Football betting involves a lot of number crunching. There are a variety of statistical figures that are referred to find out the probable outcome of an upcoming bet. One such statistic is points per game or PPG. The points per game statistic is considered for deciding whether the team is weak or strong. Sometimes, when the two or more teams are at the same rank in points tally, who will go to the next round is decided by the points per game. Let’s explore various aspects of this statistic and its use in football betting.
What is Points per Game?
Points per Game or PPG is calculated by adding total points gained divided by the number of games played. As per the FIFA guidelines, the winning team gains three points in a match, the draw match requires teams to share one point each and there is no point allotted to the losing side. Thus, points per game statistic in Football Betting comes into the picture when someone sits and tries to understand the overall performance of the team during the past season or seasons. This statistic gives a clear picture of the strength of team and allows punters to tell a strong team apart from the weaker ones.
Various ways PPG statistic is evaluated
As explained above, PPG is total number of points earned per the number of matches played. So, the statistic covers the performance of the teams during a course of time and helps establish a team as a strong contender for the upcoming tournament. This statistic is useful for bet analysis and is evaluated in different manners, such as:
- Points per game as home team: The punters take into account all matches played at the home ground and use this number to divide the total points earned and find the average. It helps understand how the team made use of favorable conditions at home ground. The total number of matches will include all the won matches, drawn matched and the ones lost at the home ground. So, apart from team composition, formations and current team capability, the punters evaluate PPG as home team to ascertain strength of the team.
- Points per game as the away team: A team playing on a non-home ground or playing as an away team has to overcome various psychological challenges to beat the opponent. Thus, a high Points per game as away team is a strong indicator of a team’s capability. How many points earned per all the matches played as an away team in a past tournament or season are calculated to find the PPG as away team.
- Points per game last ‘n’ games: A certain number of games played in the recent past are picked up for determining this game statistics in football. The points earned divided by ‘n’ number of games helps to find the current strength of the team. Usually, the last 5 or 10 games are considered to find this figure. It enables the researcher to find how the team has fared most recently and what its current form is.
- Points per game head-to-head: When two teams meet each other on the ground for a match, they are contending head-to-head. So, points per game or PPG head-to-head is calculated to find the points earned from matches played against a specific opponent. It is read in conjugation with the historical data and determines the dominant team off the two teams in consideration.
In rare cases, when a clear winner is not established in a tournament, even after the approved number of chances are given, the authorities decide the winner by taking points per game statistic in consideration. Thus, the teams have to take this figure quite seriously and work towards boosting it to maintain the position as a strong contender. Various betting decisions are based on this statistic and help in understanding the real strength of any team. Sometimes, a team wins the match just by that goal which happened by chance. So, the last win is not the correct data to understand the strength of the team. Instead, PPG statistic is taken into account to understand consistency in performance, technical superiority and other important information that indicates the true strength of a specified team.
How PPG statistic is useful in sports betting
PPG statistic helps to find if the odds are correct or not. The bookmakers use sophisticated tools to make odds. If the PPG statistic is used by the oddsmaker, then the odds can be considered to be true. The clarity about the current form of the teams is obtained with the help of PPG. The bettors may compare the PPG statistic of two last seasons, or two leagues played recently by the team. If the latest PPG is lower than the one for the previous seasons, then it shows that the team has weakened over the time, and so, total wins statistic may be misleading.
PPG for the ‘n’ number of last games is a very important statistic. A high PPG shows that the team has performed well in the games played recently. So, this team is worth backing and if the odds are placed in its favor, then it is quite likely to earn a win in the betting record.
If the team has 50 points from 25 matches, then the PPG is 2.0. And, if the team has 25 points from the last 25 matches, then the PPG is 1.0. So, it may be confusing at times. Thus, only the exact number of matches should be considered for comparing and evaluating the PPG statistic to get the clear picture.
To sum up, PPG statistic is used a lot by the bettors to understand the consistency and form level of the team. If the two teams are compared for current form, the PPG statistic helps find the stronger of the two. The predictions at soccer tipsters are based on PPG statistic as well, in addition to other figures. So, while researching, do make a point to evaluate and compare PPG statistic, should you desire to have more frequent wins in football betting.