How to Bet on Corners or Cards

In sports betting, betting on corners or cards in football is exciting and can be lucrative. You bet on the number of corner kicks awarded or cards given in a match, with options such as over/under, exact number, or split halves. You can also bet on which team will have more corners or cards in the match, and there are options like Asian handicaps.

Where Can I Find Cards and Corner Statistics?

Using data to bet on cards and corners is very important to improve your winrate. To obtain these statistics for leagues like EPL, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Ligue 1, etc., we recommend websites such as WhoScored, FootyStats or Sofascore, which have very advanced search engines and use the same data providers (Opta) as the main bookmakers.

Below, we’ll share tips on betting on corners and cards in football. These strategies are adapted to the current football tactics and various team play patterns, especially in the top 5 club leagues. We’ll start with corner kicks:

How to Bet on Corner Kicks in 2026 

Corner Kick Betting

Betting on corners is appealing because of the wide range of possibilities, making corner kicks a key element in every match. Multiple corner bets can be selected and combined.

What are Corner Kick Bets?

Betting on the corner kick market is basically trying to predict the number of corner kicks that the referee will award a team during an entire match.

Types of Corner Bets

Knowing how many corners there are in a match is one of the main markets in football betting. In fact, corners are one of the most decisive actions in football and have changed the course of its history many times.

Within the corner betting section, we have possibilities such as the following:

To understand how to bet on corners, it’s common to start with the simplest markets, such as over/under. In this market, you choose whether there will be more or fewer corners than a selected number. Decimal numbers are used, for example, 8.5.

• If the number is lower, the bet is won if there are eight corners or fewer.
• If it is larger, it is correct if there are nine corners or more.

The Twists and Turns that Corners Take

Let’s remember when Atlético Madrid won the league in 2014-15 with a header from Godín at the Camp Nou. They lost the  Champions League that year when Sergio Ramos scored in the 93rd minute with a header from a corner; contrasting emotions.

Strategies and Tips for Your Corner Sports Betting

Corner betting is a whole world in itself and therefore requires a careful strategy.

• Study the Teams Involved: To bet on corners, consider their attacking and defensive styles, their propensity to concede corners, their physical condition, and other factors, such as recent form.

• Select the Appropriate Markets for the Match in Question: For example, in matches between attacking teams, betting on the total number of corners can be an interesting option. Corner handicap bets can also be used when a team is more likely to win corners based on their playing style, such as Newcastle or Bayern Munich.

• Combine Corners with Other Bets: In matches featuring one or two highly offensive teams, numerous corners are likely. Therefore, it’s possible to combine predictions on the final score or over/under goals with the corner winner, especially when one team is clearly superior to its opponent and, above all, if it tends to struggle to defend corners effectively. These are just a few of the attractive possibilities that exist in this regard.

• Compare Odds at Different Bookmakers: Use odds comparison sites that show the highest odds in each market to get an idea of where to find value. 

Strategies for Betting on the Card Market

Cards Betting

Here, we will explain how, where, and when to place bets on yellow cards with examples and real cases based on our own experience. 

We’ll discuss how to use data to bet in the cards market, and where it plays a significant role in certain situations. The statistics we’ll use in this guide are from Opta Sports, the official data provider for LaLiga, the Premier League, and other leagues, and a data provider for major bookmakers globally.

What are Card Bets?

Betting on the card market is basically trying to predict the number of cautions that the referee will issue to a player, a team, or during an entire match after the commission of actions that constitute an infringement of the rules during a football match.

Types of Bets on Cards

Using a bookmaker like 22Bet, for example, we can see the various card markets that they offer for betting on their platform. Also, it is important to know that different bookies in Nigeria will have more or fewer card markets than their competitors.

Thus, for example, we can see betting markets like the following:

• Number of cards in the match: That is, whether or not a specific number of cards will be exceeded in the match.
• Player cards: Which specific player will receive a yellow card?
• Handicap cards: Which team will receive more cautions (or a tie) with a fictitious addition/subtraction to the final card result (+1, -1, +2, etc.).
• First card received: Which team will receive the first card in the match?
• Minute of the first card: If there is a card before or after the indicated minute of the first half.

In all these betting areas mentioned above, we can rely on data to find real value in the odds. The key is knowing how to interpret which statistics can tell us about the market in question. 

Example of How to Bet on the Card Market

Let’s take the ‘Player Cards’ market as an example: If the player we want to bet on is a defender, and the attacker he will have to mark in that match is a player who takes on defenders, forces many fouls, and pushes his marker to the limit, he will always be closer to being booked.

Simply knowing the lineups, the opponent, and the characteristics of the players (in this example, data on fouls and tackles per game or on dribbles and forced cards) can make all the difference.

