Premier League betting: The ultimate guide for the casual fan

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The Premier League will officially return June 17. England’s top flight mapped out its plans for Project Restart, which unveiled a bottomless buffet for bettors with 92 matches set to be played over the next 40 days to complete the 2019-20 season.

Here’s a guide to wagering on the Premier League – diving into the more popular markets – for bettors looking to join in on the fun, using the Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United match as a point of reference.

Three-way moneyline

There are three possible outcomes to every soccer match – home win, away win, draw – and thus three different moneyline bets that can be made. In this case, you can bet on Aston Villa to win, Sheffield United to win, or the match to end in a draw.

Asian handicap

More commonly known to North American bettors as the spread, this can be one of the trickier markets. A spread of -0.5 is straightforward, and means a bet on the team favored by -0.5 needs to win the match by a goal or more, while betting on a team at +0.5 would require them not to lose. Spreads of -1/+1, -1.5/+1.5, and so on, are also self-explanatory.

But in the case of this match, things get a bit trickier. If I were to bet on Aston Villa +0.25, half the stake of my bet would be on Aston Villa +0.0 (or pick ’em), and the other half would be on them at +0.5. If they were to lose the match, I would lose the full bet; if they were to win the match outright, I’d win the full bet. Where it becomes confusing is if the match ends in a draw. In that instance, I’d win half the bet and push the other half, because the part of my stake that was on them at +0.5 would cash, but the other half of the stake on pick ’em (PK) would push with the match ending in a tie.

The same logic can be applied to betting on Sheffield United -0.25. A bet of $100 on that would result in $50 being placed on them at +0.0, and the other half at -0.5. We can also apply this logic to other half spreads like -0.75, but in that case, half the stake would be on -0.5 and the other half on -1.

Double chance

The bets in this market are self-explanatory. A bet on “Aston Villa or draw” means you’re betting on Aston Villa to win or the match to end in a draw. The only way you lose this bet is if Sheffield United wins. Easy, right? A bet on “Aston Villa or Sheffield United” means you’re betting on one of those two teams to win. If the match ends in a draw, the bet loses.

Draw no bet

This market is exactly as described. In the event of a draw, all bets push. So betting Sheffield United draw no bet means you need them to win the match to win your bet, but should they tie, the bet is refunded. The only way you can lose in this market is if the team you bet loses outright.

Total

This refers to how many goals will be scored in the match. If there are three goals or more, a bet on over 2.5 would be a winner. If there are two goals or fewer, a bet on under 2.5 would cash.

Where it can get a bit harder to understand is when we’re dealing with totals such as over/under 2.25. In that case, the same logic regarding Asian handicaps can be used. Betting over 2.25 means half your stake is placed on over 2 and the other half on over 2.5. If the match were to end 1-1, the half of your bet on over 2 would push, while the half on over 2.5 would lose.

BTTS

If you didn’t know this market before, you do now. BTTS stands for “Both Teams To Score.” This is a simple yes/no market. Either you want to bet that both teams will score in a given match, in which case you bet yes, or you think at least one of the two sides will fail to score, in which case you’d bet no.

You can also combine the BTTS market with the result of the match. This isn’t as tricky as it might appear. If you think Aston Villa will win the match and both teams will score, you’d bet “Aston Villa, Yes,” which is offered at +500. If you think Sheffield United will win and keep a clean sheet – otherwise known as “win to nil” in soccer speak – you’d bet “Sheffield United, No,” which is offered at +275. If you think the match will end 0-0, you’d bet “Draw, No,” which can be had at the attractive price of +850.

First, last, and anytime scorer

This one is also straightforward, but it usually includes a longer list of players. I’ve shortened it for the sake of this example.

Here, you can bet on a given player of your choosing to be the game’s first scorer, last scorer, or to score at any time in the match. If you think Aston Villa’s Anwar El Ghazi will score the game’s first goal, you’d find his name, and bet him under the “First” column, which is offered at +800. If you’d like to bet him to score at any point in the match, regardless of whether his goal is first, last, or somewhere in the middle, you’d bet him under the “Anytime” column, which is offered here at +275.

Handicapping matches

You can find information on how to cap matches here.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.