A halftime bet is about who’s winning at the break, or about what happens in the first 45 minutes. The usual form is the halftime result, written 1, X or 2 for a home lead, level, or an away lead. The first half has its own over/under goal lines, its own double chance and its own correct score.
The table below carries today’s halftime tips from an outside prediction provider, shown as published. Under it we look at how often matches are level at the break, which leagues start slowly, and how often a half-time lead turns into a win, using 33,324 league matches.
Other tips for today
Nz2
Nelson Suburbs
Christchurch United
HT
Tomorrow’s tips
How a halftime bet is settled
Only the first 45 minutes plus added time count. The score at the break decides it, whatever happens after. If you back a team to lead at halftime and it scores in the 46th minute, that doesn’t help. If a match is postponed or abandoned before the break, the bet is normally void, and bookmakers differ on abandonments after it.
First-half goal lines work the same way. Over 0.5 first-half goals wins if there’s any goal before the whistle, and over 1.5 needs two.
The break is more often level than anything else
Across 33,324 matches, 41.2% were level at half-time, 33.7% had the home team ahead and 25.2% had the visitors ahead. At full time the draw falls to 26.2%. So level is the most likely halftime result in most leagues. The Bundesliga and the Scottish Premiership are the exceptions, where a home lead is fractionally more common.
Goals come late. The first half produced 44.7% of all goals, which means the second half produces more than half. The average first half had 1.20 goals. Over 0.5 landed in 70.3% of matches, over 1.5 in 33.9% and over 2.5 in 11.9%.
| Halftime score | Share of matches |
|---|---|
| 0-0 | 29.7% |
| 1-0 | 20.4% |
| 0-1 | 16.0% |
| 1-1 | 10.5% |
| 2-0 | 7.0% |
| 0-2 | 4.6% |
Nearly 3 matches in 10 are goalless at the break.
League by league
| League | Level at the break | Goals in the first half | Over 1.5 first-half goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Segunda División | 46.6% | 1.02 | 27.7% |
| Ligue 2 | 45.1% | 1.09 | 30.0% |
| La Liga | 44.1% | 1.14 | 31.2% |
| Premier League | 38.4% | 1.30 | 37.5% |
| Scottish Premiership | 36.8% | 1.25 | 34.8% |
| Bundesliga | 35.9% | 1.47 | 43.8% |
The Bundesliga starts quickly. Its average first half had 1.47 goals and 43.8% of its first halves had two or more. In the Segunda División almost half of all matches were level at the break, and only 27.7% had two first-half goals.
When a halftime lead turns into a win
A lead at the break is worth a lot, but it depends on the score. Teams that led 1-0 at halftime went on to win 70.9% of the time, draw 19.8% and lose 9.2%. When the visitors led 1-0 away from home, they won 61.7%, drew 25.2% and lost 13.1%. A 2-0 lead was almost decisive: the leader won 91.5% of the time when it was the home side and 87.3% when it was the away side.
Strong favourites led at the break in 64.2% of matches when they were priced at 75% or better, were level in 26.3% and trailed in 9.5%. When they were level at the break, they went on to win 69.8%.
Five rules for halftime tips
- Respect the draw. Level at the break is the most common outcome in almost every league. Backing a team to lead needs a reason.
- Know the league’s pace. Over 1.5 first-half goals landed in 43.8% of Bundesliga matches and 27.7% of Segunda matches.
- Don’t confuse halftime with full time. The same match can be level at the break and decided later, because 55% of goals come after it.
- Treat a first-half 0-0 as the base case. 29.7% of matches finish the first half goalless.
- Check the line-ups. We don’t use team news, so a side missing key players can start differently from what the numbers expect.
Common mistakes
The first is backing the favourite to lead at halftime at short odds. Even strong favourites led in only 64.2% of their matches.
The second is expecting early goals in leagues that rarely produce them. A first-half over 1.5 in the Segunda División has landed less than three times in ten.
The third is mixing the half-time result with the full-time result. For that, there’s a separate bet, covered on the halftime/fulltime page.
Questions people ask
What does halftime result mean? Who is leading, or whether it’s level, when the referee blows for the break.
Does stoppage time in the first half count? Yes. Added time at the end of the first half counts.
How often is a match level at half-time? 41.2% of matches in our data.
Which league has the most first-half goals? The Bundesliga, at 1.47 a match.
Which has the fewest? The Segunda División, at 1.02.
Is the first half or the second half higher scoring? The second half. The first produces about 45% of the goals.
Where are the weekend’s tips? On the weekend halftime page.
Tips are estimates, not promises. You must be 18 or over to bet, and a stake should be money you can do without.