/ Mike Norman / 04 February 2011 / Leave a comment

Watching a match unfold in front of your eyes is part of making good In-Play betting decisions but most of the hard work should be done before kick-off says Mike Norman.

The slow starters

Ask yourself this: how many times have you backed a football team this season - let's say Manchester United for example - prior to kick-off believing them to be 'certainties' to win the game, only to be put through the wringer as they limp to victory?

Or put another way, how many of us have said something like "United will win this game, but they might go a goal down first and do it the hard way"? I dare say most of us have said something along those lines but then placed a wager that makes no sense at all based on what we truly believe will happen.

Take Manchester United's recent 2-1 victory at Southampton in the FA Cup for example. Most people fancied United to win the game, but given their tendency to start games slowly away from Old Trafford this season and the fact that their line-up would be much-changed, would you want to go rushing in to back them at [1.48] prior to kick-off? Or would it have been better to lay United from the outset with a view to backing them In-Play at bigger odds?

Laying Man Utd at [1.49] to a £10 liability, and then wagering £10 on them at [3.2] when they went a goal down would have guaranteed you a profit of at least £10 regardless of the outcome.

Obviously not every game will go to plan, but doing a bit of homework, knowing your teams, and then placing wagers In-Play depending on how you think the game will pan out (rather than just backing the outcome) is your 'best bet'. Boom boom.

The fast starters

Knowing how a team reacts to going a goal down or up, and knowing which teams are quick out of the blocks or generally start games slowly, are just a few things that will aid you immensely when betting In-Play.

Real Madrid for example have scored 33 first half goals this term (all competitions) suggesting they start games well. And on every occasion Jose Mourinho's men have scored first in La Liga (14 times) they have gone on to win the game. True, you won't get become rich overnight by backing Real Madrid In-Play when they go a goal up, but when they have a 100% record at winning from such a position, you can easily make a steady profit.

French giants Lyon meanwhile have surprisingly never won a game when they've been level at half time this season (six times). Considering Lyon will still be favourites to win most games in which they are level at half-time, placing a lay bet on them (or teams that have similar trends) can only result in a profit in the long term.

Some fixtures are often see-saw affairs

It can also be worthwhile knowing which high-profile games tend to contain plenty of goals, often going one way, then the other. Such games provide an excellent opportunity to trade your position and get a green book. One example that springs to mind is Arsenal v Tottenham. From their last 14 encounters, 12 of them have contained at least three goals including games that ended 2-2 (twice), 3-1 (twice), 3-2 and 4-4.

Laying the team that went ahead, and then backing the same team when they were pegged back, would have produced a green book quite early on in the majority of these games.

Research brings rewards

If you're planning on betting In-Play on football you'll no doubt be able to pick up clues as to what may happen next based on what you're seeing with your own eyes. Obvious I know but the side who enjoys the lion's share of possession and is creating most of the chances has the best chance of scoring the next goal. Meaning that reacting to what's happening on the pitch is all part of the exercise.

But have a good picture in your mind about how each team performs when they go a goal up, learn which teams score early and which score late and how their results generally end up based on your pre-match research. Combining your hard work prior to kick off with your conclusions as to what's going on once the game is under way, should bring you plenty of In-Play rewards.