The differences between betting on Cup and League Football

Many of the strategies that we apply to football betting can often be influenced by the type of game that we are betting on. Teams often take a completely different approach when playing Cup competitions to when they are playing a League match. So what should we be looking out for?

If you decide to bet on a Cup game, there are many things to consider, so let’s start with the obvious.

Fielding a weakened team

This is a phrase that crops up on a regular basis and is now debated every season. Many teams, sometimes even what would be considered “smaller teams”, will use domestic cup games as an opportunity to rest players and give game time to fringe or youth players.

With so much money now involved in football, it is no surprise that teams prioritise the competitions based on potential financial reward. For a small club from the fourth or fifth tier of football, a good cup run could be very lucrative but for a Premier League team, a couple of league places could be worth much more than a trophy. Even matches in the Europa League are not always taken as seriously as league games by some teams in Europe’s top divisions.

If you are betting, this could change your strategy completely and instead of backing the favourite, you might look for potential shock results to find value.

Playing for a draw

Many domestic cup matches are settled by extra-time and then penalties, or sometimes by a replay. This often encourages teams – especially the away team or the “underdog” – to play for a draw as the last 10 or 15 minutes of regulation time approaches. If you have placed a bet, your bet will only stand for the result after 90 minutes (unless otherwise stated by the betting company).

In a competition like the Champions League where the early stages are group-based, there may also be occasions when a team is happy to settle for a point.

If you have backed a team to win, it can be very frustrating to watch as the players pass the ball around without any urgency seemingly happy to take the game to extra-time or a replay.

Form goes out the window

It is often said that anything is possible in a cup game and this is true. For many players at the smaller clubs, playing in a cup game against a top side can be a once in a lifetime experience and they will approach the game accordingly. For the top teams, the prospect of losing at a tiny ground against a lower league club can often result in a nervous approach and unexpected lapses of concentration. Cup games can be sometimes be a minefield for those looking for sure-fire bets.

The cream always rise to the top

Despite the potential pitfalls and banana skins along the way, the bigger teams start to take things more seriously as they get closer to the final. This normally results in more predictable outcomes as the tournaments progress towards the latter stages.

In the last 20 years of the English FA Cup only Wigan and Portsmouth stand out as unexpected winners but they were both Premier League teams at the time. The League Cup is slightly less prestigious and has had a few more surprises over the years but more often than not, it is one of the top teams that prevail.

Other things to consider

Cup results can also have an effect on how a team performs in the league. Statistics have shown that a poor cup performance has a slightly negative effect on a team’s immediate league form overall. If a team you are thinking of backing in a league game has travelled half way across the country to suffer a cup humiliation, you may want to avoid putting faith in their ability to bounce back.