Matched Betting Football - Major Football Leagues
With Matched Betting football, you should only match bet with games from major football leagues from key countries across Europe.
To ensure your regular betting does not look unusual to bookmakers and reduce the chance of ‘being gubbed’, it’s best to keep to the major leagues.
Matched betting football accumulator bets also relies upon choosing several games, and it is best to select fixtures from the higher leagues, though this is not an issue if you decide to arb.
The guide helps by giving you the context for European football, and some of the most markets for football matched betting.
In this post, we will be introducing the best and the major European football leagues, with the teams and players that stand out.
EPL - English Premier League
In the UK, for matched betting football, the foremost league is, of course, in England, but the Scottish Premier League is also an option for matched betting football. In addition to the FA Cup, the EPL is the most prominent league and best choice for regular matched betting on football.
Without a doubt, the greatest league in the world, and the foremost of major European football leagues, the Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of over 4.5 billion people. The English Premier League is watched by club fans and non-club football fans alike, and its appeal attracts football enthusiasts from all parts of the world, which is why today it’s the largest of all brands compared to other leagues.
Major European teams based in the EPL include the 19 times league champions Liverpool, the 20-time champions, Manchester United (13 time EPL winners), the recent UEFA Champions League winners, Chelsea, and Manchester City. City has won the title 3 times in the past four years (5 times in total).
The league teams have some of the most popular and best world players, such Paul Pogba, Mo Salah, Marcus Rashford and Kevin De Bruyne and more recently, with the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United.
The Premier league experiences cracking fixtures every season, such as Manchester United vs Liverpool, the North-London derby where Arsenal and Spurs face-off, the Manchester Derby where the reds and blues of Manchester go head to head. In recent years Liverpool and Manchester City have established a rivalry between themselves and is unarguably the most anticipated fixture every year.
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Spain - La Liga
Until recently, home to the great Lionel Messi, the La Liga peaked post-2008 when Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid. In the next ten years, we witnessed the greatest player rivalry and competition in football history.
Today La Liga is widely watched worldwide as Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, and Sergio Busquets keep the league very lively. El-Classico being the greatest footballing fixture of all time, is no stranger to football fans.
A common saying is that the world stops for 90 minutes when Real Madrid and Barcelona are playing each other, attracting more than 650 million viewers. The Madrid derby is another fixture that has gained popularity in the past eight years given the recent battles in the Champions League, along with Athletico Madrid’s growing popularity over the past few years as potential competition to Real Madrid’s holding of the league throne.
France - Ligue 1
For matched betting football, Ligue 1, being one of the most popular leagues globally, produces the best talents all over Europe and is key.
For years, we have witnessed the likes of Kante, Camavinga, Eden Hazard, and so many more rise from this institution. Paris Saint-German is the leading giant of the league, given their financial backing and brand recognition, and Lionel Messi now bolsters them! However, the world experienced a surprise when Lille defeated them to the league title this 2020/21 season.
Currently, many stars play in France within the Ligue 1. Neymar and Mbappe are two monumental names, but others such as Angel Di Maria, Renato Sanchez and Eduardo Camavinga etc., also feature. The most significant fixtures to look out for are PSG vs Monaco, as the two giants going head to head always ends in entertaining combat. Lille vs PSG and Lyon vs PSG are always eagerly anticipated fixtures. Marseille vs PSG (better known as La Classique) is a must watch as well given that it’s the most significant rivalry in France.
Germany - Bundesliga
The Bundesliga contains some of the best teams in the world. Two huge names in that list are Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, home to Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland, and Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund dominate this league.
Teams, such as Borussia Monchengladbach, face-off vs Bayern and Dortmund in some of the most thrilling fixtures in world football.
RB Leipzig has recently established themselves in the German Bundesliga as a formidable rival as they’ve begun qualifying for the Champions League nearly every season. The fixture between RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich has also had much attention in recent years.
Italy - Serie A
For matched betting football, Serie A is also a gigantic league with some of the best managers in the world employed there, such as Massimiliano Allegri, Maurizio Sarri and Jose Mourinho (Roma manager).
The Italian league is one of the most-watched leagues globally, given its popularity, especially after the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid to Juventus in 2018 (remaining at the club until the summer of 2021).
Nearly all teams in Serie A have an impressive history. Juventus, Inter Milan, and AC Milan are already existing giants but Napoli, Lazio and As Roma are great footballing franchises with huge fanbases.
The Italian league is home to highly significant players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Leonardo Bonucci, Lautaro Martinez, Giorgio Chiellini, etc.
The fixtures in Serie A are thrilling given the history and rivalries between the clubs. The prominent fixture is the Milan derby, where Inter and AC Milan face each other in the famous San Siro stadium. Torino and Juventus is another everlasting rivalry, and while the former might have excelled in the past few years, The Bulls never back off! Juventus vs Inter Milan and AC Milan are also regularly entertaining as its very competitive.
Netherlands - Eredivisie
Inspired by the principles taught by Johan Cruyff, the Dutch league is home to ‘total football’. Guarantted to see entertaining football from the likes of Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and AZ Alkmaar. Key fixtures to look out for are Ajax vs Feyenoord, an established rivalry between both the clubs. PSV vs Ajax is also a huge game, given that both clubs are giants in the respective leagues.
European Champions League
The Champions League is the elite club competition for UEFA bringing together top clubs from across the continent playing for the right to be crowned European champions.
Began in 1955/56 as the European Cup, with 16 sides, it’s now the most popular and most significant annual club football competition globally (and most recently had 79 clubs entered). Early games start in the Autumn, the year before the final.
The Champions League final is always one of the world’s most widely viewed television events (usually held in late May), even surpassing the Super Bowl! Excellent for matched betting football fixtures over an extended amount of time.
To learn more about the different markets and bet types, see our post – Matched Betting Market Types and bet types