Much has been made of whether Liverpool’s beautiful game was ruined by negative tactics from Chelsea on Sunday as the Blues performed a classic smash and grab raid to win 2-0 at Anfield and keep the title race bubbling.

Banked lines of players sitting deep for the visitors ruined the Reds’ record of scoring in the first-half of every match for 28 games in succession, upsetting spread betters who have been making a pretty penny selling the time of first Liverpool goal in recent months.

But regardless of how tacticians and football fans may feel about Jose Mourinho’s approach, for punters what is the best way of betting on football when you know a team is going to ‘park the bus’?

This question may be particularly pertinent ahead of tomorrow night’s Champions League semi-final, second leg when Chelsea host an Atletico Madrid side equally as adept at frustrating opponents with expert defensive displays.

Football betting on clean sheets or 0-0 draws

The stats show that Chelsea lead the way when it comes to being tight at the back, recording 17 clean sheets so far in the Premier League this season (not to mention seven more in the Champions League), ahead of Arsenal, Manchester City, Everton and Southampton with 14 and Tottenham and Manchester United with 13.

Even the likes of West Ham, with 13 clean sheets, and Crystal Palace, with 12, have edged their way to safety thanks to strong defensive records.

OK, this approach can spoil the enjoyment of a game from a netural’s point of view, but when it comes to those trying to make money from betting on football there are ways to at least spark some excitement in terms of profits to compensate for a lack of action on the field.

Football spread betting v fixed odds betting on low scoring games

When placing fixed odds football bets on low scoring matches there are a number of options such as prices on Total Goals bands during the match, e.g. Under 1.5 Goals, Under 2.5 Goals, Under 3.5 Goals etc. either for the match as a whole or for each specified team.

You can also bet on the Correct Score, bet on a named team to Win To Nil, for a named team to Keep A Clean Sheet or Total Goals, either for the match or each named team.

And when you look at football spread betting there is even greater choice – however, as always it’s important to remember that with spread betting you can lose more than your initial stake size should your bet go against you.

Below are six of the most popular markets spread betters look at when they expect a low scoring game or if they think a particular team will struggle to find the net.

Top six ways of spread betting on low numbers of goals

1. Total Goals
This is one of the most basic spread betting markets, but probably the easiest to understand for those new to this form of betting. Quite simply, a spread betting firm will put out a spread based on the number of goals they think will be scored in a match and you can buy if you think there will be more or sell if you think there will be less.
So if Spreadex put out a spread of 2.9 – 3.1 it means they think there will be three goals scored in a game. If you fancied it to be a 0-0 draw you could sell £10 at 2.9 and make £29 if your bet came off ((2.9 – 0) x £10). However, if five goals were scored you would lose £21 ((2.9 – 5) x £10).
You can also bet on Total Goals per team.

2. Total Goal Minutes
This market offers a spread based on the aggregate number of the minutes all goals are scored in a match. It’s similar in theory to Total Goals above, but be aware this market is much more volatile so you would stake a smaller amount than you would on Total Goals.
For example, a 0-0 draw would see this market make-up at 0, but if goals were scored in the 30th, 60th and 90th minutes then the market would settle at 180 (30 + 60 + 90).
So if you think there will be no, or few goals in a game, sell on the Total Goal Minutes quote and keep your fingers crossed there are no late strikes in the match!
If you think a particular team has no chance of scoring against a stronger opponent but there still could be plenty of goals in the game, sell on the individual Team Total Goal Minutes quote and pray for some expert defending from the favourites.
You can also bet on the Goal Minutes of individual named players in matches.

3. Goal Rush
Goal Rush is based on points being awarded for the number of goals scored in a game; 0 for 0 goals, 10 for one, 20 for two, 33 for three, 50 for four, 70 for five and 100 for six or more.
For tomorrow night’s Chelsea v Atletico Madrid tie, Spreadex traders have priced Goal Rush at 24 – 27 meaning a sell at 24 would need two goals or less to be scored to turn a profit.
Again, this market is offered per team so you can bet on a particular team struggling to find the net rather than the game as a whole ending goalless.

4. Time of 1st Match Goal
Spread betting firms offer a spread based on the time in minutes of the first goal scored in a match. E.g. the spread may be 33 – 36 meaning the spread betting firm thinks the goal will fall between the 33rd and 36th minute.
It’s important to note here that a 0-0 draw would actually see the market make up at 90. So if you fancied a goalless draw you would need to buy on the spread.
You can also bet on the time of first goal for each team.

5. Performance
Goals, including a lack of them in a game, can play an important part in football spread betting Performance markets.
Match Performance is based on points being awarded for certain outcomes in a game; 15 points per goal, three per corner taken, five per yellow card, 15 per red card, 10 per penalty awarded and minus 25 for a 0-0 draw.
So a lack of goals and a 0-0 draw can help keep the final make-up of this market very low, therefore a sell on the Match Performance quote could be something to consider, especially if you think the teams are also likely to avoid getting many yellow or red cards also.
You can also bet on Team Performance and Team Mini Performance which are also based on points being awarded for certain things happening for a named team in a game.

6. Shirt Numbers
This is a market based on the aggregate of the shirt numbers of goalscorers in a football match. So when Demba Ba and Willian scored for Chelsea on Sunday, Shirt Numbers settled at 41 (19 + 22).
Therefore if you think there will be no goalscorers in a match you may want to sell on the Shirt Numbers spread. Again you can also choose to play this market per team rather than on the full match.