Most punters like to wager on top flight football especially the English Premier League (EPL). Millions of dollars are wagered on every match.

Why is there the tendency to focus on elite football?

Because the punters believe they have better knowledge and therefore greater confidence. They like the winning consistency of the big clubs. On the contrary, the odds for such consistent winners are often low and without value.

It can pay dividends to pay attention to the bottom leagues. Let me share with you an interesting incident. On 21st Feb. 2009, there was a match between English non-league side Weymouth and Rushden & Diamonds. Weymouth was trashed 9-0. But Weymouth fans laughed all of the way to the bank. The bookmakers paid out more than one million English Pounds in among the biggest betting coups in non-league history.

What went wrong for the bookmakers?

Within the lower leagues, the punters have an advantage if they are able to acquire the latest team news faster than the bookmakers. Inside this incident, Weymouth fans discovered “before the bookmakers” that Weymouth’s first team, which had not been paid at all this year because of the club’s debts, went on strike after discovering that there was no medical insurance for the game. The club had no choice but to field its inexperienced youth team. In the match, the bookmakers were caught with their pants down.

Those punters who are prepared to spend the exact same amount of time applying the same research criteria in the lower divisions can profit immensely. The next four reasons will convince you :

Smaller Squad – Most lower division teams don’t have huge squads and can’t replace their star players effortlessly with players of the exact same quality. Injury or suspension of certain key players can upset the performance of the entire team.

No Powerhouses – Unlike the elite league like EPL, for the lower divisions, there are actually no powerhouses who dominate the league for multiple seasons. There are no so-called Big Four. This gives the lower leagues a more level playing field and creates more opportunities for value betting.

Better Odds – Manchester United is the reigning EPL champion and the odds for just about any of its Home games are hardly worth making a bet. Alternatively, the equivalent leading league favourite in a lower division could get just as much as three times the odds having an almost equal probability chance of winning. Through the season, a lot of such instances will crop up which the punters can capitalise on.

Same Punting Options – With the expansion of online betting, lower division football now has the same type of markets and punting options as the top tier football. On the contrary, the bookmakers tend to dedicate most of their time on the very best flight leagues. For safe soccer the bottom divisions, there is a tendency for them to make more mistakes when setting the costs. There is value to be spotted.