In football, goals are scored when the ball crosses the goal line.
In football betting, betting on goals can be a great alternative to picking a match winner or picking the correct score – as it doesn’t matter who is scoring, only that goals are scored or not.
That’s why it doesn’t matter if the team(s) you bet on have the most skilful players in the world. If they are poor when it comes to finishing, your wagers won’t win. Be diligent when deciding who to take a punt on.
Betting on the Over 1.5 Goals betting market looks easy on the face of it. Many think it’s a simple set-and-forget bet, with winnings virtually guaranteed. This couldn’t be further from the truth. One look at the statistics will tell you that much and more.
Over 1.5 Goals Meaning
Over 1.5 goals is a football betting market. Bets placed on this market will win if two or more goals are scored in the match. If the match finishes with only one goal or finishes nil-nil, your bet will lose.
But what does it mean to bet on Over 1.5 Goals? What does the decimal represent? Why is there a half-goal when only whole goals can be scored in football? To provide some insight as to how the market works, here’s a short definition courtesy of SkyBet:
Sky Bet’s Over 1.5 Goals Definition
You’re betting on: whether the total number of goals in the match will be above the stated total.
Sky Bet
If the total number of goals in the match is above the stated total – 1.5 being the stated total in this instance – your bet wins. Therefore, the match you’re betting on must have two or more goals within 90 minutes of normal time. Any fewer and you won’t get paid.
This is because the ‘.5’ represents a half goal. As half goals cannot be scored in football and the requirement is that ‘Over’ the total stated amount must be scored, the bookmaker sets the winning threshold at two goals. Moreover, the inclusion of a decimal point prevents a ‘push’ or ‘draw’ bet. As such, it’s not possible to receive your stake as a refund on this type of bet.
There are only two outcomes: a win or a loss.
The opposite market to over 1.5 goals is the under 1.5 goals betting market. The next market up is hugely popular – over 2.5 goals betting market.
Strategy & Tips For Over 1.5 Goals Betting
In the same way that it’s unwise to jump into a wager without understanding the ins and outs of what the market means, betting without a strategy is reckless. Yet, every week thousands of punters across the country place bets before developing any sort of plan. Unsurprisingly, this leads to a lot of wasted bankroll.
There are some easy measures you can take to prepare a one-and-done strategy for this market. As the market is not complex and incredibly welcoming towards even the most novice of punters, you only need one or two steps to follow to maximise returns.
1. Find Low Scoring Matches
First, we recommend betting on teams that take part in low-scoring fixtures. Some teams may end games with just one goal or none at all, but the opposition may bag one or two. We know this just by looking at the data (courtesy of footystats.org).
According to statistics accumulated from hundreds of thousands of matches, the most common scoreline in football is 1-1. That result has been seen approximately 32,447 times, making up 11% of total football outcomes.
The good news for you is that this scoreline would win in a bet on Over 1.5 Goals. Hence, betting on low-scoring sides is profitable as the overall odds are in your favour.
2. Find Poor Scoring Teams With Great Odds
The poorer the competing teams are at finishing their chances, the better the odds are.
Bookmakers will give you terrible prices for Over 1.5 Goals bets on big, dominant outfits like Manchester City or Liverpool. Instead, you’ll find value in games involving bottom-half clubs (in the Premier League).
The key to success in sports betting is to find value – so that means avoiding the typical high-scoring matches.
For instance, on Matchday 4 of the 2022/23 Premier League season, SkyBet offered odds on Over 1.5 Goals for all fixtures. Let’s look at a comparison between the odds listed for weaker sides and better sides.
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace – Over 1.5 Goals at 1.10 (1/10)
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Newcastle United – Over 1.5 Goals at 1.33 (1/3)
A £20 wager on Over 1.5 Goals in the City game pays out just £22, whereas a punt on the same selection in the Wolves match has potential returns of £26.67. That’s a difference of more than £4. For bettors at higher stakes, the effect of the difference in odds is even more noticeable.
3. Build Accumulators To Maximise Profits
Don’t be afraid to create an accumulator on this type of bet. It can be daunting to set up a wager with five, six, seven or more folds, but the rewards are worth it.
