Soccer Betting and Handicapping Articles

2018 World Cup Betting Advice: Easiest Groups
by Trevor Whenham - 2/27/2018

Let's get this out of the way up front - there is no such thing as a truly easy World Cup group. Teams play only three group games, so the impact of a single misstep can be magnified dramatically. We've seen many good teams falter when they should be shining and many bad teams get through to the knockout rounds when they barely belonged in the tournament field at all. There is no such thing as a sure thing in the craziness that is the World Cup. Some groups, though, are definitely easier on paper than other groups. And this year there are four groups that, for one reason or another, qualify as being pretty close to easy World Cup groups:

2018 World Cup Soccer Odds and Expert Picks: Group D
by Trevor Whenham - 2/27/2018

Lionel Messi is one of the finest soccer players the world has ever seen. He has won the Ballon d'Or, given to the world's best men's player, a record five times. He would have won it more, too, if it weren't for the fact he has finished second five times to Cristiano Ronaldo, the only other player to win the award more than three times. In his highly decorated career, though, Messi is lacking the one trophy he would happily trade all the rest in for.

2018 World Cup Soccer Odds and Expert Picks: Group C
by Trevor Whenham - 2/27/2018

I've complained a lot already about how unexciting the draw is for this year's World Cup. There isn't a whole lot of intrigue, and that contributes to what feels like lessened excitement for this year's edition of the world's finest tournament. While I haven't really softened that opinion, Group C sets up as one of the more interesting groups.

2018 World Cup Soccer Odds and Expert Picks: Group A
by Trevor Whenham - 2/26/2018

The host team always faces immense pressure. For a whole lot of reasons - that we don't need to get into here because we seem to be endlessly surrounded by them - that pressure will be even more intense for the host Russians in the 2018 World Cup than for most. It's not that the Russians are viable contenders for the title - that's far from the case. The Russians have spent very heavily for this event, though, and aren't a country that embraces participation medals and feel-good stories.

2018 World Cup Soccer Odds and Expert Picks: Group B
by Trevor Whenham - 2/26/2018

There is an opinion out there that the draw for the World Cup this year, and therefore the tournament in general, isn't as exciting as it has been in some years. It's hard to strongly dispute that notion, and this group is a good example of why. There are two elite teams in Spain and Portugal, so we should be excited. But in Morocco and Iran we have two hopeless outclassed teams. So, while there could be some drama in which team wins the group (though likely not a ton), it feels like it would require a miracle for the advancing teams to be anything beyond the obvious two.

Handicapping the 2018 World Cup Managers
by Trevor Whenham - 2/26/2018

Being the manager is a national team in soccer is among the planet's most thankless jobs. If you win it's not because of you but because of the star players who play for you. But if you lose it's entirely your fault. They have ridiculously bad job security. Because of that they often don't have much loyalty - guys bounce from country to country without a thought as long as there is a paycheck to be had. As we move closer and closer to the World Cup this year here is a capsule look at eight of the more interesting characters amongst the 32 head coaches in the 2018 World Cup field:

Expert World Cup Soccer Handicapping: Best Team Each Region Props Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/15/2017

The point of the World Cup for teams is obviously to try to win the tournament. Thanks to prop bets, though, there are all sorts of other outcomes that we can bet on - which team will win each group, which teams will advance from each group, how far teams will advance, and so on. One of the most interesting ways to look at things is which team will be the top squad in each geographical region. BetOnline has odds posted, which means we can do some handicapping.

World Cup Soccer Betting Advice: First-Time Winner Prop with Expert Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 12/14/2017

BetOnline has a World Cup prop that is interesting to look at. As it turns out, it likely isn't particularly attractive to bet, but the process of exploring it is interesting - and will fill the days and weeks and months until the World Cup kicks off. Besides, what are you going to do - spend time handicapping the USMNT's roster? (Too soon? - I'm a Canadian so we are always terrible at soccer, so I have to take my shots while I can.)

Expert World Cup Soccer Handicapping: Most Favorable Draws
by Trevor Whenham - 12/6/2017

The World Cup starts June 14 in Moscow when Russia plays Saudi Arabia, and now we know what the schedule looks like for the tournament. The draw was completed last week, and as usual it provided no shortage of drama and intrigue. Unlike recent tournaments, we were not given a true group of death. The closest we came was having neighbors and rivals Spain and Portugal in the same group, but the other two teams in the group - Morocco and Iran - are far from strong, so both top teams are likely to advance regardless of what happens when they clash. And other top times like Brazil, Argentina and France have little to complain about.

