So, if you’re looking to get a piece of the action, here’s how to get started betting on football. As with all types of betting, football odds show you how likely a particular outcome is to happen in a game, and how much you could win if it does, based on your initial wager – the lower the odds, the more likely an outcome is to happen.

Player Match Over 2.5 Shots Under 2.5 Shots Anytime SOT
Mohamed Salah Liverpool vs Chelsea 2.00 1.80 1.30
Kylian Mbappe PSG vs Lyon 1.85 1.95 1.20
Phil Foden Man City vs Arsenal 2.10 1.72 1.40
Victor Osimhen Napoli vs Juventus 2.20 1.67 1.45

In the UK specifically, football betting prices are typically displayed in a fractional odds format – such as 2/1 or 5/3 - with shorter odds meaning you have a better chance of winning, at the cost of a lower potential return.

  • Asian Handicap: Bayern Munich -1.5 - 1.90
  • Asian Handicap: Napoli +0.5 - 1.85
  • European Handicap: PSG -2 - 2.60
  • Draw No Bet: West Ham - 2.15
  • 1X2 with Handicap: Leicester (0) - 1.95

Longer odds, on the other hand, suggest a less likely outcome, but ones that offer a bigger payout as a result.

Match Over 2.5 Under 2.5
Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund 1.55 2.45
PSG vs Lyon 1.65 2.25
AC Milan vs Inter Milan 1.95 1.90
Barcelona vs Real Madrid 1.80 2.00

For example, if you pick a team with the odds 5/1, for every £1 you stake, you will win £5 profit if the bet lands – plus your original stake back.

Betting Odds for Today's Football Matches

With Betway, it’s easy to see the latest football fixtures and which bets you can place on each game. From match results and the first goalscorer to corners, cards, and in-play action, there are markets to suit every kind of bettor. With online football betting, you have the power to bet bet best betting sites for new customers on football matches both before they kick off and throughout the action with live betting. Betway offers competitive football prices across an incredible range of matches, competitions and markets around the world, bringing you closer to the game wherever you are. With the 2025/26 season now in full swing, there’s never been a better time to get involved in online football betting. Alternatively, if the odds are set at 7/2, for every £2 you place, you’d get £7 profit.

Fixture Home & Yes Draw & Yes Away & Yes
RB Leipzig vs Bayer Leverkusen 4.50 4.20 5.50
Everton vs Brighton 5.00 4.50 4.75
Lazio vs Roma 5.50 4.80 5.00

As for how football odds are calculated, these are set by bookmakers based on a variety of factors, including stats, team form, and current market trends. Many bookmakers actually look at betting trends as part of their analysis, because it ultimately shows which team customers are focusing their bets on.

Football Fixtures and Odds This Weekend

Bet on games and leagues you're familiar with rather than niche competitions. To maximise your potential winnings, use a bet builder or create an accumulator to form a personalised bet that you're comfortable with. If you combine a few events with high probability but low odds, you can create a single bet with substantially better odds! You can also utilise bonuses and promotions to ensure you get the most out of your bets. Always check for Unibet special offers that could give you free bets, bonus cash, or handy deals to maximise the effectiveness of your football bets.

What makes a good over 0.5 goals strategy?

The best football betting markets are those that offer a degree of excitement. In-play betting is extremely fun, owing to the tension that comes with watching your team hang on to a result or try to score one last goal before the game's end. Plus, some of the in-play betting markets allow you to cash out early if you think your bet may not quite come off. The simplest betting markets in football are based on singular events. First goalscorer, player to be carded, full-time result, over/under goals scored, and number of shots on target (to name a few) are all single betting markets that you can place a nice, simple wager on. Alongside knowing how football betting odds work, understanding football markets in general is key to making smart wagers and informing your overall betting strategy. Here’s a quick breakdown of the most popular options punters like to go with: A classic betting option, this is a wager on whether the next match will be a home win, an away win, or a draw for your chosen team.

Bet on Football at BetUK

The more unlikely an event will happen, the higher-paying its odds will be. As such, football competitions that are famously unpredictable, such as the FA Cup, the Premier League, and the World Cup, are where hopeful punters can make their money. It also helps to know the competition you're betting on. Popular leagues like La Liga, the Bundesliga, and the Championship are therefore prime markets for football betting. To bet safely and avoid losing, you should always ensure you have a good level of knowledge of the game or competition you're betting on.

Betting on European football

The English Premier League is the most-watched domestic football league in the world. You can bet on a variety of markets, from in-play events like yellow and red cards to final results, score predictions, and even what will occur in a certain period of the game. For instance, your bet slip could read "Man City to win and both teams to score". Who will win Premier League glory come the end of the season? What will happen in the first half of Chelsea vs Aston Villa? It’s simple, effective, and perfect for beginners.

How do football betting odds work?

