Both teams to score, shortened to BTTS, asks one question: does each side get at least one goal? If the answer is yes for both, a BTTS yes bet wins. A 1-1 is a yes. A 3-2 is a yes. A 4-0 is a no, because one team finished on nothing. Some bookmakers call the two sides GG and NG, for goal-goal and no-goal.
The table below carries today’s BTTS tips from an outside prediction provider, shown as published. The rest of the page looks at what separates a match where both teams score from one where they don’t, using 33,323 league matches.
Other tips for today
Br1
Botafogo
Fluminense
99
Tomorrow’s tips
How BTTS is settled
The 90 minutes plus added time decide it. Extra time and penalties don’t count. Own goals count in the final score, and most bookmakers credit them to the team that benefits, though you should check the rule where you bet. Abandoned matches are normally void unless both teams had already scored. The winner and the total number of goals don’t matter.
BTTS compared with over 2.5
They look alike and they aren’t the same bet. Over 2.5 needs three goals from anyone. BTTS needs a goal at both ends. A 3-0 wins over 2.5 and loses BTTS. A 1-1 wins BTTS and loses over 2.5.
They do overlap a lot. When a match went over 2.5, both teams had scored 79.8% of the time. When both teams scored, the match went over 2.5 in 76.7% of cases. Match totals tell the same story: with two goals, BTTS happened only 50.7% of the time (the other half were 2-0 and 0-2), with three goals 71.8%, and with four goals 83.0%.
The team that doesn’t score
The home team finished with no goal in 23.3% of matches, and the away team in 31.3%. So BTTS no is most often about the visitors failing to score. Across all leagues, BTTS yes landed in 52.7% of matches.
Shots on target and BTTS
Shots on target are the best simple guide we found, and what matters is the smaller of the two teams’ counts. When one side had no shots on target, BTTS happened in 2.7% of matches, as you’d expect. At one shot it was 27.6%. It climbed steadily:
| Shots on target by the weaker side | Matches | Both teams scored |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5,193 | 27.6% |
| 2 | 8,029 | 46.4% |
| 3 | 7,932 | 59.0% |
| 4 | 5,556 | 69.2% |
| 5 | 2,956 | 76.9% |
| 6 or more | 1,892 | 83.4% |
When both teams had at least four shots on target, BTTS landed 73.9% of the time. This is a measure of what happened in the match, so it can’t be used before kick-off, but the same logic works on recent form. A team that regularly gets three or four shots on target a game scores in most of its matches. This is how often a side scored, by its own shots on target in the match:
| Own shots on target | Matches | Team scored |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1,777 | 3.2% |
| 1 | 5,476 | 35.1% |
| 2 | 9,359 | 56.7% |
| 3 | 11,500 | 69.4% |
| 4 | 11,238 | 78.5% |
| 5 | 9,366 | 84.4% |
Two shots on target is roughly the point where a team is more likely to score than not. One is a long way short of it.
Favourites and BTTS
A strong favourite doesn’t make BTTS likelier, and it often makes it less likely. When the closing price gave the favourite 75% or more, BTTS landed in only 47.4% of matches even though those games averaged 3.44 goals, the most of any group. The favourite kept a clean sheet in 50.2% of them. Matches with no clear favourite, under 45%, had BTTS in 53.8%.
A red card changes things less than you might think. Where only the home side was sent off, BTTS landed in 56.3% of matches, against 52.5% with no red card in the match.
League by league
| League | Both teams scored |
|---|---|
| Bundesliga | 60.1% |
| 2. Bundesliga | 58.6% |
| Eredivisie | 56.5% |
| Premier League | 55.3% |
| Serie A | 51.4% |
| Primeira Liga | 49.3% |
| Ligue 2 | 48.5% |
| Greek Super League | 47.2% |
Eighteen leagues in the data, and the spread is thirteen points. The Bundesliga has BTTS in six matches out of ten. The Greek Super League has it in fewer than half.
Five rules for BTTS tips
- Judge the weaker attack. The strong team’s record is a distraction. The question is whether the other side scores.
- Start from the league. A yes tip in Germany begins at 60% and the same tip in Greece at 47%.
- Be careful with big favourites. They score freely, but their opponents often don’t.
- Use recent shots on target. A side that rarely tests the keeper is a poor bet to score.
- Don’t stack. Three yes picks at 60% each all land about 22% of the time.
Common mistakes
The most common error is backing yes on a mismatch because the favourite will “score loads”. It may, and the match can still finish 4-0.
Another is backing no in a defensive league without a reason. Even Greece, the lowest of the 18, had BTTS in 47.2% of matches, so no wasn’t a safe pick there.
The third is treating a high-scoring game as a BTTS guarantee. At three goals, BTTS landed in 71.8% of games, which leaves more than one in four with a clean sheet.
Questions people ask
What does BTTS yes mean? Both teams score at least once.
What does BTTS no mean? At least one team doesn’t score, including a 0-0.
Which league has the most BTTS? The Bundesliga, at 60.1% of matches.
Is BTTS the same as GG? Yes. GG is goal-goal, which means both scored. NG is no-goal.
Does a goalless first half matter? The bet covers the whole match, so a quiet half doesn’t decide it.
Can BTTS win without a draw or a win? The result is irrelevant, so a 3-2 away win and a 1-1 draw both win a yes bet.
Where are tomorrow’s and the weekend’s tips? On the tomorrow page and the weekend page.
Tips are estimates and not promises. You have to be 18 or over to bet, and a stake should be money you can afford to lose.