Over 1.5 Goals Meaning & Betting Strategy

As part of Betfred’s online offering we are running several educational pieces discussing the different areas of betting, to inform our readers about different markets or bet types.

For those of you new to football betting, the concept is relatively simple, but we at Betfred Insights Education have put together this explainer article to give you a better understanding of how over/under 1.5 goals works.

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New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

What is over 1.5 goals betting?

This market is straightforward to bet on, and easy to understand. When you are betting on over 1.5 goals, you are gambling on whether a football fixture will see two or more goals in it.

The total comes from both teams, so a 1-1 scoreline, or a 2-0 win for either team would see this bet settled as a winner. Similar to betting on both teams to score, this allows punters to seek a bet on the goals of the game without the pressure of the outcome of the match itself.

What are the advantages/strategy for over 1.5 betting?

The main advantage of betting on over/under 1.5 goals is the simplicity of it. You don’t need a correct result to come in, which can often be difficult to predict but offer longer odds. 

Instead, you are just hoping for two or more goals, and given that is the entire point of playing football, you’d hope it would come in on most occasions. 

In 81.3% of Premier League matches in 2024/25 saw over 1.5 goals so that gives you some idea of the success rate you can expect over the rest of the divisions. The beauty of over 1.5 goals is that unlike over 2.5 goals, teams are unlikely to settle for a one-goal lead. That means one way or another, you are likely to get another goal. 

When it comes to strategy for choosing games to back for over/under 1.5 goals, it involves plenty of research. The form guide for both teams both home and away is worth exploring to see just how frequently they have been involved in games that have produced two or more goals.

Recent records can also give you an idea of each side's morale heading into the fixture. The home team may be defensively solid when playing at their stadium, whereas they may be more susceptible conceding when playing away.

Looking at the league table is a sensible way of researching too, if you're eyeing up a league fixture. You can check how many goals each team have scored and conceded in the season so far. Added to this, if there is a clear disparity between two teams in the table, you may fancy a large home win, which would deliver over 1.5 goals in the process.

Injury news can affect these selections, so it is always worth waiting until the two managers for each team have had their press conferences as they will divulge the most up-to-date team news, which will assist the bettor in deciding whether over 1.5 goals is a sensible play.

Given the odds are usually relatively short for over 1.5 goals on individual matches, most punters would put together an accumulator to boost their odds and cross their fingers for goals! 

For more information, check out How to Bet on Football Online with Betfred

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