Punting Corner: Football corners betting tips – Friday January 16th 2026
In a fun new daily column here on Odds Now, our Head of Content Matt Hill will be offering up a betting tip from a football corners market.
Matt is our resident darts expert but is also fond of a wager on corners markets, where he believes value is often easier to unearth than in the hugely well-structured match winner markets.
You can follow along with Matt's profit and loss for the Punting Corner column on the bottom of each article!
So, one winner and one loser from Wednesday's two selections. Almere City did us proud, despite falling to a 3-1 defeat in the Dutch Cup, winning the corner count 5-3 against their top-tier opponents Telstar.
However, Celtic couldn't get the double up, managing only four corners at Falkirk – three short of the seven required. Given they all came in the first half, we were trading at 4/6 in-running but Martin O'Neill's men rather shut up shop to successfully protect a 1-0 lead. Shame!
Onto Thursday, where it's typically slim pickings on the quietest day of the footballing week (roll on the Europa Conference League return, I say). Still, one bet jumps out over in Germany...
Italy is the first port of call today, where the sole Serie B contest on Friday night sees fallen giants Sampdoria host Virtus Entella.
It's quite sad to see the state of Samp these days. This is a club who won Serie A in 1991, then a year later, were runners up in the Champions League (then European Cup) final, for goodness sake. Now languishing in the lower reaches of the second tier, only a points deduction for Brescia last term spared them an embarrassing drop to tier three – and things haven't been much better in 2025-26.
They enter this one sat 16th in the table, only out of the relegation zone on goal difference. Visiting Entella are a direct rival in the basement battle, just two points ahead of the hosts on 19 points. It goes without saying this looks a hugely important fixture for both sides.
Entella have only scored 17 goals this term but have shown an uncanny knack for winning corners. An average of 6.21 corners per game across 19 fixtures this term is the best ratio in the entire division – quite remarkable, really. Samp, meanwhile, go along at a modest 4.68 per game. Steady enough, but that's quite a difference really.
So, even factoring in home advantage here, I'm struggling to see why Entella are 7/4 to win the corner count in what should be a nervy and close-fought contest.
Our second and final stop on Friday sees a trip to France for more second-tier action as two play-off chasing sides meet when Dunquerke host Pau.
This is sixth vs seventh here, which may not be your gut instinct when looking at the match betting. The hosts are no bigger than 10/11 to win this one, with Pau all the way out at 13/4 best price. Money continues to come for the home side, though, so confidence is clearly high among the more seasoned punters of this division.
One thing that cannot be disputed, however, is that the visitors are far more reliable in terms of winning corners. This term, they have won an average of 5.61 across their 18 games. Though that number drops to 4.88 on their travels, it's still enough to keep you interested against a Dunquerke side who average only 4.61 per match this term.
There's further reason to want to be with the visitors here, too. In their earlier meeting this term, Dunquerke notched up an impressive 3-0 win. However, they still lost the corner count 8-1. Further evidence that dominance doesn't necessarily equate to corners.
There's plenty of 7/5 about the visitors winning the corner count here and I think that is juicy enough to take a chance on.
1pt - Virtus Entella most corners vs Sampdoria - 7/4 (Betfred)
1pt - Pau most corners vs Dunquerke - 7/5 (various)
0.5pt double - Entella/ Pau most corners in their matches - 5.3/1 (Bet Goodwin)
Total staked - 2.5pts
Running total for Punting Corner = -1.7pts
Prices correct as of publish time, 6:15pm on Thursday January 15th 2026.
Matt Hill is Odds Now's Head of Content and leads our digital operation, while also offering his insight as a tipster across darts and football.
Having worked in the industry for the best part of a decade, including extended stints with Betfred and LiveScore, Matt joined the project in May 2024 with the sole aim of making Odds Now a key player in the betting content space.
He has also forged a reputation as a respected darts tipster, landing numerous three-figure outright winners over the years, while his love for lower league football also helps him pick out the odd obscure winner in that space.
When not at the editorial desk, Matt enjoys travelling the country supporting his beloved Carlisle United FC, chucking a few arrows and spending time with his young family.
Matt Hill is Odds Now's Head of Content and leads our digital operation, while also offering his insight as a tipster across darts and football.
Having worked in the industry for the best part of a decade, including extended stints with Betfred and LiveScore, Matt joined the project in May 2024 with the sole aim of making Odds Now a key player in the betting content space.
He has also forged a reputation as a respected darts tipster, landing numerous three-figure outright winners over the years, while his love for lower league football also helps him pick out the odd obscure winner in that space.
When not at the editorial desk, Matt enjoys travelling the country supporting his beloved Carlisle United FC, chucking a few arrows and spending time with his young family.
Matt's p/l
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