If you think you know the answers, try Premier League betting today and find incredible Premier League odds at Unibet! Every year, the race is on for the best team to lift the Premier League trophy at the end of each season. Some clubs managed to do this several times and have a good track record of winning the Premier League title more than once. Here are the teams crowned Premier League Champions in the past few years, together with the Runner Up teams. The lower leagues of English football, like the Championship, League 1, and League 2, bet bonus app free are all very popular with punters.

Cash Out

Championship betting offers both seasoned and rookie bettors a chance to earn lucrative winnings since the league is notoriously hard to predict. While that may sound bad for punters, it's also bad for the bookies, as even unlikely events with high-paying odds can come off. You can bet on single events or use our bet builder to create multi-event bets for even bigger payouts! Combine a selection of different markets, such as first goalscorer or full-time result, to build your own personalised bet that works for you. You'll find numerous football betting tips around the internet, but the main thing to remember is to bet cautiously and sensibly. An estimation of whether or not both teams will find the net, a both teams to score bet is ideal for matches with attacking lineups, shaky defences, or when two high-tier teams known for their striking action go up against each other. Premised on predicting the total number of goals in a match, common over/under lines usually include a margin of 2.5 goals, but this can go higher or lower, depending on the fixture.

  • Premier League: Manchester City 1.45, Draw 4.80, Liverpool 6.50
  • La Liga: Real Madrid 1.60, Draw 4.20, Barcelona 5.00
  • Bundesliga: Bayern Munich 1.30, Draw 5.75, Borussia Dortmund 9.00
  • Serie A: Inter Milan 1.70, Draw 3.90, AC Milan 4.75
  • Ligue 1: PSG 1.25, Draw 6.00, Monaco 11.00

Another simple bet, here, you can go for a precision guess by predicting the exact final score.

Popular Football Betting Markets

Asian handicap markets, by contrast, are designed to level the playing field when a strong side faces a weaker opponent. Asian handicaps remove the draw from the market (in many versions) and can offer better value than traditional 1X2 markets because they balance risk and can lead to half-wins or pushes where stakes are returned. Use double chance when you want to reduce risk across two potential outcomes, or explore spread and handicap markets to predict margins rather than raw winners. At Unibet, we provide some of the best football betting offers and special promotions out there. For instance, new customers can take advantage of the Unibet £50 welcome bonus.

What does over 4.5 goals mean?

This offer refunds losing sports bets up to £40 and gives you an extra £10 to use over at our online casino! Check out for many more promo offers on our page. To find the best football bets, simply head to the Unibet website or download our betting app. Click on the sports section and scroll down to find the football events and matches. At Unibet UK, you have the capacity to bet in almost any way you want. It’s a high-risk, high-reward betting option.

  • Total Corners Over 10.5: Liverpool vs. Man United - 1.90
  • Total Goals O/U 1.5 First Half: Over - 2.30
  • Total Team Goals: Real Madrid Over 2.5 - 2.20
  • Total Booking Points Over 45 - 1.83
  • First Half Result: Barcelona - 2.40

A bet where you predict the results of a game at half-time and full-time, this option is great for matches where momentum shifts are expected to occur.

How to Bet on Football in the UK

Choose from a huge selection of markets and combine them using our bet builder to create your own customised bet slip just the way you like. It's never a good idea to blindly place bets on gut feelings. While you should trust your instincts to a certain degree, trust the facts more. You can find valuable betting tips all around the internet, or head over to the Unibet blog to read insightful pieces and find betting information about upcoming sporting events. You should always make sure you understand how the betting process works before you place a wager.

What does under 3.5 goals mean?

Check out the Unibet betting guides for more information regarding how to bet on football so that you can place informed bets. It's also worth reading up on statistics to ensure you're betting in the safest possible way. Register with Unibet UK and get started on your football betting journey! Adding that extra bit of tension to every game you watch, football betting is a fantastic way to up the ante for your experience during those pivotal matches. However, if you’ve never used football odds before, you might not know where to begin. Built around niche outcomes and match potentials, it’s possible to place a bet on individual player performance during a game, such as: Scoring at any point during a match. Whether or not the player receives a card. How many assists a player will make.

OUTRIGHT FOOTBALL BETTING MARKETS

They vary in payouts but are fairly straightforward methods of betting. If you want something a bit more in-depth or customised, you can combine multiple betting markets. Use the Unibet bet builder to add up to 12 different betting markets in a single wager. You can pick and choose the markets you like and even combine them across different games! If this sounds too complex for you, you can always stick to a traditional accumulator, where you bet on several different teams to win their respective games.

Can I use free bets on football markets?

In both cases, though, if one of your bet bookmakers online free selections doesn't come off, the whole bet loses. Check out our Bet Builder Guide and Accumulator Betting Guide for more information regarding these betting tools. Accumulators let you combine multiple single bets (for example, match winners from La Liga, Bundesliga and the Premier League) into one larger wager. The attraction is simple: many small odds multiply into a much bigger potential payout, and that’s why accumulators are so popular on football betting sites. The downside is that all selections must win for the bet to cash.

*Der Einfachheit halber wird im gesamten Text die männliche Form verwendet; die weibliche Form ist selbstverständlich eingeschlossen.