One of the safest of all football betting strategies is to bet that a football match will be decided by a single goal or more. Betting that there will be one or more goals in a match by itself offers low odds – after all, more than 90% of all football matches have at least one goal in them. However, betting on a series of games helps increase the odds and, therefore, the potential pay-out.

As ever, careful analysis and research needs to be undertaken before placing a bet because one wrong result i.e. a scoreless draw can undermine our entire football betting strategy.

Consider carefully which leagues to bet on first. Certain countries, like Italy, for example, place a lot of emphasis on defensive football. That means that there is the higher chance of a scoreless match there than in, for example, the Bundesliga or the Premier League, where teams play more attacking football. So, if you are thinking of choosing Serie A, it is better to wager on one of the top teams like Juventus, Napoli, Inter or Roma as they tend always to score and, even in a very tight game, usually manage to find the net once, because they are either chasing the Championship or are in contention for a European place.

The French league is also relatively low scoring, so our football betting strategy is the same again. Choose one of the leading teams – PSG, Monaco, Lyon or Marseille – because they have the best players and strongest squads and have the ability within their teams to score even in the tightest of matches. A similar pattern can be seen in the Bundesliga, so better stick to betting on Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund or Schalke, whilst if La Liga is to be considered, focus on teams that are in the top half of the table.

As a general rule, avoid teams that are immersed in relegation battles. For them the focus often is on not losing, rather than going out to win, so they will go out to frustrate their opponents, packing their defence and midfield, and attempting to smother the other team’s attacking intent.

Also, just because a match involves a big team, they have no automatic right to win or score goals. They could be affected by injuries or suspensions, especially if one or more of their main strikers is missing, or may simply be in the middle of a bad patch and suffering from a loss of confidence.

Another factor to consider is whether the team might be tired after playing a European match mid-week, either in the Champions League or the Europa League, especially if they had to travel for an away tie.

This is not a get rich quick way of betting, and it may take as many as twenty bets before we see any decent return on our bet. Whilst some may regard this as not a very exciting way to bet, and rather slow, its attraction lies in the fact that it almost always guarantees a small profit for the player in the long run.