Sports betting can be extremely complicated, with numerous factors determining the outcome. From weather to star players, to injuries and more, it can all get overwhelming. But sometimes sports betting enthusiasts tend to over-complicate matters. Yes, choosing the winning team can be very challenging. On the other hand, just paying attention to a few factors can make all the difference.
Here are the most important factors that indicate if a team is on a winning streak, or is more likely to fail. This list isn’t guaranteed to work 100% of the time, of course, but can help in making better decisions overall.
Recent Performance
The most obvious factor to take into account is recent team performance. How has each team in a matchup performed in their most recent encounters? Have they been showing signs of slipping, or have they been on a rampage?
What about the star players in each team? Are the star players healthy and doing well, are they showing signs of fatigue, or are they shooting for the moon? All the information should be taken into account, with a special focus on if key players are performing well.
Ask The Experts
Is there a better way to get an idea of how a match is going to turn out than asking an expert? The majority of sportsbooks provide free advice from tipsters, and yes these pros make a living predicting the outcomes of matches. In other words, they’re a sports betting enthusiast’s best friend.
No, tipsters aren’t right 100% of the time, but will certainly give a very good idea of how things are going to turn out. Naturally it is a good idea to check the opinions of multiple tipsters, just to get a broad idea of numerous professional opinions.
Home Or Away
If a team is playing at home, it is an enormous advantage. In fact, many professional betting enthusiasts consider the home advantage amongst the biggest deciding factors. No being away from home isn’t going to turn a high ranking team into incapable fools, but may drastically sway the odds in a noticeable way.
Hence, if a favourite team is showing signs of slipping, and is also playing away, it might just be that an underdog is about to get lucky.
Who Scores First?
Here are some interesting statistics. If a Premier League team is playing at home and manages to score first, that team has a 71% chance of winning. If the other team scores first, the home team’s chances of winning drop to 35%.
This speaks volumes not only about the home advantage but also about how much the first goal reflects general team health and performance. To put it another way; the first team to score is dramatically more likely to win than not.
Underdogs Often Win
Underdogs are just not worth betting on, right? Wrong. Anyone assuming this has probably been watching too many movies, because underdog wins are certainly not as uncommon as assumed. In fact, betting on an underdog, combined with the other tips on this list, might be a far more secure bet than betting on the favourite.
