Every football match is priced long before kick-off, and those prices tell a story: who the market expected to win, how confident it was and how that view changed as team news arrived. Historical odds keep that story after the final whistle. This guide explains what a historical odds archive contains and how to look up the odds of any past match on BetArchives.
What are historical football odds?
Historical odds are the prices a bookmaker offered on a match that has already been played. On BetArchives every match keeps two prices for each selection: the opening odds, the first price published (usually days before the game), and the closing odds, the last price before kick-off.
Because the result is known, every price can be checked against what actually happened. That is what makes an archive useful: you can see not only what the market thought, but whether it was right.
Why look at the odds of past matches?
People use historical odds for research rather than for betting. Common reasons are:
- Checking the market's view of a match – a team priced at 1.40 was a clear favourite; at 3.50 it was an outsider.
- Measuring surprises – an away win at 6.00 is a much bigger upset than one at 2.20.
- Following odds movement – the gap between opening and closing prices shows how news and money moved the market. See dropping odds explained.
- Studying teams and leagues – how often a team wins when it is favourite, or how often matches in a league go over 2.5 goals.
- Learning how odds work – comparing prices with results is the fastest way to understand implied probability. See how to read decimal odds.
How to find the odds of a past match on BetArchives
- By date: the finished matches page opens on today. Use the date bar or the calendar to jump to any day in the archive.
- By competition: filter a day by league, or open a league page such as the Premier League archive to see every finished match, newest first.
- By team: search for a club to open its page, with all of its matches, its results and its record as favourite.
- Match page: click any match to see every market, the opening and closing price of each selection and which bets won.
Matches appear a few minutes after kick-off, once the closing prices are final. The archive keeps the current season and the previous one.
What each match page shows
- Match result (1X2): home win, draw or away win.
- Goals over/under: every line from 1.5 to 4.5 goals, plus first-half goals. See over/under 2.5 explained.
- Both teams to score: yes or no. See BTTS explained.
- Corners over/under where the bookmaker priced the market.
- Winning selections are marked in green, settled on the 90-minute result.
- Odds analysis: the probability each price implied once the bookmaker's margin is removed, and whether the result was an upset.
What the archive shows so far
Across the last 201 finished matches in the archive, the closing favourite won 51% of the time and 26% ended in a draw. 57% of matches had three goals or more and both teams scored in 58%. In 41% of matches, the price of the eventual result shortened between opening and kick-off.
These figures update automatically as new matches are added. League-by-league numbers are on each competition's statistics page, for example Premier League statistics.
Where the odds come from, and their limits
Prices are Bet365's pre-match odds, collected through our data provider. Odds describe what the market expected; they are not a forecast of future matches, and past patterns can change at any time. BetArchives is an archive: it does not accept bets and does not link to bookmakers.
Figures in bold come from the last 201 finished matches in the archive and update automatically.
Frequently asked questions
Are the closing odds the odds at kick-off?+
Yes. The closing price is the last price recorded before the match started. The opening price is the first one published.
How far back does the archive go?+
The archive covers the current season and the previous season. Older matches are removed as each new season begins.
Can I use historical odds to predict results?+
Historical odds show what the market expected and how often it was right. They are useful for research, but no pattern guarantees a future result.
Is BetArchives a bookmaker?+
No. BetArchives is an independent statistics archive. It does not take bets, sell tips or link to bookmakers.