GD is a universally used abbreviation in football that stands for goal difference. Goal difference is worked out by subtracting the number of goals a team has conceded during the season from the number of goals they have scored that season.
An Example Of Goal Difference
Let’s look at the goal difference Manchester City achieved when winning the 2020/21 Premier League to highlight how goal difference works.
Manchester City scored a total of 83 goals and conceded just 32 goals in their 38 Premier League matches during the 20/21 season. 83 – 32 = a goal difference of 51. They only won the title by 12 points, but their superiority was highlighted further by their goal difference being 22 goals better than their nearest rivals Manchester United.
Of course, not all goal differences start with a plus. Indeed, ten of the 20 Premier League clubs in the 2020/21 season returned a negative goal difference. Bottom club Sheffield United scored just 20 goals and conceded 63, meaning they finished the season with a –43 goals difference. West Brom and Fulham, who were also relegated, had the next two worse goal differences of –41 and –26.
How Does Goal Difference Effect Football Betting?
Goal difference is used in many leagues to separate teams that have finished equal on points. Leeds and Everton finished tied on 59 points in the 20/21 Premier League, but Leeds were placed ahead of Everton because of their superior goal difference.
Newcastle and Wolves also tied on points and, amazingly, also had identical goal differences of –16. In this scenario, the team that scored the most goals is placed ahead of the other team, so Newcastle (46) finished above Wolves (36).
This method of using goal difference and goals scored to determine which team finishes in front of another is used no matter where teams finish in the league, whether they’re at the top or at the bottom, therefore they could have a massive effect on betting results.
Markets such as league winner, top-4, top-6, top-10, and relegation can all be decided by goal difference or goals scored.
Useful Football League Table Abbreviations
If you’ve got more questions about what letters stand for in football league tables, check out our list of useful football league table abbreviations below.
POS – Position
Pld – Played
W – Won
L – Lost
GF – Goals For
GA – Goals Against
Pts – Points
Useful Soccer Stats Abbreviations
If you’re serious about football, especially making a profit from betting on football, it’s also a good idea to have a good understanding of soccer stats, which can be especially useful when it comes to studying the type of statistics that can help you pick a steady supply of winners that will help you make long term profits from betting on football.
Here are the most used abbreviations below.
AP – Attack Power
AS – Aggregate Score (over two legs)
LT – Livescore Table
PG – Penalty Kick Goals
PT – Prediction Table
SA – Save Average
SOG – Shots on Goal
Sh – Shots
SR – Save Ratio
TS – Top Scorer
Apps – Appearances
BLK – Blocked Shots
FTS – Failed to Score
GAA – Goals Allowed Average
GWA – Game Winning Assists
GWG – Game Winning Goals
Hat – Hattrick
MPK – Missed Penalty Kick
SOT – Shots on Target
SPCT – Save Shooting Percentage
How To Use Goal Difference To My Advantage When Betting On Football?
Goal difference isn’t the most important statistic to consider when it comes to football betting, but it can be the difference between a winning bet and a losing bet, so always consider it for markets such as winner and top-10, etc.
Let’s take top-10 betting as an example. You may think that the top seven teams are sure to finish in the top ten and the bookies think the race to fill the other four places is between six teams. You think that all have a similar chance but, if one team tends to have a much better goal difference than the others, this should give them an advantage if they tied for that all important tenth spot with another team.
Should I Pick My Own Football Selections?
Making a profit from football betting isn’t always easy if you bet on your own selections as, if you work full-time, you probably don’t have the time needed to study goal differences, let alone the hundreds of other statistics that professional football gamblers study regularly. If that’s the case, consider following the tips of a professional football tipster with a proven record of making a profit from football betting.
