Shots on target bets: what a save, a block or the post counts for

A shot on target is a goal, a shot the goalkeeper saves, or a shot the last defender stops on the line. That is the Opta definition bet365 settles football statistics on, and BetFury’s rules give the same three cases.

The last row catches people out. Opta files a shot that was going wide as off target even when the goalkeeper touches it. A save needs a shot that was heading in.

A shot that hits the post or bar and stays out is off target at 22Bet, Melbet, BetFury and bet365. Both 22Bet and Melbet say shots which hit the crossbar or post are not counted. BetFury and bet365 count the attempt only if the ball goes in off the frame.

Total shots is another market. BetFury counts the bar in a player’s shots, so the same striker clears a line of 3.5 there.

Blocked shots do not count as shots on target at 22Bet and Melbet. Their rule leaves out any shot that is blocked, with no exception written in. One kind of block counts at bet365 and BetFury: the last-man clearance that keeps the ball out of the net.

Blocks do go into wider totals. At 22Bet the shots on goal market takes shots on target, shots off target and blocked shots together. BetFury adds blocked shots to a team’s total shots. For a player’s shots it leaves out a block by anyone but the last man.

So a goal-line clearance is the attempt to ask about. It adds one at bet365 and BetFury, and 22Bet’s wording gives it nothing.

The player has to start the match at BetFury and bet365, or the shot bet is void and the stake comes back. BetFury voids it even when he comes on later as a substitute. At 22Bet the general rule refunds a bet on a team member who takes no part in the game.

The period changes with the bookmaker too. At bet365 player shots on target include extra time, while match and team totals are settled on 90 minutes. BetFury counts regular time unless the market name says overtime is included.

In shots on target bets on one player, the team sheet decides whether the bet runs at all. Wait for the line-ups before you stake.

A score app shows another number when it uses a data source your bookmaker does not settle on. BetFury ranks its sources for team statistics: the official competition site first, then WhoScored, 365Scores and Sofascore. It settles on the first official publication and does not reopen a bet after a later change.

Opta goes back and amends its numbers at times, as Betfair warns its own customers. A shot shown as on target during the match can be reclassified afterwards. At 22Bet the football rules allow an hour after the final whistle for statistics markets to settle.

The corner betting explainer and the card betting explainer cover the other counting markets. The football betting sites list compares bookmakers for the sport, and the BetFury review covers that sportsbook. Betbook’s table of betting sites in Nigeria puts these bookmakers next to the rest.