehensive victories against them.
Also, when the likes of Man City, Arsenal, or Liverpool are on a hot run of form, there is hardly any team in the league capable of stopping them, hence backing them in these handicaps can be the way to go.
Example:
- Manchester City to win in -1.5 at +220
- Liverpool to win in +1.5 at -270
Over/Under 2.5 Goals
This is a classic “totals” market that you can see offered for the top professional leagues in the United States. In English Premier League betting, it is called Over/Under 2.5 goals. The principle is straightforward as you bet whether more or fewer than two goals will be scored in a game.
The 2.5 line is the industry standard for EPL and most soccer games, although the sportsbooks do offer alternate lines and change the odds accordingly, as you can bet on any line from 0.5 goals to 6.5 goals (or even more for some mismatches).
Example:
- Over 2.5 goals at -154
- Under 2.5 goals at +114
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Both Teams to Score (BTTS)
This is another self-explanatory market. You bet on whether both teams will score in a game or not. You can only choose YES or NO among the odds.
Example:
- Both Teams To Score — YES at -200
- Both Teams To Score — NO at +150
Result & Both Teams to Score
This market combines the full-time winner (moneyline) and both teams to score options. It is ideal when you are fairly confident in a home win (for example) but would not be surprised to see the counterparts scoring a goal in what should be a high-scoring encounter. The odds for this option are very lucrative.
To take advantage of this market, you should target the bottom-half teams in the Premier League standings who play attractive attacking-minded football but ship way too many goals at the back.
Example:
- Manchester City to win & Both Teams To Score at +250
- Tie & Both Teams To Score at +350
- Liverpool to win & Both Teams To Score at +550
Prop Bets: Shots on Target / Corners / Yellow cards / Offsides…
In recent years, we have constantly witnessed growth in the variety of betting markets available for English Premier League outings. Nowadays, you can bet on all kinds of prop bets, including Over/Under shots on target, shots, corners, yellow cards, red cards, offsides, throw-ins, goal-kicks, fouls, etc.
The number of options will probably keep growing as new statistical parameters emerge every year. You can bet on the total numbers, numbers per team or player.
It is important to know that it is difficult to remain profitable while betting on these “exotic” markets in the long run. You should primarily look at them as fun markets and use them for entertainment.
Example:
- Over 9.5 Shots on target at +100
- Under 9.5 Shots on target at -120
EPL Same-Game Parlay
Same-game parlay gives you the option to combine several picks from one Premier League game into a single bet slip. The choice is all yours as you get to pick between most of the markets mentioned above (including moneyline, totals, player goals/assists, corners, shots, etc.), and the sportsbook will give you the total odds for your selections.
Most US sportsbooks have EPL same game parlay in their standard offer.
Example:
- Manchester City to win
- Erling Haaland to score anytime
- Over 2.5 goals
- Erling Haaland Over 2.5 shots on target
- Over 9.5 corners
EPL Futures
If you prefer season-long bets, EPL futures will be your cup of tea. Due to the strength and competitiveness of the league, there are so many Premier League futures variants.
Anything can happen during one whole season, but markets like top-four finish or top-half finish can be fruitful when you find a certain team that has been overlooked by media in general (including the sportsbooks).
The most popular Premier League futures include:
- Outright winner
- Top four finish
- Top six finish
- Top half finish
- To be relegated
- Top goalscorer
- Top assister
- Team to win multiple trophies
Final Words — Watch as Many Games as You Can
You should now be ready to place your favorite Premier League picks. We wrapping up the guide with another very important piece of advice. Make sure to watch as many games as possible before placing a bet.
English Premier League is very competitive, and we have seen the underdogs shocking the favorites on numerous occasions. Watching games will help you reveal those potential upsets before they occur and maybe point out to some potential value bets in the future.