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Over 2.5 goals betting market – What does it Mean and how can you use it!

One of the most popular betting markets, other than betting on who will win, lose, or draw a match is betting on the amount of goals that will be scored. There will often be a market for the exact number of goals to be scored but a more popular option is whether there will be over or under a certain amount. The main reason for over / under goals bets being popular is likely to be that even if the game doesn’t end the way you might think in terms of a winner you could still win this type of bet.

For example, let’s say it’s an FA Cup game and a Premiership team is playing a non-league team and you expect that the Premier League team will win well. So you may bet on the game having over 2.5 goals thinking that the premiership team will run away with the match 3-0 4-0 5-0 and that bet wins. If things don’t go as you predicted and in fact the game ends in a 2-2 draw your bet on over 2.5 goals would still win anyway.

 

What is Over 2.5 Goals In Betting?

Put very simply, you are betting on there being at least three goals in the game. It doesn’t matter which team scores the goals, but combined, there must be three goals or more in the match at Full time. So if the game has only two goals, your bet would be settled as a loser. There can’t be half a goal in a game, so the market is called over 2.5 goals. If it were just over or under 2 goals, then if there were exactly 2 goals in the game, neither result would be a winner. So the .5 is added to avoid this possibility.

It’s worth warning at this stage that this market is nearly always only based on the 90 minute plus injury time market and doesn’t include any overtime/extra time and certainly doesn’t include penalties!

 

Where can I bet on Over 2.5 goals?

The Over 2.5 betting market is one of the most common around, and you will find it at most if not nearly all, betting sites. Our research below shows that 1xbet had the best odds on both games.

1xBet has a massive range of football games, and each game has an extensive range of markets, all the ones we checked had the option to bet on over 2.5 goals. 1xbet had the best odds we could find. They have generous new and existing customer offers and offer fast payouts, making them an excellent all-round choice

 

Over 2.5 goals – Betting Definition

So, to make it very clear. When you bet on over 2.5 goals, you bet on at least 3 goals in the game. If there are less than 3 goals, your bet will lose. It doesn’t matter which team scores the goals or how they are scored. Of course, any goals ruled out by VAR won’t count!

 

1xbet Definition of the total goals market

1xbet defines the total goals over/Over market as follows: “The bet “(Total) Over/Over” is indicated as “Total”.

This is a bet on the total number of goals, points, games (etc.) that have been scored, earned, played (etc.) by teams (players etc.). The Customer must predict how many goals, points, games (etc.) will be scored, earned, played etc. (more or fewer than the total number quoted). At the bet settlement playing time stipulated hereby for each sport is taken into account, unless the market states otherwise.”

 

Over 2.5 goals odds

As with every type of bet, odds will differ from site to site. You will also find that Over 2.5 goal odds will vary from league to league. You wouldn’t think there would be a massive difference in the odds, but it can differ from country to country. For example, in some German leagues over 80% of the games during a season will have over 2.5 goals. But in South America and Africa some leagues can be as low as 30% of the games having over 2.5 goals.

We have picked a couple of games to show you examples of the odds. One game from the German Bundesliga and another from the Argentina Primera Division where the home teams were slight favourites to win. The odds showing are the odds of the game having over 2.5 goals.

Betting SiteGerman Bundesliga
RB Leipzig Vs FSV Mainz
Argentina, Primera Division

Argentinos Juniors Vs Independitente Rivadavia

🏆 20Bet1.762.5
🪙 Megapari1.8452.55
🏅 1xbet1.8452.58
💰 22bet1.782.58
🏦 Rabona1.742.5

 

Examples of winning and losing Over 2.5 goal bets

The table below shows you whether your bet would be a winner or loser based on the final result.

Final ScoreTotal goalsOver 2.5 Win / Loss
0 – 00Loss
1 – 01Loss
0 – 11Loss
1 – 12Loss
2 – 02Loss
0 – 22Loss
2 – 13Win
1 – 23Win
3 – 03Win
0 – 33Win
Every other scoreXWin

 

What betting markets are similar to Over 2.5 goals?

  • Over 3.5 or Over 1.5 – These bets are similar to the Over 2.5 goals market, except instead of betting on there being at least 3 goals in the game, you are betting that there will be at least 4 goals ( over 3.5) or at least 2 goals (over 1.5 ).
  • Over 3 goals. This again is similar to the over 2.5 goals market but with one significant difference. These markets usually mean there’s a chance for the bet to result in a no bet, sometimes called “push”. They are similar in that you would lose your bet if there were one or two goals in the game. If there were four goals or more, you would win your bet. But if there were only 3 goals, your bet would not win, it would be refunded.

 

Tips and strategies for betting on Over 2.5 goals

When looking for matches to bet on, there are several things you can look at to help you decide which matches are likely to have over 2.5 goals.

  • Check the League Table – The league table will show you the amount of goals the team has scored and conceded already that season. Let’s say they are 30 games into the season, and the team has conceded 64 goals, you can see they are conceding on average over two goals per game. If they have scored 55 goals in that time, they are scoring nearly two goals every game. This tells you overall, they are often involved in matches of 3 goals plus.
  • Check player form – Who are the strikers and leading goal scorers for the team, is there a striker on a run of scoring in all of the team’s last five games? Or is he having a bad run and hasn’t scored for a couple of months?
FAQ. Frequently Asked Questions
  • Well, penalties in extra time certainly won’t ever be included, and from our research extra time is also not included. However, each site will either specify this on the market or you will be able to find the market rules in terms and conditions or sports rules.

  • Yes as long as the penalty is scored in the regular game time, it will be included and again own goals also count. Basically, whatever the score is at Full Time plus injury time will be the amount of goals that count, no matter how they were scored

  • No not at all. This means you basically just cheer anyone and everyone until those 3 goals are scored and even if your favourite team is involved and is on the wrong end of a 3-0 or worse defeat at least your bet has won!

Author
Craig Harmer - Content Writer & Betting Expert
Content Writer & Betting Expert
Craig has been writing content for gambling sites on and off for twenty years, and knows exactly what to look for in a bookmaker. This comes through in his well researched and well written articles. In his spare time he a big football fan, and specifically follows whatever league Norwich City happen to be playing in that Season!
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