Most Popular Soccer Leagues For 2024

Before getting into betting on soccer, you should know about the different leagues. There are an abundance of soccer betting lines thanks to these leagues. Each country has several different leagues, which are like divisions in American sports. Most people stick to betting on top-flight soccer, or the upper echelon teams.

You can bet on lesser division teams if you prefer, but these teams are not as well-known are followed. This page was created exclusively for soccer betting and has information on the major leagues that people wager on. You will find out about how these leagues work, the teams to look out for, and more.

How Soccer Leagues Work

Each soccer league is its own tendency, but there are some similarities that are consistent across the board. We will cover any specific changes that affect betting if needed. Most leagues have somewhere between 18-25 clubs (20 is the most common number) and each club plays each other twice in a season; once at home and once away.

This double round robin system gives each team a fair chance against each other. Clubs are ranked by points (3 points awarded for wins, 1 point awarded in a draw, and 0 points awarded for losses). They also factor in goals scored and goals against, which comes in handy given a tie with points.

If a club reaches a certain amount of points at any point in the season, they win the championship. This is why you may already have a league champion before the season is over. However, there is still something worth playing for, as the top teams (usually top 4 in most leagues, sometimes top 3) qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

The middle-tier teams qualify for the UEFA Europa League. The bottom teams are relegated to the second domestic division. This model applies to the major European Leagues. The US league is a bit different in that it is split into 2 conferences (Western/Eastern) and there is a Playoff series.

Domestic And League Cups

Each league has its own domestic and league cups in addition to the regular season games. One of the domestic cups runs on a 2-leg knockout round, in addition to qualifying rounds and group stages. The winner of this domestic cup typically plays the winner of the league’s regular season in another cup game. Winning the domestic cup can qualify you for the UEFA Europa League.

Soccer Leagues From Around The World

Major League Soccer - MLS

MLS is the American league and is considered somewhat of a laughing stock by other international soccer fans. There is no denying the differences in talent and money invested, but soccer has to compete with other American sports like football and basketball.

The league was founded in 1993 and the LA Galaxy are the most successful with 5 titles. The MLS gained some fame with significant European and Spanish players coming over in the twilight of their careers. The MLS is also split into a Western and Eastern Conference.

Current MLS Clubs

Eastern Conference

NYC FC
Columbus
Philadelphia
Orlando City
DC United
Chicago
NY Red Bulls
Montreal Impact
New England
Toronto FC
Atlanta United

Western Conference

Houston Dynamo
San Jose
LA Galaxy
Vancouver
LAFC
FC Dallas
Real Salt Lake
Colorado
Minnesota United
Portland
Seattle Sounders
Sporting KC

The MLS runs on a different schedule than other leagues. It is gaining popularity slowly, but is still a long way off from the other major European leagues.

Domestic Cups In North America

US Open Cup
Canadian Championship

English Premier League

The EPL is England’s top flight league. It is comprised of 20 teams and was founded in 1992. It is the most watched sports league in the world and certainly the most popular out of the European leagues.

The Premier League is home to some of the sport’s most talented players. 49 teams have competed in the Premier League in total. Manchester United is the most successful club in history with 13 EPL Championships. The teams to look out for are in bold.

Current EPL Clubs

Manchester City
Manchester United
Liverpool
Tottenham
Chelsea
Arsenal
Burnley FC
Leicester City
Watford
Brighton
Everton
Bournemouth
Swansea City
West Ham
Huddersfield
Newcastle
Southampton
Crystal Palace
Stoke City
West Brom

Manchester City is the clear favorite this season as they are well ahead of the pack. However, the race for the other top sports is quite close.

English Domestic Cups

EFL Championship
FA Cup
FA Community Shield

Bundesliga

The Bundesliga is the main German league. It is regarded as a one-club league since Bayern Munich seem to win the championship by a wide margin each year, but there is tight competition with the other clubs in the league.

While the EPL may be the most watched league, the Bundesliga has the most fans in attendance at each game. German fans are known for their loyalty and passion for their respective clubs. The Bundesliga was founded in 1963 and Bayern Munich are the leading club with 26 titles.

Current Bundesliga Clubs

Bayern Munich
Schalke 04
Borussia Dortmund
Eintracht
Bayer
RB Leipzig
Hoffenheim
Monchengladbach
VfB Stuttgart
FC Augsburg
Hannover 96
Hertha
SC Freiburg
Werder
Wolfsburg
Mainz
Hamburger SV
FC Koln

Bayern Munich are once again looking at another championship. Their team is simply too loaded with talent. They also tend to poach the best players from rising German clubs. This is why Bayern’s main focus is the Champions League.

German Domestic Cups

DFB-Pokal
DFL-Supercup

La Liga

La Liga is the Spanish premier division. This league is not as competitive as the EPL, but it is not as one-sided as the Bundesliga or Ligue 1. It is also home to 2 legendary soccer players, arguably the greatest of all time in fact.

