Over/Under 2.5 Goals Betting For Best Odds

Author: Last Updated: October 21, 2022

Over/Under 2.5 Goals*This is the first in a series of blogs I’m planning to write about the best places to make specific football bets – look out for more articles soon!

Over/under 2.5 Goals betting has become popular for the simple reason that it offers punters an almost 50/50 chance of success.

If you average out the number of goals scored in professional football matches over a longer period, most leagues see an average of between 2.4 and 2.8 goals scored in each game.

Heads up: If you found this page but you actually want over/under tips or predictions then head over to the betting tips section for the latest predictions.

Therefore, by the laws of averages, a typical game between two professional teams is more likely to see two or three goals scored than any other number.

The teams involved in the game obviously alter the chances of the over or under occurring but given the statistical range of 2.4-2.8 it’s becomes extremely important to get the best odds on over/under 2.5 goals bets.

Best Place to Bet on Over/Under 2.5 Goals?

The following is a list of the best bookmakers for over/under 2.5 goals bets:

  1. Bet365 – top bonus
  2. Betvictor – best odds
  3. William Hill – acca offer
  4. Betfred – most footie promo’s
  5. Coral – weekly deals
  6. 888Sport – great app
1
Bet365
Bet £10 get £30 free bets
BET365 REVIEW
CLAIM BONUS!
New Customers only. Bet £10* & Get £30* in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5* and £10* to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply. Registration required.
2
Betvictor
Bet £10 get £40
BETVICTOR REVIEW
CLAIM BONUS!
18+ New customers only. Opt in, bet £10  on any football market at minimum 1/1 odds. No cash out. Get £40 in Free Bets on selected events. Free Bets expire in 7 days. Card payments only. T&Cs Apply, see below. begambleaware.org | Please gamble responsibly
3
william hill
Bet £10 get £30
WILLIAM HILL REVIEW
CLAIM BONUS!
18+. Play Safe. From 00:01 on 18.10.2022. £30 bonus. New customers only. Minimum £10 stake on odds of 1/2 (1.5) or greater on sportsbook (excluding Virtual markets). Further T&C's apply. #ad
4
betfred
Bet £10 get £40 bonus
BETFRED REVIEW
CLAIM BONUS!
New UK 18+ only. Register (excl. 13/04/2024) with promo code WELCOME40, Bet £10+ on Sports in one transaction within 7 days of registering. Get £30 Free Bets & £10 free spins within 10hrs of bet settlement. Bonuses expire 7 days after issue. Min odds, eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply. Full T&Cs apply
5
coral
Bet £5 get £20
CORAL REVIEW
CLAIM BONUS!
18+ New UK+IRE customers. PayPal and certain deposit and bet types excluded. Min first £5 bet within 14 days of account reg at min odds 1/2 = 4 x £5 free bets valid for 4 days on sports, stake not returned, restrictions apply. T&Cs apply.
6
888sport
Bet £10 get £30 + £10 casino
888SPORT REVIEW
CLAIM BONUS!
Min deposit £/€/$10 • A qualifying bet is a ‘real money’ stake of at least £/€/$10 • Min odds 1/2 (1.50) • Free Bets credited upon qualifying bet settlement and expire after 7 days • Free Bet stakes not included in returns • Casino Bonus must be claimed within 7 days • To withdraw bonus/related wins, wager the bonus amount 40 times within 14 days • Casino Bonus expires after 60 days • Withdrawal restrictions, payment methods, country & Full T&C’s apply.

Best odds…

If you do want to shop around to compare odds then there are only two other bookmakers I would bother with:

1) BetVictor – simply because independent research from leading odds comparison websites has shown that on average, BetVictor offers 70% better odds than the average price on all football markets.

2) Betfair – also a good place to check odds as they are a betting exchange and as such, there’s no vig to be paid to a bookmaker. This means a better price most of the time (well some of the time) than you can get with a traditional online bookie.

How To Win Betting on Over/Under 2.5 Goals

I’d love to be able to tell you how to win betting on over/under 2.5 goals every single time but that’s just not realistic. However if you are serious about improving your strike rate with these bets then the over/under 2.5 goals strategy advice below is a good place to start.

The key to using this market profitably is understanding the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams participating in the game.

Specifically for these bets, you want to consider the following factors very closely:

  • The current form of the teams involved. Are the teams at present tending to score lots of goals or relatively few in each game? Are the teams involved conceding lots in a game, or relatively few?
  • Are there any crucial players missing from each team? For example, a team missing a 20-goal striker through injury will miss their goal scoring talents and this can adversely affect the chances of that team scoring a goal.
  • Look at the history of the fixture over the past few years (if available). Does this fixture tend to produce many goals, or do they tend to be tight, defensive games, or a mix of the two?
  • If you like to make your bet at the last minute just prior to kick off, then take note of the team selections of both teams and any team news. If your knowledge of the game and the teams involved is strong, you can then deduct from the team selection the likelihood of certain tactics being employed and how this may affect the result of a game. For example, if a manager picks a team with five defenders and just one striker, are they likely to score as many goals as if he picked a team with four defenders and three strikers?

While many punters may have detailed knowledge of the above through personal interest it’s very easy to find the info you need if you don’t.

StatsPersonally I use the stats section of the Bet365 website a lot for this type of bet. There’s a ridiculous amount of stats available on over/under 2.5 goals here, too many to list, it’s hands down the best resources available to you. Look out for the icon on the right when on Bet365.

Aside from that I use the BBC sport website to check form, table position, goals for and goals against both home and away. This is all available on their league table pages.

Similar Bets

Many bookmakers, including Bet365, offer the chance to bet on different numbers of total goals being scored in any given game. You can bet on their being over or under 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and even 5.5 goals in a game.

As the total goes up you’ll likely receive better odds and as it goes down the odds will shorten.

The 2.5 goal market is most popular simply because statistically most games tend to have between two and three goals scored in them, between 2.4 and 2.8 to be exact.

Other Posts In This Blog Series…

These are written now so I’ve added some links here for you:

  1. Best Bookies For Scorecast
  2. Best Correct Score Betting Sites
  3. Best For Both Teams To Score
  4. Best Bookmaker For Accumulators