Multi Goals Betting Market Explained – How To Use

Written By: Conor Rafter
Last Updated: November 23, 2022

Multi Goals Betting Market Explained

When you bet on Multi Goals – also known as ‘Number Of Goals In Match’ – you’re wagering on how many goals will be scored during a football match. Various ranges are available, with the following being the most popular:

  • Under 2 Goals
  • Between 2-3 Goals
  • Over 3 Goals

The number of goals scored should not fall below or exceed the stated amount within your selection. That means that if you select ‘Under 2 Goals’, only scorelines where fewer than two goals have been scored by both teams (combined) will win. A 1–0 victory for one side would result in a winning bet, whereas a 2-2 draw would see the wager lose.

Here’s how to win a bet on each of the three most-used selections:

  • Under X Goals – The total number of goals scored in the game must not exceed the stated total.
  • E.G. A bet on ‘Under 2 Goals’ wins if the game finishes 1-0.
  • Between X-X Goals – The total number of goals must exactly match the minimum/maximum goal limit, or fall somewhere in between, for your bet to win.
  • E.G. A bet on ‘2-3 Goals’ wins if the game finishes 1-1, 2-1 or 3-0.
  • Over X Goals – The total number of goals scored must be more than the stated figure.
  • E.G. A bet on ‘Over 3 Goals’ wins if the game finishes 4-0, 3-1 or 2-2.

Why Choose Multi Goals Instead Of ‘Under/Over’ Markets?

The best time to opt for ‘Multi Goals’ instead of ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ or ‘Under 2.5 Goals’ is when you’re unsure which selection you want to pick. For instance, if you’re unconfident in a match having more than 2.5 goals (exactly three or more goals) but don’t believe it will have fewer than 2.5 goals (exactly two goals or less), a bet on ‘Between 2-4 Goals’ is ideal.

This way, you get the best of both worlds. The bookie pays out if exactly two, three or four goals are scored in the game. If you were to stick with ‘Under 2.5 Goals’, you’d only make money on outcomes involving zero, one or two goals. Similarly, ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ would have only made a profit if there were three or more goals scored.

With ‘Between 2-4 Goals’ your bet wins if two, three or four goals are bagged. You’ll get better odds on some games, so what’s not to love?

It all depends on the line available to you for that particular match. Some fixtures will let you bet on a wider line, others will be more limited. Your job is to find the perfect one for the wager you want to place.

Multi Goals Betting Strategy & Tips

The key to any strategy is to stay realistic. Rather than throwing your entire bankroll at a bet solely because of enticing odds, you should examine the bigger picture. ‘Multi Goals’ encourages a more realistic approach from bettors, as it implores you to think of outcomes that are less out of this world and more down to Earth.

Middle Market Works Best

With this market, you should focus on matches with just a handful of goals. Too many goals and your bet will likely lose (not to mention the fact that the odds on ‘Over X Goals’ are generally worse than other selections in this market). Not enough goals and you’re staring down the barrel of disappointment. The odds for ‘Under X Goals’ may look pretty, but it can be incredibly difficult to find a winning result. 

That’s why we recommend honing in on ‘Between X-X Goals’. More often than not, bookies list ‘2-3 Goals’ as the option for this selection; making you money on the most common scorelines. In fact, stats-based website www.footystats.org has found that 2-1 is the third most common scoreline in football. Moreover, the site’s collection of football results discovered that games with two goals (1-1) were the most common in their database (11% of all games). And when you consider that 6 of the top 10 most popular football scores have either two or three goals, picking ‘2-3 Goals’ makes the most sense when it’s available. 

This is because ‘2-3 Goals’ in the Multi Goals market covers both two-goal and three-goal outcomes. Unlike ‘Under 2 Goals’ in this market, you’ll earn returns on results with three goals as well as two, and dissimilar to ‘Over 3 Goals’, you’ll be rewarded for any outcome with below four goals. 

