A lot of punters do tend to naturally stick to the big markets in football betting, like the match outright and goals totals. But there is a rich variety of markets beyond them like betting on the total corners or yellow cards in a match.
Why is there a desire by punters to go a little deeper into more nuanced markets? Because there is some value to be dug out with the right strategy. Cards and Corners are popular alternative areas, but what are the main factors to consider for them?
If you are a fan of soccer betting at Nigerian bookmakers, and looking to explore some further options, here are some pointers:
Betting On Corners
The simple approach for betting on corners is to back the most attack-minded team in a game to produce the highest amount. Following the corner count in a given game is a fairly good indicator of how much pressure a team is putting on their opponents and how likely they are to score.
But that’s not the entire picture. You could be faced with the scenario where the match favourite is a possession-based team who just likes to take their time with tiki-taka football, waiting for a clear-cut opening.
While they are likely to dominate the game, is their style the most conducive to producing the most corners? Could their opponents, a team that breaks quickly on the counter-attack and shoots early, leading to scrambled defensive plays from the match favourites, come out on top instead?
Betting on Yellow Cards
It seems like in some games, the referee dishes out a yellow card every five minutes. In other matches, it rarely comes out of the pocket. While punters can scan through the statistics for the season, this is a very situational-based market.
Betting on yellow cards is a good market for in-play betting opportunities, watching to see the overall general aggression levels in a match first. If a player is suddenly chopped down in a ruthless tackle by a defender, then that could lead to tempers rising, as players react. From that point, the yellow card count in the match could go up.
If a team feels aggrieved by a decision, they may get fired up and lose their cool and start jumping into tackles a bit more. Also, check on the match referee as some can be a bit more ‘card happy’ than others. When available, check for the stats of their average card count issued per match.
Don’t Dismiss Motivation
For betting on both corners and yellow cards, don’t overlook the motivation of teams. Let’s go back to the corners. A team may well be behind on the corner count in a match but then fall behind with 15 minutes left to play.
At that point, the losing team is more likely to start pushing forward as they go in search of an equalising goal. Teams do tend to sit back and defend leads, so this is where the corner count in the match could swing in the opposite direction.
For something like the match total of yellow cards in a fixture, look at previous encounters. Is a heated rivalry derby match happening? Does that derby fixture have anything at stake in terms of relegation or the title?
Passion and emotions tend to go up a few notches in fixtures like Liverpool vs Everton, Man Utd vs Man City and Barcelona vs Real Madrid. That could lead to more rash decisions being taken by players in such a match.
Different Options
Betting sites do present different opportunities for betting cards and corners. Alternative betting options include things like Number Of Bookings Per Team, Red Card and in-play picks like First, Next or Last Booking.
For corners, punters can opt for either the match tally or again, for a particular team only. Things can be broken down even further to only select a Totals line for the first half, for example.
Conclusion
Betting on corners and yellow cards can be a fun alternative. Look for stats pre-match to study things like averages. But these are the type of football betting markets that are best dealt with in play.
It’s best to try and judge the flow of a game first before jumping into either one of them. Teams have bad days at the office and just don’t get their attacking game going. Others may start strongly and then just fade away for the rest of the match.
Ultimately for these alternative football betting markets, the stage of a fixture and motivation can have a huge bearing on how things play out. It’s another advantage of assessing bets on the fly.
