What Is Shots Betting in Football?
- Having a bet on goals – match goals, team goals, player goals – was one of the first offshoots of football betting and it was never going to stop there.
- These days bettors are treated to a wide array of bets on any given football game and betting on shots is definitely among the most popular.
- Customers can bet on the total shots taken in a match, by either team or the total shots taken by any named player.
- Those shots can be on or off target while there are also specific markets for total match, team and player shots ON target only.
- Sports analytic boffins supply sports books with all the information and it is their word that counts when firms come to settling bets.
Types of Shots Betting Markets
- There are six main types of shots bets in football and they are fairly self-explanatory.
- Match shots and match shots on target set over/under lines for both teams combined in any given game, for example, Arsenal versus Liverpool might have match shots set at 24.5 and match shots on target at 8.5.
- Team total shots will set a mark for each team and bettors bet under or over that mark. For example, Arsenal might have their team total shots pitched at 14.5 for the same fixture with Liverpool, who could be at 10.5.
- And then team shots on target is an extension of the theme, with Arsenal’s line set at, say, 5.5.
- For player total shots and player total shots on target, there are over/under lines for both. In the above example, Declan Rice, as an illustration, might have his shots line set at 1.5 and his shots on target at 0.5.
- Some firms also do specific shot counts where you can bet on every named player having at least one, two, three and so on shots as well as shots on target.
What Counts as a Shot on Target?
- Football’s a game of opinions and betting on shots is no different.
- Most sports books have decreed that a shot on target has to be a “deliberate attempt at goal” that goes in or is saved or blocked by a last defender when it otherwise would have gone in.
- Attempts can come off any body part as long as it is deemed a deliberate one. The final word comes from the stats providers, usually Opta.
How to Place a Shots Bet
How to bet on shots is straightforward enough, especially these days of punter-friendly, navigable interfaces.
- Choose the match which offers the market and identify where shot props are listed.
- Select the market, carefully differentiating between shots and shots on target.
- Pick over/under or a specific shots total on a named player line.
- Select a stake, confirm the bet and sit back and wait for kick-off.
Tips for Betting on Shots
- As with most bets on football, we all think we are experts – but so too do the bookmakers and be sure their prices will accurately reflect the same team and player shot stats that we see.
- So yes, obviously check recent form and averages but just because Bruno Fernandes racks up five shots one week doesn’t mean he will do it the next. If he did we’d all be rich.
- Consider the style of a match. A team like Wolves will go to Manchester City, say, and be playing on the counter; their team shots and player shots will be low. City, as the home team, should (keyword, should) pile them up.
- Be wary of substitutions so look at players who tend to come off (or come on for that matter).
- And look for an edge. These days of defenders converted to wing-backs mean they get forward more and are far likelier to try their luck. Remember players who take free-kicks and, of course, the new appetite for set-plays means central defenders are warmer orders than ever before in shots markets. A header counts as a shot, don’t forget.