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The English Premier League (EPL) and the EFL Championship are the two biggest leagues in the English football league system. Both leagues entertain millions of football fans in England and beyond. They are also connected as players move out from the EPL to EFL Championship from time to time and vice versa.
Even though the football world can be unpredictable, understanding the games and leagues could give you an advantage in betting. Getting to know the difference between betting on the EPL and EFL Championship will give you enough knowledge to guide your bet. But first, let’s understand how both leagues work.
Introduction to the English Premier League
The EPL consists of 20 teams who meet against each other twice in one season, playing away and home. This way, each side plays 38 matches per season. After playing all 38 games, the team that has the most points becomes the League Champions.
The top three teams qualify directly for the UEFA Champions League. The fourth team earns a spot in the Champions League qualification round while the fifth goes for Europa League.
On the other hand, relegation awaits teams that finish at positions 18, 19, and 20. Teams that end in those positions are relegated to the EFL Championship.
Introduction to the EFL Championship
The EFL Championship is the second division in the English Football League system following the Premier League. It features 24 teams that play each other home and away during the season. They also compete to get points and to stay at the top during the season.
Three teams from the EFL championship get to replace the relegated teams from the EPL. The teams that finish in the top 2 positions of the championship automatically qualify and the third team is picked from the play-offs. The teams that finish in the third to sixth positions compete in the play-offs to get the last spot to the EPL. Those teams relegated from the EPL replace the three teams from the Championship.
Relegation also happens in the Championship. The teams that end in positions 22, 23, and 24 are relegated to League One.
Betting in The EPL & Championship Explained
If you understand the League odds and the betting markets available, you can maximize your chances of success with your bets. People bet on a whole lot of things in both leagues. The betting markets range from what is called outright bets to individual bets. Outright bets are bets placed on the outcome of the whole league while individual bets are placed on games.
There are many kinds of bets one could place for individual games. The most popular ones include bets on Match results, Asian Handicap, Goal Total Over or Under. For match results, you can either bet on Away Win, Home Win, or Draw at the end of the game (included added time). Betting on goal total is choosing either over or under a specific number of goals.
An example of an outright bet is betting on which of the clubs would win a league. The odds for each team winning is commonly referred to as League title odds.
Other odds available include the relegation odds, points handicap odds, top goalscorer odds, etc. Odds offered by different bookmakers in the different betting markets could fluctuate from time to time as the season progresses. They depend on the performance of the team, players, and other factors.
Comparison between EPL Betting and EFL Championship Betting
Even though they have the same betting markets available, there are some differences between betting on the leagues. This is because both leagues have their peculiarities. Without further ado, we will briefly compare betting in both leagues under the following factors:
1. Competition in the Leagues
Both leagues are competitive as teams struggle to get points and to reach the top positions. But the EPL seems to be less competitive than the EFL Championship. This is because there are teams known to dominate the EPL. Teams like Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea, are known for occupying the top positions in most of the seasons.
Thus, this information coupled with some more details would make it easier to place bets for the top 4 finish.
However, in the EFL Championship, teams who end in the top 2 do not participate in the next season. Three of the strongest teams in leave the league every season and three of the worsts also leave. Predicting the teams to finish in the top positions is not as easy as in the EPL.
2. The Popularity of the leagues
The EPL is way more popular than the EFL Championship. Fans around the world get to find more information about EPL easily. For example, there are numerous sites available that display fixtures and stats of the Premier League. You will find stats on the Championship on fewer sites.
In some parts of the world like Africa, you rarely see TV stations airing EFL Championship matches. This means there’s no market for the Championship in many parts of the world. The EPL on the other hand is popular throughout the world. Due to this fact, many bettors tend to bet more on the EPL. Lesser people bet on the EFL Championship.
3. Odds
Most of the football clubs in the EPL are known worldwide while the Championship clubs are not well-known. Many fans and bettors can tell the ability of the EPL teams than they can of the Championship. This explains the reason why sportsbooks harp on the EPL betting market to provide a wide variety of odds to punters.
4. Bookmaker Margins
Most betting sites and bookmakers place lesser margins on major tournaments. Because with the huge number of bettors placing bets on major tournaments, they can still make a lot. However, when betting on less-known tournaments, the margin will be higher. Thus, Bookmaker margins on EPL are lesser than margins on the Championship.
5. Fouls
The EFL Championship teams seem to be more aggressive than those in the EPL. Also, the fact that it has less viewership makes some things not properly attended to. The EPL on the other hand has stricter measures against fouls. Players also play less aggressively and with more care at the EPL. Thus, the betting options available for the EFL Championship will be higher than the EPL.
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