A player prop market (short for player proposition) is a market that is only concerned with the performance of a particular player in a particular aspect of the game. These bets aren’t impacted by the overall outcome of the game, be it the final score, the number of goals in it or the number of corners.
They’re also fairly easy to place. A football player prop market will look at just one aspect of a player’s contribution to the game and ask whether the player does or doesn’t do what the market is asking during the game.
Most player prop markets are binary: so either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, or over/under. Here are the most common ones you’ll encounter at online sportsbooks.
Goalscorer Markets
If you think a game will have three or four goals in it, go with bets on a player(s) to score anytime or even to score 2 or more. But if you think goals will be at a premium, you’re better off going with a player at say 12.0 to be first scorer than with two players at 3.0 to score anytime.
First Goalscorer
Which player will score the first goal of the game? If the first goal of the match is an own goal, the market will be settled according to who scores the second.
If there isn’t a second or any goals at all, then ‘no goalscorer’ will be settled as the winner., which is one of the runners you can back in the market.
To Score Anytime
It doesn’t matter whether it’s the first goal of the game or not; you just need the player you backed to score at any time.
To Score 2/3 Goals
You can also back a player to score two or more goals in the game, or three or more goals in the game. In most cases, the odds on 2 or more would be at least 5.0 and at least 9.0 on 3 or more, in most cases much bigger.
Shots Markets
A shot that hits the crossbar or post is not considered a shot on target. Instead, it’s considered an off-target shot, as the crossbar or post aren’t considered part of the goal.
The betting site will state somewhere in their rules which source they use for settling player prop bets; usually either Opta or Stats Perform. It’s possible that a different source may produce a different stat, meaning one source may have Mbappe with 3 shots on target and another with only 2.
So if the bet was settled in a way you didn’t expect it to be, the different sources could be the reason for it.
Player X Shots on Target
The market will be based on whether the named player will manage x number of shots on target in the match. For example, will Kylian Mbappe have 3 (or more) shots on target in the match?
Player X Shots
Here, the shots don’t need to be on target. Whether Mbappe’s three shots end up in the back of the net, saved by the keeper, or five metres over the bar is irrelevant: what matters is that he attempted to score with a shot.
Fouls and Cards Markets
Finally, the markets where your selections are typically “yes” or “no”. Fouls and cards are big parts of any football match and, if you know that a team (or both) are prone to more aggressive play, these markets will be a good choice for your bets.
Player to Be Shown a Card
Will the named player receive a yellow or red card during the game? Either will do for the purposes of the bet.
Player to Be Sent Off
In this case you’ll need the player to actually see red, though it doesn’t matter whether it’s a straight red card or two yellows leading to a red.
Player X to Commit 1/2/3 or More Fouls
Will the named player commit a certain number of fouls? For the purposes of this market, being caught offside doesn’t count as committing a foul, though some betting sites offer separate markets on the number of times in a game when a player is caught offside.
Player to Suffer 1/2/3 Fouls
Similar to above but this time it’s the number of fouls committed rather than suffered. In this case, a handball (whether deliberate or not) does count as a foul committed.
