Free Soccer Picks (Today's Tips, Odds, Predictions)

2014 World Cup Betting Picks for MVP and Golden Ball Winner Props Odds
by Trevor Whenham - 6/11/2014

Sportsbook.ag offers an impressive list of potential World Cup MVPs — the Golden Ball — to bet on. In the dozens of names you can bet on are obviously very many players who can be ruled out almost immediately and others that are more intriguing. Before we get into looking at individual players, though, let’s look back at the last 10 World Cups to see what trends emerge amongst the winners of this award:

2014 World Cup Handicapping: Interesting Parlay Bets for Group Winners
by Trevor Whenham - 6/11/2014

Bovada has made betting on parlays for group winners in the World Cup very easy. They have offered a wide range of three-, five-, seven- and even eight-team parlays to choose from. The obvious concerns about parlays also apply here. Parlays are typically not the best way to find value because the odds of the parlay are typically far worse than they should be given the odds of the individual events involved.

2014 World Cup Betting 101: Wagering on Soccer Based on the Odds
by George Monroy - 6/10/2014

When it comes to soccer, there is a huge elephant in the room: the fact that most people don’t know anything about the sport. With the World Cup set to begin in a few days with a June 12 opening matchup between Brazil and Croatia, soccer fever will once again hit America. For bettors, that means there will be an event to help bridge the gap between the end of basketball season and the beginning of the football year.

Chile vs Australia Group B Free World Cup Picks & Odds
by Guy Bruhn - 6/10/2014

Chile are heavy favorites at -225 to beat Australia in this match. The Socceroos are +650 underdogs in their Group B opener. The draw is listed at +300. The total for this match is 2.5, +105 for the ‘over’ and -125 for the ‘under’.

Spain vs Netherlands Group B Free World Cup Picks & Odds
by Josh Schonwald - 6/10/2014

Spain are favorites in Group B and begin their World Cup as -120 chalk. Netherlands are dogged at +350 to begin their group play schedule. The draw is listed at +225. The total for this match is 2 goals, -120 for the ‘over’ and EVEN for the ‘under.

Mexico vs Cameroon Group A Free World Cup Picks & Odds
by Tony Sink - 6/10/2014

Mexico are solid favorites in Group A’s second opening round match at +125. Cameroon are listed at +225 to win the match. The draw is listed at +210 while the total is set at 2 goals, -105 for the ‘over’ and -115 on the ‘under’.

Brazil vs Croatia Group A Free World Cup Picks & Odds
by Tony Sink - 6/9/2014

Brazil are heavy favorites in the World Cup opener at -333. Alternatively, you can bet Brazil on the goal line spread of -1.5 (EVEN). Croatia are sizeable underdogs at +900 and the draw can be had for +400. The total listed for this match is 2.5 (-110), both on the 'over' and 'under'.

2014 World Cup Betting: Team USA Prop Odds and Picks
by George Monroy - 6/6/2014

The World Cup may be the biggest betting event in all of sports—with all due respect to the Super Bowl—and beginning June 12 bettors will have their fill of wall-to-wall sports gambling actions for a over a month. Soccer has never been something American’s dominate—even team USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann recently said his squad has no chance of winning this year’s cup—but that unfortunate truth should not stop bettors from wagering on the event and looking for spots to make a profit over the summer.

World Cup Betting Props: Which Teams Will Advance
by Trevor Whenham - 6/3/2014

As we anxiously await the start of the World Cup — a tournament that seems like it will never get here — all we can do is look at all the prop bets that emerge to see if there is any value to be had. More props are emerging all of the time, and many of them are very interesting. One of the more interesting sets of props available is the ability to bet on whether each of the 32 teams is going to advance out of their groups and into the elimination rounds. It’s a straight “yes” or “no,” but it provides some interesting opportunities (odds are from Bovada):

2014 World Cup Predictions: Exacta Betting Props for Groups
by Trevor Whenham - 6/3/2014

I love betting on the World Cup. I love betting on horse races. The opportunity, then, to combine the two in a very interesting set of props is an opportunity I can’t pass on. At Bovada you can bet on not just which team will win each group but also which two teams will advance and which order they will finish in. In other words, it’s an exacta bet just like in a horse race. You have a couple of advantages over a typical racing exacta, though, that makes this bet more attractive — the field is limited to just four teams, and we know the payoff in advance, so the value is easier to spot.