Statistics for Betting on Cards You Should Know

Paying attention to the right statistics is crucial when it comes to improving your betting strategies for the card market. Here are some factors you should consider:

• The assigned referee is one of the most decisive factors in this market. Some referees are known for being stricter and more punitive, while others allow for more physical play.
• Players’ defensive behavior is key to predicting cards. Players who commit many fouls or have a physical style are more likely to be booked.
• Defensive behavior isn’t the only important factor; the offensive player the defender is facing is also crucial. An attacker who draws a lot of fouls or is known for constant dribbling can easily draw cautions.
• The playing style of the teams also influences the number of cards. Teams with aggressive systems and high pressure tend to accumulate more bookings.

Example of Using Statistics to Bet on this Market: Referees

We’re going to focus, as an example, on referee card statistics. This is a piece of information we can never overlook in this market. For this, we suggest you use the FootyStats website, specifically their “Referee Statistics” section. Here you’ll find several very relevant data points: fouls per match, yellow/red cards per match, and total yellow/red cards.

Does it make a difference if you’re betting on cards in an EPL match and the referee is Mike Dean (3.96 cards per game) versus Mark Clattenburg (2.99 per game)? The answer is clear. Knowing which referees show the most yellow cards in the EPL is crucial. While it’s true that bookmakers often adjust their odds based on the referee’s average, it’s always a key factor to consider when placing your bets.

One final point within this section on refereeing statistics: it’s important to differentiate referee averages regarding home and away matches. The behavior, and therefore the rate at which referees issue cards, isn’t always the same for home teams as it is for away teams due to factors such as the home advantage or the scoreline. 

A clear example by  22/01/2025, Hernández Hernández is the LaLiga referee with the highest number of yellow cards per match for away teams (2.94 per match), yet he was only 16th in bookings for home teams (2.06 per match).

Tips and Strategies for Betting On Cards

This last section expands on the previous one. When should you bet on cards in football? What types of matches, referees, and players offer the best value for betting in this market? What’s the best time to bet on this market? Let’s look at some quick tips.

• Look for matches with high stakes or a tense atmosphere between the two sides. The behind-the-scenes drama or unresolved issues between players are always there to offer you good odds.
• Study teams, players, and referees. Data is incredibly helpful in this market. We’ve included several very interesting websites for you to explore before placing your bets.
• Don’t worry if you don’t know whether a player will start or not; lineups are usually announced about 60 minutes before kickoff. Wait until you have that information before placing your bet.
• Look for players who commit a lot of fouls, make a lot of tackles, or face off against players who frequently draw fouls or dribble past opponents. That’s where the yellow/red cards come in.
• Consider the competition when placing your bets. For example, the criteria for a yellow card in the Premier League are not the same as in La Liga.
• Always keep an eye on players who are one yellow card away from suspension. There are often very good value bets if you carefully analyze which player might deliberately get booked to complete their suspension cycle.
• Live matches where a red card has already been shown are usually a great option. The likelihood of the referee ‘compensating’ by sending off another player is very high.
• Stay away from matches with teams that have a lot of possession and little risk in their play. Don’t go into matches where there isn’t much at stake. Avoid ‘white flags’.
• Don’t rush to place your bet. You can wait for the live broadcast and see what kind of match it will be. Also, there are usually very few cards in the first 30 minutes; play with that margin, and you might even be able to let the odds increase and profit from it.
• Referees with very low card records are dangerous. There can always be an exception, but if they have low averages, it’s for a reason. It’s their refereeing criteria, and they rarely deviate from it. Unless you’re betting on an ‘under’.
• Beware of bookmakers that don’t guarantee a player’s starting position, meaning your bet is void if the player isn’t in the starting eleven. Imagine your bet on your player comes on in the 85th minute, and you only have 5 minutes for them to get a yellow card. Watch out for that.
• It’s a very volatile market, and bookmakers tend to be very attentive during live matches, so it’s not usually easy to find some of these markets open in very intense matches or when there have been recent cards.

Where to Bet On Corners and Cards?

The corner and cards market varies greatly across different bookmakers.

For example, in Nigeria, some betting sites give corner betting a separate section, others include it among the main markets, and still others mix it with the cards. 1XBet has the best offering in this area for major football matches, with around 86 corner betting markets!

Also worth mentioning are Betano and 22Bet, two bookies offering live corner betting and dedicated sections for corner kick markets. 22Bet offers a wide variety of betting options, comparable to 1XBet, while Betano, for example, features some different markets, such as handicap, which isn’t as common among bookmakers.

Chikezie Benson

Hi!! I’m Benson, a Nigerian based writer, researcher and football analyst with more than 3 years of experience. My work is brought to you by my passion for sports.