How To Bet On Cup Competitions
Betting on cup competitions comes with its own set of challenges. Today David Reid of Paradigm Picks tells us how we can turn these challenges to our advantage.
By Paradigm Picks
Published: 20th January 2025
Updated: 20th January 2025
Like many football managers in the era of the modern, global game, we bettors may find ourselves guilty of neglecting cup competitions. Perhaps managers can be forgiven for their dismissiveness. It’s easy for a football team’s attentions to be drawn toward league competition and the lucrative television revenues that come with them.
For the football bettor however, there is no reason for domestic cups to be any less financially rewarding. If anything, a cup competition’s quirks and nuances give the savvy bettor a tremendous opportunity to find and exploit poorly priced betting odds. So next time your favourite domestic league breaks for cup action, consider these points and bet with confidence.
Understand The Competition Rules And Format
This point may seem obvious, but all cup competitions have slightly different qualification rules and these rules can have a huge impact on how teams will approach individual matches. Understanding how a team will set up in a match can be invaluable in determining the outcome. Unlike the "round robin" structure of most leagues around the world, cup competitions are mostly "knockout" format, which often means that a single loss ends a team's participation in the cup. There can also be double elimination rounds, and particularly in the latter stages of some cups, there can be two legged ties as well. Drawn matches in England's FA Cup for example, are famously decided by a replayed match.
Therefore, before betting on cup matches we must first be absolutely sure of the qualifying parameters for progression to the next round. Will these parameters cause a team to set up differently, often in contrast to the expectations of the average punter? In a two legged tie, a less fancied away side could well be happy to take a draw in the first leg in preparation for playing the second and decisive match in front of their home fans. Away goals are often a decider in two legged ties as well. Occasionally, a team with a lead and an away goal from the first leg can afford to draw or even loose the second leg and still go through.
Furthermore, during busy periods of fixture congestion, larger sides will often be especially keen to avoid a replay. This may be a good opportunity to bet on an open encounter as the larger club looks to put the smaller one to the sword, but could in effect leave themselves open on the break.
These are just some examples of how cup rules can affect team
