A Tale of Two Teams

Some soccer teams are seemingly two different sides depending on where they play. Strong soccer teams such as Chelsea or Manchester United rarely drop a match regardless of the venue. They play quite well at home and play strong on the road. Teams such as Chelsea and United are elite teams in the English Premier League, however, and are expected to win regardless of where they play. Other teams, however, perform exceptionally better on the home pitch than they do when they play away from home. These teams have somewhat of a Jekyll and Hyde syndrome, as they perform well at home and are bad away from home.

Because the top soccer teams are expected to win regardless of venues, the soccer odds makers often suck most of the value out of the elite clubs in the betting line. Likewise, the clubs at the bottom of the table are expected to lose most every match, thus there is little value in betting against these clubs in most cases. However, there is often value in betting teams near the middle or upper middle parts of the table that play well at home and struggle on the road. This is especially true of clubs who are near the top of the table.

For example, a club such as Fulham has performed quite well at home. When playing at home, they find the back of the net and are strong enough on defense to win most of their games. However, on the road, their defense is a bit softer and they struggle to climb over the top of their opposition.

The same can be said for a team like Sunderland. At home, Sunderland’s attack is virtually unstoppable, despite their average defensive performances. However, when Sunderland goes on the road, their defense plays quite the same, as it is average at best. However, their attack lacks a substantial finishing touch, as their forwards cannot find the back of the net on enemy grounds.

Teams like Fulham and Sunderland are great soccer betting opportunities when they play at home. However, when they travel, the smart money comes in against them, as they do not perform up to expectations when they travel. Additionally, low scoring teams with smothering defenses such as Birmingham find the net often enough to have a winning record at home, but cannot hit the broad side of a barn when playing away. When betting on soccer, instead of betting on top tier clubs and against the bottom of the table, look for major differences in records and performance between home and away games. It is here that a soccer bettor will find true value in betting on English Football.