2014 World Cup Props Handicapping: Highest- and Lowest-Scoring Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 6/3/2014

As the World Cup draws near, it’s time to look at all the prop bets that are available — at least partly as a way to stop us from counting the seconds until the long-awaited tournament finally starts. One pair of props that is really interesting is trying to pick which teams will be the highest- and lowest-scoring in the tournament. Neither prop is a good spot to really gamble and look away from the favorites, but looking at the contenders is an interesting experience. Here’s a look at both (odds are from Bovada):

World Cup Handicapping: Concerns over the Favorites
by Trevor Whenham - 5/22/2014

There are some very good teams among the favorites at the World Cup this year. None of the teams are without flaws or reasons for concern, though. Here is the biggest reason for concern for each of the seven favorites in the tournament (odds are from Sportsbook.ag):

World Cup Betting Mistakes to Avoid
by Trevor Whenham - 5/22/2014

The World Cup presents a great opportunity for bettors. A month of action. Fair lines. Widely-available props. Plenty of value to be found if you know where to look for it. When you are betting on the tournament, though, it can be easy to make mistakes if you aren’t being diligent. Those mistakes can be costly, and in a relatively short tournament it only takes a few mistakes to turn a winning event into a loser for a bettor.

World Cup Handicapping: Teams That Have Struggled in Preps
by Trevor Whenham - 5/19/2014

When handicapping the World Cup, you have to overcome a lack of true information about the current form of the teams before the tournament starts. They have played together few times in the months before the tournament, and they haven’t played a truly meaningful game since the rosters were finalized. You can’t read too much into how teams have played in the six months or so before the tournament, but you also can’t completely overlook the recent form of the teams, or the momentum they bring into the tournament.

2014 World Cup Betting: Teams that Look Strong Heading to Brazil
by Trevor Whenham - 5/19/2014

One of the many challenges of effectively handicapping the World Cup is the absence of meaningful recent form to assess where teams are at. Team rosters aren’t set until weeks before the tournament, and the friendlies that come after that can’t really be trusted because teams are far more interested in getting ready than in winning — it’s like the NFL Preseason in that regard.

2014 World Cup Handicapping: Overrated Teams
by Trevor Whenham - 5/16/2014

When it comes to World Cup futures there are some favorites that it is hard to argue with. Brazil clearly deserves top billing, and Argentina is very legitimately the second choice. Amongst the top 10 choices to win the tournament, though, there are four teams that stand out because they offer very little value. Here are four of the most overrated World Cup favorites:

2014 World Cup Handicapping: Stage of Elimination Prop Bet Odds and Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 5/15/2014

Bovada offers one of the more interesting World Cup props I have seen so far — the ability to bet on when teams will get eliminated from the tournament. There is some intriguing value to be found, so we will offer some odds and predictions on how we think it will all go down:

2014 World Cup: National Team Storylines to Follow
by Strike Point Sports - 5/13/2014

The Desert Foxes have never advanced past the group stage. This is the North African country’s fourth appearance at the World Cup Finals, and surely before thinking they have a chance to play in the elimination round Algeria needs to first end its five-match WC drought without a goal.

2014 World Cup Top Teams by Continent: Odds and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 5/9/2014

As we get closer and closer to the start of the World Cup, there are more betting opportunities every day to tempt and confound us. Bovada has a particularly interesting set of props now available. You can bet on the top team from each continent in the tournament. Looking at the options can lead to plenty of debate, and even a little value. Here are our predictions for this interesting set of props odds:

2014 World Cup Opening Lines: Initial Reactions
by Strike Point Sports - 5/5/2014

2014 World Cup odds for the first round of group play have been out for months since the final draw was made last December, and with that we’ve known the eight groups of four for this summer’s tournament. However there really wasn’t much value at looking ahead to the opening-match odds before now simply because with so much of the European domestic league season needed be played, injuries and recent quality of play factors in so much in deciding the rosters for the World Cup.