UEFA Champions League Final Betting Guide

UEFA Champions League Finals Betting Guide

Champions League nights are always special, but none are as special as the final. The concluding match of the European competition is a date that most football fans mark in their calendar. The details of the game, such as the venue and time are announced long before the event.

Most fans watch the memorable event in their local pubs or bars, and can enjoy the atmosphere amongst other football fans. Placing bets on the final can make watching the match even more fun, and there are numerous different betting markets to take advantage of. Here we will take you some of the most popular of these markets so that you can start planning your bets.

Final Match Result

Many punters enjoy place bets on which team will win the final, but winning the final is not the same as placing a bet on the match result. Here, bets can be placed on whether team A wins, team B wins or whether the score will be a draw at full time. If the score is a draw after 90 minutes, the game continues to extra time and then penalties.

Punters have to be careful because a bet on team A will only pay out if they can win the match in regular time. Should regular time end, and team A then goes on to win, the bet will not pay as the team did not win the game in 90 minutes.

Champions League Winner

This a two way bet on which team will win the Champions League final. This means that punters do not need to worry if the match goes into extra time or penalties, as long as the team they bet on wins it. The odds are slightly lower than the match result bet, as that is a three way bet.

Double Chance – Regular Time

Double chance offers the chance to cover two of the three different outcomes. Bets can be placed on the home team to win or for the game to end in a draw, the away team to win or for the game to end in a draw, or for either the home team or the away team to win. Each of the bets cover 2 out of the 3 different possible outcomes, meaning this is a safer bet to place, but it does come with slightly shorter odds.

Halves or Periods

Matches can be split into two halves, or certain periods. These offer fans the chance to cut games into smaller chunks and bet on the result in the specific given period of time. First and second half bets can be easier to predict, as some teams like to start the game attacking, whilst others have more squad depth, and may choose to play the long game. In addition to halves, fans can bet on the result after 30 minutes or after the hour mark, as these come in the middle of the halves, they can be quite tantalising and thrilling to place.

Handicap Bets

Fans looking for longer odds on the favourites or a less risky bet on the underdog can try out handicap bets. Negative handicaps are placed on the favourites, such as -1.5, -2.5 and so on. This means they will have to win the game by 2, 3 or more goals. Alternatively, positive handicaps can be placed on underdogs, such as +1.5, +2.5 and so on. These bets will pay out if the team wins or does not lose by more than 1, 2 or more goals.

Total Number of Goals

For fans or neutrals who want to bet on the match ending with a lot of goals, they can bet on the total number of goals. Here, two way bets will be available in the over/under format. There will be a selection of possible total goal outcomes, such as 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and so on. There will be an over and under bet for each of the possible outcomes. Bets such as 5.5 or 6.5 require a larger number of goals, but if the Champions League final has shown football fans anything, it is that teams are capable of scoring lots of goals and fast.

Fans can try to place these bets and hope to watch a game that is just as enthralling as the astronomical odds offered for the total number of goal bets.

Live Betting

Fans watching the final will have the chance to place bets during the game. Live betting is one of the most exciting forms of betting. Here, all the markets mentioned above will be available during the course of the game, with live odds.

The live odds are updated in real time, and these can definitely be used to the punter’s advantage. When watching the game, it is very natural to have an instinct for which team will win. Before going into the game, it is difficult to predict how each team will fare, especially in a Champions League final between European teams from two different countries.

A lot can be learnt in the first minutes of game time. Once the game starts, and the teams size each other up, it is easier to make more calculated bets on which team will take the lead.

With live betting, it is important to also play the odds. What is meant by this is that punters should try to choose specific moments when the team they want to bet on has the highest odds. After a dangerous attack or build-up, the odds on the particular team may lengthen dramatically, and while this is a risky way of betting, it offers the most competitive odds.

Parlays

Betting on football becomes even more fun with parlays. This is when multiple single bets are combined into one. The reason why parlays are so popular is because they join bets and multiply the odds against each other.

Here is an example of the difference between three individual bets and a parlay:

Real Madrid to win at full time vs Bayern Munich at odds 2.1

Real Madrid to win at half time vs Bayern Munich odds 2.3

Over 2.5 goals at odds 1.8

If a punter places €10 on each of the bets individually and wins all three, they will take home €62. If the punter put these in a parlay, the odds would be multiplied against each other, making odds of 8.694. Now if that punter played with only a third of the previous investment, at €10, then they will make €86.94. This profit is already better than the profit made on the individual bets, with a third of the investment.

Parlays are hugely profitable, but they will only pay if all the bets win. This means that whilst potentially massive odds can be made by adding numerous bets to the parlay, it also exponentially increases the risk. Punters may develop their own strategies on how many bets they wish to combine.

How to Research Bets

The Champions League finals are incredibly hard to predict because it is the final hurdle the teams must face before they become part of European football history. The odds will always reveal a favourite and underdog but there is a real chance that the underdogs will win. There are a few important points to consider when trying to figure out which team will win including:

• Which of the finalists beat the tougher teams on their way to the final
• Which team has more experienced players in the Champions League
• Are any important players injured for either team
• How big the squad depth is for either team
• The playing style of either team

Of course, there can never be any guarantees, but the more research you do in the weeks leading up to the Champions League final, the better your chances will be of placing winning bets.