What is a Clean Sheet in Football Betting?

Although markets such as the Asian Handicap or the Goal Line can be confusing to prospective punters, thankfully Clean Sheet betting is a far simpler proposition. Because with this type of betting, there are only two outcomes to choose from.

Which begs the question, what is a clean sheet in football betting? In a bet of this kind, you are simply backing a team to either keep a clean sheet or not. A simple yes or no. No tricks up the bookmakers’ sleeve, just a test of your acumen when it comes to picking out defensive teams.

Because with goals being the currency that drives football, they are rarely lacking in supply and this is why you get shorter odds on a team not keeping a clean sheet, than opposed to a team keeping the opposition’s attack at bay.

1. Research Goes A Long Way

The key principle when trying to discover a betting clean sheet, is highlighting which teams are less generous in defence and the best way to do this, is by looking at the reams of free online data which is now available.

For example, looking at how many clean sheets a team has kept throughout the season is as good a starting point as any and with this knowledge to hand, it can make life a lot easier when trying to place a wager of this kind.

Always Look For The Teams With Good Defensive Records

In addition to this, you can also look at the number of goals that a team has conceded throughout the season and although a team such as Liverpool or Manchester City are not going to keep a clean sheet in every game, the likelihood of a shutout is certainly higher than that of Fulham or Leeds.

While one important aspect to remember, is that the team in question does not even have to win the game. Unlike the Win to Nil market, where you are backing victory and a clean sheet, even a goalless draw would you be sufficient as a winner – on the assumption you opted for yes.

2. Set A Good Example

Although the opening section to this article should hopefully shine some light on this kind of bet, a clean sheet explained makes more sense when offering up some examples and with some Premier League odds to hand, this is what we will set out to do.

Example 1:

Aston Villa 7/4
Southampton 10/3

In this example, the two sides are less than likely to record a clean sheet when they meet at Villa Park. While the reason for this, is that they both find themselves within the middle of the table and neither has a truly impressive defensive record.

Clean Sheets Can Sometimes Be Hard To Come By

Which is why the bookmakers are not all that confident of a shutout being recorded by either Steven Gerrard’s or Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men and although those with an eagle eye may identify some value, it is not necessarily a good bet to make.

Example 2:

Newcastle EVS
Bournemouth 11/2

In this example, Newcastle’s clean sheet odds are akin to the flip of a coin. Not only is the market a simple yes or no but backing the Magpies offers you a chance to double your money. A chance that when you consider their home record, could be considered the perfect balance between risk and reward.

While when looking at Bournemouth, the thought of them keeping Newcastle quiet may be considered wishful thinking and especially when you consider that they recently shipped nine unanswered goals to Liverpool.

Example 3:

Wolves 15/2
Manchester City 19/20

Here the bookmakers are suggesting that there is a decent chance of Manchester City keeping a clean sheet at Molineux and with this market rarely offering odds that are less than Evens, this is as close to a banker as there will ever be.

Attack Is Sometimes The Best Form Of Defence

Which is bad news for Wolves and although they are usually considered something of a defensive team, their own odds of keeping a clean sheet against the likes of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne are rather long.

3. A Dummy Coupon

Now that there are three examples, we can also make a dummy clean sheet accumulator of our own. Assuming that we pick a team from each fixture above, a treble may look as follows:

Aston Villa 7/4
Newcastle EVS
Manchester City 19/20

£10 Stake – Odds 9.72 – Potential Winnings £107.25

Now that are clean sheet bets has been placed, all we need to do now is sit back and hope that the goals do not go in.