FIRST FOOTBALL GOALSCORER BET BETFAIR

FIRST GOALSCORER AND TO SCORE FOTBALL MARKETS AT BETFAIR

By Mike Norman of Betfair FIRST GOALSCORER AND TO SCORE MARKETS

Big payouts and lots of fun.

If it’s a quick and sizeable profit you’re after, then Betfair’s “first Goalscorer" and “to score” markets are definitely the ones for you. Get your bets right and the rewards are big. They also represent some of the most fun markets to play.

The beauty of these markets is that they are simple to play, and it really doesn’t matter whether you’re an expert on football or a complete novice watching the game for the first time. You can wager as little as you like (minimum bet is £2), and use any selection process. As mentioned above, as well as being an exciting bet it's also an opportunity to win big for a small outlay.

How does it all work?.

The “first goalscorer” market asks you who is going to score the opening goal of the match; there can obviously only be one player scoring first. If you back a player who wasn't on the pitch at the time when the first goal was scored your bet is refunded but this doesn't include a player who started the match and then came off or was sent off before the first goal was scored. That player at least had a chance to score the first goal.

Should the first goal of the match be an own goal, the first goalscorer market will be settled on who scores the second. First goalscorer markets on Betfair list 10 players from each team plus an "any other player" runner and a "no goalscorer" runner. The former includes any player who scored the first goal who wasn't part of the list of 20. The latter is settled as the winner if there are no goals in the match or if all the goals were own goals.

The "to score" market looks at whether a particular player will score at any time during the match. Unlike the “first goalscorer” market, it can have no winners (if the match ends goalless or all goals are own goals), one winner or several winners if there are several goalscorers.

For a bet to stand the player must have played some part in the match, even if he was only on for one minute. If you're a backer be aware that the odds you get on a player to score are always far shorter than in the first goalscorer market as that player just needs to score - it doesn't matter if it's the first goal of the match, the second or the fifth.

Getting to know players who offer value.

If you’re serious about making a profit on these markets then it’s important that you recognise which players offer genuine value over a period of games.

An attacking midfielder – like Frank Lampard for example – will usually be priced at much shorter odds in the First Goalscorer market than a defensive midfielder, simply because he scores more goals throughout a season.

Yet a closer inspection of some basic stats (which are freely available on the web) show that Lampard started 37 league games last season scoring 12 times, but only scored the first goal of the game on two occasions. As a backer, he's clearly a player to be looking to side with in the “to score” market rather than the first goalscorer one.

Compare that to a defensive midfielder like Michael Essien, who can usually be backed at up to four times the price of Lampard. During the last two Premier League seasons, Essien has started 33 league games for Chelsea, and has scored the first goal of the game on five occasions. Going on these stats, you don’t have to be any kind of expert to realise that backing Essien in the First Goalscorer market at around 30.0 is much better value than backing Lampard at 8.0.

The above is not an example of why you should back a defensive midfielder ahead of an attacking midfielder – it is an example of using simple stats to find players who represent value.

Top Tip.

A happy footballer can be a profitable one, so stay on the right side of in-form players and avoid out-of-form ones.

Last season, an unhappy Didier Drogba scored just three goals in 23 appearances under then Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari (in all competitions), but under Guus Hiddink, the Ivorian hit nine goals in just 11 appearances. However, his odds in the “first goalscorer” and “to score” markets when he was out of form would have been very similar to his odds in those markets when he was in form. You should have been backing him when he was in form and laying him when he wasn't.

So don’t put yourself at a disadvantage by backing someone who hasn’t scored in an age. All the goal-scoring statistics you need are at your fingertips; so take a few minutes and use them to make your punting more enjoyable and profitable.