World Cup Soccer Betting Advice: Toughest Draws
by Trevor Whenham - 12/6/2017

The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia promises to be a bit of an odd one, so it only seems fitting that the draw for the field was a bit odd, too. There is no real group of death, and all of the top teams seem to have a very clear path through to the elimination rounds. Anything can happen at a World Cup, of course, but on paper right now this sets up as the least suspenseful and intriguing opening round in a long time. While no groups are truly awful, there are four that stand out as tougher than the other four. Here's a look at each (Odds to be one of the two teams to advance out of the group are from BetOnline)

2017 Confederations Cup Odds with Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 6/12/2017

The Confederations Cup kicks off this week in Russia. It is the test event for the World Cup that takes place a year before the big event in the host country. It features the host, the defending champion, and the current champion of each of the six international confederations. It's always a tough tournament to call, but this year it is just a little bizarre. Australia has moved to the AFC to enjoy a higher level of competition.

2018 World Cup Odds: Expert Predictions and Betting Advice
by Trevor Whenham - 6/9/2017

We are almost exactly a year away from the start of the 2018 World Cup in Russia - the first game kicks off on June 14. There is a whole lot left to decide between now and then - Russia and Brazil are the only two teams officially qualified, for example, so we certainly don't know anything about matchups or paths to the finals. It's never too early to look at what could happen, though - not when there are futures odds to potentially bet on. Here's a look at some of the more interesting prices currently available from MyBookie:

Champions League Final Picks: Real Madrid vs Juventus Expert Betting Predictions
by Chris Vasile - 5/31/2017

This year's Champions League Final between Juventus and the defending champions Real Madrid has the makings to be one of the most exciting and intense finale in quite some time. There are far too many storylines to touch on without writing a novel, but some of the more important ones revolve around some of the finest players to ever grace a soccer pitch.

Major League Soccer Betting Primer: MLS Wagering Advice
by Trevor Whenham - 3/9/2017

Major League Soccer just kicked off its 22nd season last week. The league is never going to be a major betting power in this country, nor will it be a primary world soccer power. The thing is, though, that it doesn't need to be. For a long time I literally couldn't have cared less about the league. That changed for me, though, when I accidentally happened upon a pregame rally in Seattle and took in the game on a whim. It was amazing - as good a fan experience as you could hope for. Since then I've slowly come around on the league - and the betting opportunities it can offer.

English Premier League Season Picks and Expert Analysis
by Chris Vasile - 8/10/2016

I feel like it was just yesterday that I was watching Eden Hazard come to life and score the vital game-tying goal against Tottenham that handed Leicester City the unlikeliest of English Premier League triumphs. The Foxes, as they are known, pulled off one of the greatest feats in the history of sports by winning the EPL by not one or two points, but by 10 full points!

Euro 2016 Betting Advice: Ranking the Teams in the Knockout Round
by Chris Vasile - 6/24/2016

There isn't a soccer tournament that goes by where we can't debate about which teams look the best and which team have thoroughly disappointed us through the first three games of the group stage. Euro 2016 is no different. There have been several great performances by a bunch of teams, but many of them lasted only one game. Not many teams were able to look dominant through the entire group stage. On the contrary, some of the teams competing in the Round of 16 have offered up little in the way of "eye candy" and are advancing only because of the new 24-team format.

Free Euro Cup Soccer Picks with Odds for Saturday Matches
by Chris Vasile - 6/24/2016

What a wonderful tournament it has been so far. The new 24-team format, which many pundits claimed would mess up the tournament, has been nothing short of brilliant in its first true test. That's been so much so that the right half of the bracket has a combined 10 titles and 16 final appearances. The left half has not as many (no titles, 2 final appearances).

Euro 2016 Soccer Betting Advice: Live Long Shots in the Knockout Round
by Trevor Whenham - 6/23/2016

The round robin is over, and the field of 16 is set for the playoff round of Euro 2016. This is when things get interesting. The preliminaries produced a surprise or two - like Wales winning their group and leaving upcoming World Cup hosts Russia on the sidelines - but for the most part you can't argue that the teams that aren't advancing are anything other than the teams that should be out of the tournament.

Free Euro Cup Soccer Picks with Odds for Tuesday Matches
by Chris Vasile - 6/20/2016

The first 11 days of this Euro tournament has treated us to some good soccer. We've seen some wonderful goals, some late-game heroics, some shocking results, and, thankfully, only three goalless draws. But we are just now getting to the meat and potatoes of the tournament. The fun (for neutral fans) begins when teams take the field for their final group stage game knowing only a specific result will secure their progress through to the knockout stage.

Free Euro Cup Soccer Picks with Odds for Thursday Matches
by Chris Vasile - 6/15/2016

For those of you out there who bash soccer and beak about how easy it is to score a goal on those massive nets, I demand you watch the Portugal game over and over again to see how unlucky you can be when getting shots on target. Portugal should have been up at least three goals if they took their chances well and if their shots didn't come off directly at the goalie.