Things You Should Know When Betting On Spanish Football

If you like betting on the English Premier League, the chances are you may have been tempted to have a gamble on the other European leagues. The Spanish league has obvious viewing appeal due the attractive nature of the football and the presence of the two best players in the world – but how easy is it to bet on Spanish football?

Before you start putting all your money on Barcelona and Real Madrid, remember: whatever leagues you are betting on, make sure you do your homework. It’s not always about betting on the big teams and if you do, your returns will be a fraction of your stake. It’s all about spotting trends and finding good value opportunities – wherever they may occur.

Here are a few words of advice to help you along the way when betting on Spanish football.

1. There are more than two teams in Spain

When betting on Spanish football, it is important to look at the form and statistics for all the teams. It is easy to assume that because Barcelona or Real Madrid are playing that you should back them to win but the best value bets are not always the most obvious.

Despite the apparent dominance of the big two, 16 different teams have finished in Spain’s top four over the last 20 years and 11 have competed for the top four places in the last 10 years. Compare that to the Premier League where just 12 teams have finished in the top four over the same 20 year period and just seven different teams have made the top four in the last 10 years.

During those 20 years both La Liga and the Premier League have had five different champions. The Spanish league has had eight different runners-up and the English league just six. The others teams in Spain have managed to compete while receiving a fraction of the TV money that is lavished on two of the richest clubs in the world. It is no coincidence that the recent period of Real and Barca dominance occurred during the global financial crisis when many other Spanish clubs found themselves with crippling debts.

As their financial burdens have eased, we are now seeing clubs like Sevilla, Valencia and last year’s champions Atletico Madrid, making strong progress once again under top class coaches. There will always be periods of dominance but there will always be surprise packages to watch out for too.

2. More stats than you can handle

There are so many online stats available for La Liga that there can be no excuses for not doing your research. Once you start looking, you can spot the similarities as well as the differences between the leagues.

For instance, have you always assumed that the Premier league was better defensively than the Spanish top flight? Why not check the stats to be sure?

If you did that for last season you would find that there were 1045 goals scored in La Liga and 233 clean sheets kept. In the English Premier League, there were 1052 goals scored and 232 clean sheets maintained. This would indicate a very narrow defensive advantage to the Spanish league but there really is nothing between them.

This statistic is a good example of why you should always check your facts and don’t believe everything you read. Look at the numbers and then break them down, team by team and player by player if necessary.

3. Keep an eye on the second division

Don’t restrict yourself to the top league. Remember, it’s betting opportunities you are looking and they can pop up anywhere. Keeping an eye on the stats for lower leagues that you may have little knowledge of is a great way of learning to concentrate solely on the numbers. This removes any personal bias or pre-conceived judgements and you make your decision based purely on the stats.

For example, when watching the Spanish second division results last season it soon became clear that Numancia would continue their habit of drawing games. The year before they drew a total of 16 matches and when they drew five of the first seven last year, it made sense to start backing the outcome at the generous prices available. They went on to draw 21 games in total; a draw ratio of 50%. Unfortunately for their fans, they now seem to be turning those draws into defeats at the start of the new campaign.

4. There is a huge choice of betting options

La Liga is one of the most popular leagues in the world to gamble on and the betting companies certainly invest a lot of time and money collecting data on the league. As a result, there is a staggering amount of betting options available.