Given the odds on a single selection are generally weak and the profits minimal, you can increase your potential winnings by throwing more bets into the mix. For example, we added a total of seven bets to our betslip for Matchday 4 of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign.
The following selections are included in our Over 1.5 Goals acca:
- Wolves vs Newcastle at 1.33 (1/3)
- Southampton vs Manchester United at 1.17 (17/100)
- Chelsea vs Leicester at 1.17 (17/100)
- Liverpool vs Bournemouth at 1.08 (2/25)
- Manchester City vs Crystal Palace at 1.10 (1/10)
- Arsenal vs Fulham at 1.13 (13/100)
- Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Hotspur at 1.22 (11/50)
Every one of these teams, bar Wolves, saw two or more goals scored in their most recent outing. With the odds for this accumulator coming to 2.97 (197/100) at SkyBet, high stakes will see very nice returns if the bet wins. For example:
- A £25 bet returns £74.34
- A £50 bet returns £148.68
- A £100 bet returns £297.36
Alone, these bets offer minimal returns. Together, they can reap massive rewards.
Best Bookmakers & Odds For Over 1.5 Goals
The best bookmaker for bets on Over 1.5 Goals changes depending on the week, tournament and hundreds of other factors. There is no way to tell with absolute authority which bookie offers the best odds for this bet type.
That’s not to say we don’t have favourites. Some sportsbooks are quick to upload prices for this market, others take their time. You can choose to wait and hope for better odds or jump at the chance to grab a good, early price. Generally, you can rely on the following sports betting sites to offer decent odds on Over 1.5 Goals selections:
- SkyBet
- William Hill
- Paddy Power
- Betfair
- Bet365
In almost every case these bookies list unique odds per fixture. While one might offer great odds on one selection, another could provide much better odds on a different selection. You must determine whose package is the best by shopping around. Here’s an example of how our top five bookmakers differ in terms of price listings:
Aston Villa vs West Ham – Over 1.5 Goals Odds Compared
For this odds comparison, we’ve analysed the betting odds for the over 1.5 goals betting market for an upcoming Premier League match between Aston Villa and West Ham.
1. SkyBet – Over 1.5 Goals at 1.25 (1/4)
2. William Hill – Over 1.5 Goals at 1.28 (35/125)
3. Paddy Power – Over 1.5 Goals at 1.22 (11/50)
4. Betfair – Over 1.5 Goals at 1.22 (11/50)
5. Bet365 – Over 1.5 Goals at 1.28 (35/125)
Bet365 and William Hill offer the best payouts with odds listed at 1.28 (35/125). The best odds on display may vary depending on the selection, so we recommend carrying out a quick comparison, much like the one above, to find the bookmaker that has everything you’re looking for when it comes to Over 1.5 Goals betting.
Over 1.5 Goals Terminology
As with anything in life, throwing yourself in at the deep end is a risky endeavour. Without truly knowing what you’re betting on and why you’ve chosen a particular selection, the odds of losing are significantly greater. If you’re here to gamble, that’s fine – keep doing what you’re doing. If you want to win and take profits, come to understand the market you’re betting on.
Put your best foot forward and read the market intently. If you find the market too difficult to digest, read one of our many dedicated guides and walkthroughs on how to use it and what it means.
In this case, we’re focusing on Over 1.5 Goals. Here’s a breakdown of what each term in the market’s name means:
Starting with the first word in the market title, ‘Over’, we can gather that we need more than a set number of something to win. We can’t be sure what that ‘something’ is at this point, but we know that it’s a football statistic. If the match sees ‘over’ the figure displayed, our bet wins.
‘1.5’ is the number we’re looking to beat. As mentioned earlier, football statistics are counted in whole numbers. Resultantly, any bet where there is a decimal point involved will win if the number of occurrences is equal to or greater than the next whole number (rounded up). So, we’re now aware that there should be ‘Over 1.5’ occurrences of a particular statistic. This effectively translates to the statistic playing out two or more times.
The word ‘Goals’ comes last in the market title. Thanks to this word, we can tell that the bookmaker has set the challenge of either or both teams scoring ‘Over 1.5 Goals’ in the game. To win, we need at least two goals. Here are some winning scorelines for this bet type:
- 1-1 (2 goals exactly)
- 2-0 (2 goals exactly)
- 2-1 (3 goals)
