Some betting sites fans will argue that in the Champions League a home team with a significant goal advantage may sit back and defend, leaving themselves vulnerable to lose the match at home but still protect the result on aggregate. However, even in this circumstance with the away goal so important in Champions League, the result is still more likely to be a draw as the home fans encourage their players to push forward and perform. According to the numbers from the past seven years, the home teams in La Liga had a 0.37 goal advantage and 0.58 point edge in games at home, while in Italy it is a 0.40 goal advantage and 0.61 point advantage. Those numbers can be emphasized even further in the Premier League with certain teams such as Tottenham and Newcastle United, where playing at home was worth an extra goal and a points edge of 0.85. These numbers should never be messed with in any situation, and if you do feel like a road team should be able to get the job done, then go with the tie or buy an extra point to be safe.

Most matches are covered by the soccer blogs, and are determined by the skill of the players on the pitch, but those skills that we recognize are tailored to a specific condition, and if you alter the setting than the possibility exists to alter the expected outcome. While Italian clubs that play a more defensive-based system and attack in transition like AC Milan may not have as much of a problem adjusting to rain, a fast-paced attacking squad like Barcelona may find the change more difficult to adapt to. The significance of weather may play more of a role when betting on the Champions League or UEFA Cup events rather than the domestic leagues since the variable playing conditions of the different countries and their individual team styles would come in to play. Real Madrid for example would no doubt love to play at home in Spain in the Champions League, but if they were asked to then travel to the cold of Russia in the winter months, that would be a different story.

When it comes to the English Premier League alone, the difference between goals scored by the home team and goals scored by the road team was 617-446, and that is in a sport as simple as soccer where most games between top teams are decided by a single marker. Looking back further over the years, different teams have taken their turns at the top of the table, but the same trend remains in that the home teams consistently put up positive results. While the pay head odds that are listed online might not be as good as some of the Betonline numbers available for the home teams in football or hockey games, the chances of winning are greater, and that makes it worth taking the extra risk by wagering more money to make a heavier profit. Concentrate on the top teams in the table when possible, but just make sure to ride the home teams when they are available.

The easiest way to handicap these bets is to take a long look at the teams that are playing, and go through their recent histories. While it may seem tough on the surface to bet the soccer total, different styles of play and meanings could make it a lot easier, especially when it comes to the team at the top of some of the most popular leagues. An example of this would be the Italian Serie A, where a lot of the games are much lower scoring. Most Serie A games are low-scoring, and if you subtract the highest scoring teams and stay away from them, you can have a lot of success betting the under. Unlike in the NHL or NBA when teams go hot and cold, the soccer teams are usually pretty consistent in their play, and if the pay head bookies can’t move the line too much lower than it makes sense to take advantage of the play. Compared to other totals, soccer could be one of the easiest sports to bet on, so find the sites listed on the sportsbook reviews that offer these totals and take advantage today.

Manchester City vs. Bolton Wanderers

Saturday March 3, 2012 – 15:00

Etihad Stadium, Etihad Campus, Manchester

Premier League Betonline Odds: Manchester City – 120

Next in line for the Citizens is a Bolton team that is fighting for life at the bottom of the table, currently limited to one of the three relegation spots with just 20 points. A draw and a pair of losses to QPR and Blackburn would inject some life in to a club that has fallen to hard times of late, but given the recent results for the host team that will be quite the challenge. City has won its last three games in the Premier League following a loss to Everton, with seven goals to show for their last three per head contests. As long as the offense continues to click City should be a Betonline lock, but as the loss to Everton proved, there can be no such thing as letting up.

The most obvious benefit of playing the Asian handicap is that there is one less option, which translates to a 50-percent chance of winning every time as opposed to a 33-percent chance of winning. That should translate to getting more frequent returns on your wagers, especially when taking advantage of some of the better underdog options in which a tie or even a loss could end up being a winning bet. The number associated with the handicap will always be put in brackets immediately following the number. An example of this would be a game between Manchester City and Tottenham. According to the Asian handicapping, the underdog would be listed as Tottenhem (+.5), while the favorite would be Manchester City (-.5). According to these numbers, Manchester City would have to win for the wager to be a winner, while Tottenham would only have to win or draw to cover and be a per head winner.

While that handicap helps in terms of chances of winning, it also narrows the payout for the team being played. For those that are uncomfortable with losing their bet based on a tie, something that isn’t possible in sports such as baseball or hockey, then it makes sense to play this option as listed by the pay head bookies. However, for those that feel comfortable risking the chance of a draw in order to take the bigger payout on a potential win, the original money line option is easily the better choice. English soccer has the sharpest odds in the world, and can be tough to crack, but the home teams in the Premier League also come through more often than not, and there are good payouts available for those willing to play the draw when road favorites travel to tough stadiums.

One of the biggest reasons for the disparity between home and away records being that much more pronounced is the lengths that teams have to travel in soccer for road games. While North American sports could include a team going from one time zone to another and traveling across the country, European soccer teams could travel across four or five time zones for a game, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. This trend exists in leagues such as the Serie A and the Premier League as well, and that can be because of factors not even to do with the players on the field. When it comes to European soccer fans, perhaps “fanatics” is a better word to describe them, and they can be an imposing force to opposing teams. With flares going off and deafening noise, the intimidating atmosphere could be a major disadvantage to the visitors. When playing soccer on Betonline, make sure to look for these trends with certain teams, as there are stadiums across the world that visiting teams simply don’t win in.

However, by the 1990’s there was a turnaround that coincided with a strong performance by England at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. In the same year, the ban on English clubs from participating in European competition was lifted, and only one year later Manchester United won the UEFA Cup as sports betting underdogs in 1991. There were improved conditions at the actual stadiums, and television money played an important role in the re-development. As the stadiums improved and the match attendance rose, so did the attendances and more money began to flow in to the league. Fast-forward to today and those struggles are a distant memory, as the top 20 clubs in England compete every year to be crowned the best, and while it has come so far over the years, it’s important to remember the origins of the English Premier League and everything it has endured to get to this point as one of the stronger Betonline wager draws.

While the traditional soccer lines feature the money line wins for the two teams competing, and a much more popular tie option with draws much more popular on the pitch, there are also cases where soccer games can be wagered on with a small spread. For example, if EPL leaders Manchester City are taking on a smaller league team such as Wigan, they may be favored by minus-.5, which means that if the game ends in a tie then the Wigan side is actually the wager winner. Under these circumstances, in order for City to be declared the winner, they would have to win by one in regulation. Along with the traditional money line, and the less common spread, there is also a total wager available to all players. The totals lines are usually set anywhere between 2 and 2.5 for most games, and follow the same format as in any other sport such as the NFL or NHL.