Whilst it is an often unspoken or passed over element of many football matches, home advantage places a huge weight on the potential outcome of a game. Being backed by passionate home support, as well as the familiarity of playing on a well-known surface plays a huge part in the result of many football matches.
The phenomenon of gaining advantage from playing at a home ground is hardly a new one, with many cup competitions such as the Champions League and English League Cup, historically utilising the away goals rule, as in theory, it is harder to score on the road. Whilst those laws are now defunct, home advantage still has a huge part to play in many matches and it exerts its impact on betting odds offered by the best bookies in Nigeria, the UK, Spain, Ireland or any other country for major leagues such as Premier League, La Liga and Serie A.
Inevitably, if a football team is better than their opponent – regardless of where the match is taking place – generally, the superior team comes out on top. However, as with many instances over the years, playing at a home stadium can give a team an extra 10%, which proves to be vital in the outcome of the fixture.
From famous cup upsets, to home thrashings, football betting continues to be heavily influenced by home advantage and there are many teams who have vastly different records when playing at home and when playing on their travels.
Here is a rundown of how home advantage can heavily influence the football betting market:
- Making Home a Fortress – Whilst it certainly isn’t always the case that sides always win at home, there is an added jeopardy for travelling players and fans when going to a ground that is always tough to win at. Historical giants of football such as Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have all utilised their home ground to good effect over the years, with the combination of the crowd and the occasion, often too much for visiting teams.
From a punter’s perspective, backing the home side to win when they have a great record in home fixtures can be extremely lucrative and whilst shocks always do happen, making an informed decision over which team to back generally pays off.
- Double Chance Betting – A relatively new concept in the world of football betting that has stemmed from the online sphere is the double chance bet. When betting on the result of a specific football match, punters have three options – win, draw or loss. Whilst no side necessarily sets out to achieve a draw in any game, it can become a contingency option for teams as they look to avoid defeat. Therefore, the double chance bet comes into its own – offering punters the chance to back both a team to win and the draw, meaning they back a side not to lose – rather than win.
When factoring in the importance of home advantage, double chance betting comes under sharp focus, as it benefits all types of teams. If an underdog travels to a well-fancied side, the chances of the underdog winning are generally pretty slim, which is reflected in the odds. However, a double chance bet presents punters with an opportunity to back the underdog to trouble the bigger side and potentially win the match, and to not be penalised if they end up having to settle for a draw.
This betting technique works on the flip side too, as a heavy home favourite may be pegged back by a travelling side in the dying embers, which would mean a punter doesn’t lose out on their bet.
- Accumulator Building – As previously alluded to, winning away from home is a real challenge for many sides. When looking to build a successful accumulator bet, punters should always be vigilant in relation to the sides that they choose to back and their relative chances of winning on the road.
A home team accumulator bet has become a popular technique for many players, even if the home team is backed on a double chance punt, as it presents an opportunity to add some semblance of consistency to an accumulator, which is often very hard to come by.
- Jekyll & Hyde – Many football teams, even in top leagues such as the Premier League and Serie A, may go a whole season without winning on the road yet their home form could be what keeps them in the division. This Jekyll and Hyde approach often affects sides in the lower parts of the table, but they also present chances for punters to pick holes in the market.
If a side is particularly potent at home, they will often fear no travelling side and as a consequence, there are plenty of chances for players to benefit from home advantage.
If you are interested in placing bets according to the above approaches or any other bets, you can find a reliable bookmaker for that at Match.Center, a platform which also offers lots of other useful information about sports betting.