Ever lost a bet by inch?
A late late goal changed the final result and you ended up regretting placing that bet?
Don’t worry there is a betting type that you can maximise your chances of winning cash every time.
Betting on Over or Under 2 goals (or O/U 2) is a great alternative to money line betting.
This is a guide with the bolts and nuts of O/U 2 goals.
Let’s dive straight in.
What is Over/Under 2 goals?
O/U is a fairly simple concept.
Instead of betting on the final result of the game you aim to predict the number of goals that both teams are going to score.
Practically, you have two options: whether to bet on Over 2 goals or Under 2 Goals – simple right?
Example of Over/Under 2
Hypothetically speaking, Manchester United play against Everton at Old Trafford and the O/U 2 are: 1.8/ 2.1.
We know, no one likes to do the maths, so we’ve done it for you.
- If the final score is 2-1 and you bet $10 on O 2 you’re going to win → 1.8*10 = $18 – $10 = $8 (profit)
- If the final score is 1-0 and you bet $10 on U 2 you’re going to win → 1.8*10 = $18 – $10 = $8 (profit)
- But if you bet $10 on O 2 and the final score is 1-0 you’re going to lose this bet.
- If the final score is 2-0 or 0-2 (two goals in total) then you just take your wager back.
Pros and Cons
Let’s discuss the pros and cons. It will enable you to make up your mind whether to give U/O 2 a go or not.
Pros
- Statistically you have better chances of winning this bet (50%) having to choose between two options compared to moneyline betting (33%) as there are three possible results.
- There are many variations of this bet type (more on that later) which practically give you plenty of choices.
- It’s fairly easy to get the hang of it.
- It offers great odds (around 1.8 – 2.3) which means you almost double your money every time you win.
- You don’t have to wait until the final whistle to win a bet. If you bet O 2 and both teams have already scored more than three goals, job done.
Cons
- Whether you lose or win a bet might be judged by the final margins. You can go over it by picking low hanging fruit O/U 2 bets (more on that later).
- A football game could be unpredictable and occasionally make the wrong predictions although you’ve done your homework and all the signs were showing that it was an easy game to predict. Teams can get a result against their current form which could make you lose your bet.
What’s the difference between U/2 and U/O 2.5?
Can a football team score half a goal?
No they can’t, but in betting football rules can be bent for good.
The idea is that if the total of goals scored in a game is two it means that you get your wager back.
But some find this vanilla (you bet and nor lose, neither win).
So 2.5 is invented to resolve this issue and simply says that it’s Under 2.5 goals you lose if otherwise you win.
What are the variations of U/O 2?
As promised above we’re going to go through all the variations of this bet type, allowing you to get an overall picture. It will be an eye opener and enrich your knowledge on the topic.
- U/O 0.5
If the final result is 0-0 and backed U, you win, but if it is 1-0 (or any final score with more than one goal) you lose.
- U/O 1.5
If the final result is 1-0 (or 0-0 and 0-1) and backed U, you win, but if it is 2-0 (or any final score with more than two goals) you lose.
- U/O 2.5
If the final result is 2-0 (or 1-1, 1-0, 0-0, 0-1 and 0-2) and backed U, you win, but if it is 3-0 (or any final score with more than three goals) you lose.
- U/O 3.5
If the final result is 3-0 (or 1-1, 1-0, 0-0, 0-1, 2-1, 1-2, 0-3, 2-0 and 0-2) and backed U, you win, but if it is 4-0 (or any final score with more than four goals) you lose.
- U/O 4.5
If the final result is 4-0 (or 1-1, 1-0, 0-0, 0-1, 2-1, 1-2, 0-3, 3-0, 3-1, 1-3, 0-4, 2-0 and 0-2) and backed U, you win, but if it is 5-0 (or any final score with more than five goals) you lose.
- U/O 5.5
If the final result is 5-0 (or 1-1, 1-0, 0-0, 0-1, 2-1, 1-2, 0-3, 3-0, 3-1, 1-3, 0-4,4-1,1-4, 3-2, 2-3, 0-5, 2-0 and 0-2) and backed U, you win, but if it is 6-0 (or any final score with more than six goals) you lose.