La Liga fans are quite passionate, but they are known to have little patience so they are so used to winning (at least for Barca and Madrid). The league was founded in 1929 and Real Madrid has been the most successful with 33 titles.

Current La Liga Clubs

Barcelona
Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid
Valencia
Sevilla
Villareal
Girona
Elbar
Celta Vigo
Real Betis
Getafe CF
Real Sociedad
Leganes
Athletic Bilbao
Espanyol
Alaves
Levante
Las Palmas
Deportivo
Malaga

While Real Madrid was quite successful last year in winning the league and the Champions League, it seems that Barcelona has taken over. Barcelona is quite far ahead of both Atletico and Real. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid are still fighting for the Champions League title at the time of this writing.

Spanish Domestic Cups

Copa Del Ray
Supercopa de Espana

Ligue 1

Ligue 1 is the French league.

Current Ligue 1 Clubs

PSG
Monaco
Marseille
Lyon
Rennes
Montpeller
Nantes
OGC Nice
Bordeaux
Dijon FCO
Guingamp
Caen
St-Etienne
Angers
Strasbourg
Amiens SC
Toulouse
Troyes
LOSC
Metz

PSG is leading the pack yet again. They’ve been knocked out of the Champions League, so now they can focus on winning the title and securing their place in next year’s tournament. There is too much of a point distance for second-place Monaco to catch up.

Domestic Cups In France

Coupe de France
Trophee des Champions
Coupe de la Ligue

Serie A

Serie A is the Italian top-flight league. This league has produced some of the world’s best historically, but only 1 modern Italian club seems to be doing well. The league was founded in 1898 officially but switched to the modern round-robin system in 1929.

Current Serie A Clubs

Napoli
Juventus
Roma
Lazio
Inter Milan
Sampdoria
Milan
Atalanta
Torino
Fiorentina
Udinese
Bologna
Genoa
Chievo
Cagliari
Sassuolo
SPAL
Crotone
Verona
Benevento

Napoli and Juventus are locked into a back-and-forth battle for the league title this year. Some of these teams, like Milan, Inter, Juventus, and Roma are some of the more historic clubs in international football.

Domestic Tournaments In Italy

Coppa Italia
Supercoppa Italiana

UEFA Champions League

The Champions League is the epitome of European football. It is made up of the top teams in each of the European leagues. It was founded in 1955. The tournament begins with qualifying and group stages. In the group stage, teams are split up into 8 groups with 4 teams each. From there it moves into double-leg elimination.

Champions League games run at the same time as domestic league and cup games. These games add to the betting line options for soccer teams. Real Madrid has the most titles with 12. We’ve included the teams that made it to the group stages below.

Group A

Manchester United
Basel
CSKA Moscow
Benefica

Group B

Paris Saint-Germain
Bayern Munich
Celtic
Anderlecht

Group C

Roma
Chelsea
Atletico Madrid
Qarabag

Group D

Barcelona
Juventus
Sporting CP
Olympiacos

Group E

Liverpool
Sevilla
Spartak Moscow
Maribor

Group F

Manchester City
Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli
Feyenoord

Group G

Besiktas
Porto
RB Leipzig
Monaco

Group H

Tottenham Hotspur
Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund
APOEL

UEFA Europa League

The Europa League is pretty much the same thing as the Champions League. The only differences are that games are held on a different night and the teams are made up of middle-tier clubs from the domestic European leagues. It was founded in 1971. It has the same set up with qualifying rounds, a group stage and then double-leg knockouts.

The winner of the Europa league gets an automatic berth in next year’s Champions League. Sevilla is the leading club with 5 Europa titles. We’ve included the clubs that made the group stage below (teams knocked out of the Champions League early may also enter the tournament at a later point):

Group A

Villareal
Astana
Slavia Praha
M. Tel-Aviv

Group B

Dynamo Kyiv
Partizan
Young Boys
Skenderbeu

Group C

Braga
Ludogorets
Istanbul Basaksehir
Hoffenheim

Group D

Milan
AEK
Rijeka
Austria Wien

Group E

Atalanta
Lyon
Everton
Apollon Limassol

Group F

Lokomotiv Mosow
Kobenhavn
Sheriff
Zlin

Group G

Plzen
FCSB
Lugano
H. Beer-Sheva

Group H

Arsenal
Red Star Belgrade
FC Koln
BATE

Group I

Redbull
Marseille
Konyaspor
Vitoria SC

Group J

Athletic Bilbao
Ostersund
Zorya
Hertha

Group K

Lazio
OGC Nice
Zulte Waregem
Vitesse

Group L

Zenit
Real Sociedad
Rosenborg
FK Vardar