Of course, not every game is listed with ‘2-3 Goals’ as an option. Additionally, there’s no guarantee that each match you bet on will end with two or three goals. That’s why you need to have a backup plan.

Under Is Better Than Over

We all love goals. They are the primary contributor to our emotional connection with football. When we concede, thousands of hearts drop. When our team scores, we jump to our feet in celebration. Goals can make us feel various emotions at the drop of a hat.

Yet when it comes to betting, goals are the source of much frustration. You may have bet on a certain player to score within 90 minutes only for him to hit the net during extra time. Or you chose ‘Correct Score – 3-2’, with the winning team bagging the fourth goal late in the affair. There are few things worse in football betting than these moments.

You can avoid such disappointment by evaluating the percentage chance of an outcome taking place. It’s very rare that more than three goals are scored in a normal game of football (e.g. 90-minutes, 2-2) and it’s even rarer for other, potentially greater, combinations of scorelines to take place. So why do we bother to stick money on outcomes that are statistically unlikely to happen?

Instead of betting on ‘Over X Goals’ in the hope that both teams will go hammer and tong at one another, add ‘Under X Goals’ to your betslip. To give you a better idea of what we mean, let’s take a look at the stats for ‘Under 2 Goals’ to see why this is a good selection:

  • Three of the top five most common scorelines have fewer than two goals.
  • According to FootyStats.org, 1-0 is the second most common scoreline (10.5%).
  • 25.6% of matches end with a scoreline of either 0-0, 1-0 (Home Win) or 0-1 (Away Win).

Therefore, you should make a positive return around a quarter of the time you bet on this market. Considering how much money people lose on selections that are far less likely to win, betting on this selection is comparably low risk. 

Recommended Bookies For Multi Goals

Most of the UK’s best bookies offer odds on ‘Multi Goals’, although they may title the market under a different name. For example, Bet365 calls ‘Multi Goals’ ‘Number Of Goals Scored In Match’. This may be confusing to some bettors that are unfamiliar with different titles for different markets. 

That’s why we’ve run through some of the most popular titles used by sportsbooks for the ‘Multi Goals’ betting market:

  • Bet365 – Number Of Goals Scored In Match
  • SkyBet – Total Goals
  • William Hill – Total Goals
  • Betfair – Exact Total Goals
  • BetVictor – Total Goal Bands
  • Pinnacle – Total Goals Range

The prices listed for ‘Multi Goals’ outcomes will vary depending on the bookmaker you choose to bet with. Let’s compare the odds for ‘2-3 Goals’ in the encounter between Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City in the Champions League during 2022/23’s Group Stages.

  • Bet365 – 2.20 (6/5)
  • BetVictor – 2.20 (6/5)
  • Betfair – 2.1 (11/10)
  • Pinnacle – 2.330 (133/100)

As you can see, some operators offer better odds than others. You’ll get more bang for your buck at certain sports betting sites for select bets, but that’s not to say their competitors won’t serve up improved odds for separate matchups.

We highly recommend that you check out any of the sportsbooks mentioned above when it comes to betting on ‘Multi Goals’. Each bookie makes the market easy to bet on, uploads great odds and pays out quickly.

How Do I Find Multi Goals Market?

To find the market, open the event page for the match you want to bet on. Select ‘All Markets’, ‘Goal Markets’ or ‘Team Markets’ to find ‘Multi Goals’ selections. Each sportsbook has a preference as to where they locate this market on their platform. 

Once you find ‘Multi Goals’ or the equivalent title, select the bet on which you wish to stake money. From here, it’s simply a case of confirming your wager via the betslip and awaiting the result.

Conor Rafter
Conor Rafter

I’m a freelance writer who loves all things sports & betting related. Having worked in this field since 2018, I’ve experienced a wide range of intriguing bookmakers and online casinos. With this expertise, I strive to create helpful, honest articles. My primary goal is quite simple: to guide and inform readers using facts and analysis.

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