You might not find all these options on every single bookie. Many only offer U/O 4.5 + . So if you’re planning to go about big scores it’s wise to shop around and find out which bet platforms offer them.
Factors to consider
Before going ahead with your bet, it’s wise to do some homework about the match you’re planning to bet.
Is it going to help 100% win the bet?
Of course not because luck is part of football and can go either way.
But doing your research is going to maximise your chances of winning it, understanding more about the teams, the way they play and other factors that can affect a football game.
Let’s have a look.
Weather
Heavy rain, strong wind or snow might slow down the game, making it almost impossible for either team to create serious chances let alone score goals.
Benefit from it by taking a look at the weather forecast before the game’s kick off and back U 2 bet for such a game.
But remember that there are many other factors you should keep in mind.
History
You can’t skip the history of the two teams.
If you really aim to get a sense of the match you’re mulling over betting on, it’s crucial to go through the history of the two teams and I’d personally go for a low hanging fruit bet.
For example, for the game between Juventus and Sampdoria for Serie A this is the history of the last ten games:
| Date | Match | U/O 2 Result |
| 2021-09 | Juventus 3-2 Sampdoria | O |
| 2021-01 | Sampdoria 0-2 Juventus | U |
| 2020-09 | Juventus 3-0 Sampdoria | O |
| 2020-07 | Juventus 2-0 Sampdoria | U |
| 2019-12 | Sampdoria 1-2 Juventus | O |
| 2019-05 | Sampdoria 2-0 Juventus | U |
| 2018-12 | Juventus 2-1 Sampdoria | O |
| 2018-04 | Juventus 3-0 Sampdoria | O |
| 2017-11 | Sampdoria 3-2 Juventus | O |
| 2017-03 | Sampdoria 0-1 Juventus | U |
So in this case, examining the Sampdoria vs. Juventus head-to-head shows that there isn’t a clear advantage (O 2 60% vs U 2 40%) of any of the U/O 2 results which essentially means that this isn’t a low hanging fruit bet.
So we need to dig deeper and find a game that shows us that a higher percentage of the results favouring O 2 or U 2.
Form
Form is another factor that can’t be neglected.
Checking the form of the last five games can tell whether to bet on O 2 or not.
For example, Nice is a good example of looking at the form of the last five games at least.
These are their last five results:
| Date | Match | U/O 2 Result |
| 2022-03-05 | Nice 1-0 PSG | U |
| 2022-02-26 | Strasbourg 0-0 Nice | U |
| 2022-02-20 | Nice 1-0 Angers | U |
| 2022-02-12 | Lyon 2-0 Nice | U |
| 2022-02-06 | Nice 0-1 Clermont | U |
As we can see, the last five matches of Nice in Ligue 1 were U 2. Anyone who bet on it, they have pocketed cash.
The next game for Nice is against Montpelier.
Does it mean that Nice is going to get U 2 goals results for the rest of the season?
Of course not, but by looking at the table above we can deduce that Nice is one of those teams that tend to play reactive football, prioritising their defence and taking their chances (a handful of them) when attacking , hoping they’ll manage to convert one and win the match with a narrow score.
If you’re really eager to master this bet type, why not follow teams like Nice week after week?
The more you know about those teams, the easier it’s going to be to predict their results and win your bets.
Each game’s needs
It’s also handy to consider what are the aims of both teams before the kick off.
For example Real Madrid, a team that is known for their attacking style of football had to defend throughout their knock-out Champions League game against PSG in Paris.
Being aware that this round had two legs (one home and one away) their approach to their away game was to be compact and not allow the opposition to create many chances.
Their plan worked well until PSG managed to score a late goal and win the game 1-0. So inevitably the result was U 2, highlighting that the intention of the two teams is an important factor.
Bottom line
O/U 2 is a great alternative to moneyline betting – every time you place such a bet you have 50% chances to win it.
It’s wise to do your homework before going ahead with a bet and find out about the history, team’s form and factors you might haven’t thought of including weather.
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