bet365 Fouls Won Market Explained

Bet365 have added ‘Fouls Won’ to their choice of markets for eligible Premier League and Champions League matches, with this addition opening up a whole new market of options for a punter when looking to put together a winning selection.

This article will break down what this market is, show examples of how ‘fouls won’ works, and how to most effectively utilise it for your selections.

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❓ What is 'Fouls Won'?

Put simply, to win a foul, a player must be hauled down and the referee must award a free kick. If an advantage is played on a challenge, or the referee doesn’t award a free kick, then it wouldn’t go down as a foul won according to OPTA, which is the database used by the majority of bookmakers, including Bet365.

This means that you’re looking for players that are going to be in the thick of the action, or that have a particularly eye-catching 1v1 duel. Players win fouls from regular challenges that happen throughout the course of a game, but also through tactical and time-wasting routes, which should also be considered when looking through these markets.

🩹 Fouls Won Example

I’m going to use one of my favourite players to back when it comes to winning fouls to illustrate how this market works and outline the various lines that you can take depending on the odd ranges you’re looking at.

For a single foul won, you are unlikely to get a price higher than 2.50. Most players are priced within the 1.5-2.0 range, a bit like the foul committed market, which many of you will have used regularly for bet builders and singles. There can be real value in the higher lines, for example:

Bruno Guimaraes (3.16 fouls won p/90)

• 1+ foul won @ 1.17 

• 2+ fouls won @ 1.57 

• 3+ fouls won @ 2.20

Guimaraes has one of the strongest records when it comes to winning fouls in the Premier League, so his odds are naturally going to be quite diluted. However, this information can also inform other angles, such as backing players that line up against him to commit fouls if their own foul committed average isn’t that standout.

The more you utilise this market, the more you’ll get familiar with players that are strong when it comes to winning fouls through their positioning or role in the side. Another Newcastle example would be Nick Woltemade, who uses his unique frame and technical ability to win fouls from the opposite centre-back.

A reminder that a foul won selection will only land if the referee awards a free kick, so it is worth looking at some referee statistics before deciding on your angle as some may be more likely to let the game flow than others.

🗒️ Why Use Fouls Won?

The Fouls Won market is one of the most unique markets in football, so it can be a bit of a minefield, but if you can start to spot patterns and identify key battles, then it can be a very rewarding avenue for punting.

One of the main advantages of using the foul won market is that you’re not relying on a massive series of events happening. You can find value in a foul won single, or put together long odds selections if that's what you’re after. The range of options, from shorter odds betting to longshots, makes this a very appealing market.

Furthermore, football is a low-scoring sport, so it can be easy to get sucked into goals and shot markets, but in the games that are more cagey and tense, fouls can be a great way of finding value and keeping your bet alive even if the game turns out to be a disappointing one.

There’s also an advantage when it comes to picking out selections, you can track a player's foul won average throughout the season and across their last five matches to see if there may be value in backing them. 

Certain games will carry more of a fiery element, such as Liverpool’s trip to St James' Park in the wake of Alexander Isak’s departure from Tyneside. Context can help to inform certain foul won selections.

📈 How to Use Fouls Won in Your Bets

The best thing about this new market is that you can use it in a variety of ways. I do like backing value singles, but the more entertaining and interesting method is to back a range of options, also looking to include the foul committed market.

If you can identify a matchup, for example, Cucurella against Bukayo Saka, and think there will be a few fouls in either direction, then you could back some doubles, which would see a bet land in the same action. So Cucurella committing a foul on Saka, and vice versa. There are loads of these potential matchups that usually appear in the wide areas or in midfield tussles.

The foul won market is also useful when putting together Bet Builders, with another player market now available to add more intrigue to your picks. A good way to use fouls won in bet builders is to identify your key matchups in the game and then throw in a few foul won selections, alongside a team market, and maybe another player prop.

Finally, you could use general team foul data to inform your selections. For example, if you know a team plays in an aggressive manner, or presses in a targeted area of the pitch, then you can use that information to inform betting angles. For example, we know that Bournemouth are one of the most aggressive pressing teams in the Premier League, as evidenced by the fact that they have the lowest PPDA.

We can use this information to target Bournemouth attackers to commit fouls against opposition centre-backs. The foul won angle in this would likely offer value as centre-backs and defenders are usually more generously priced to win fouls than wingers or midfielders.