You may not have heard much about the Egypt Premier League, but the highest division of the Egyptian soccer league system has been around since 1948. In its 74 years of existence, a total of 70 teams have had the privilege of participating.
There’s a club that has stood out by far: Al Ahly. Also known as the Red Devils, that’s right, Manchester United don’t have exclusive rights to that nickname, they’ve won the title 42 times. Most recently, they won the gold in the 2019-20 season.
The Red Devils are followed by Zamalek with 14 titles. Overall, seven teams have been able to win the gold, but no other has won it more than three times. In other words, you’ll always find Al Ahly and Zamalek among the Egypt Premier League betting favorites.
According to the Confederation of African Football, CAF, the Egypt Premier League is the second-best tournament in the continent. Morocco’s topflight is the best even though Egyptians teams have won the CAF Champions League a record 16 times.
Some of the best Egyptian players of all time began their careers at home, including Mohamed Salah, Ahmed Elmohamady, Mohamed Aboutrika and Hossam Hassan, who’s considered the best. That will change once Salah retires.
How the Championship Works & Betting Strategy
The Egypt Premier League works like the top European leagues. There are 18 teams in total, and each team faces the other 17 twice, one at home, one on the road. A victory means three points, while a draw means one. Losing means zero. At the end of the season, the team with the most points wins the title. Keep in mind that all teams also play in the Egypt Cup.
If needed, the head-to-head between two teams with the same points is the first tiebreaker. Goal difference is second, while goals scored is third. That’s important since the top two teams automatically qualify for the CAF Champions League.
Regarding relegation, since 2015, the last three teams are relegated to the Egyptian Second League, which consists of three groups. Therefore, the winner of each group is promoted to the Egypt Premier League.
Besides checking the Egypt Premier League lines weekly, it’s important to keep track of recent results, injury reports, transfers, international breaks and the latest soccer news. With all that in mind, you can start by picking a straight up winner for each match, also known as the moneyline. If the team that you selected wins, you win, regardless of the result.
You can also bet on the total and the handicap. The total, also known as over/under, is the sum of all the goals scored in the match, while the handicap is kind of an advantage/disadvantage thing. For example, the favorite team is -1, which means they must win by at least two goals. If they win 2-1, that -1 would make it 1-1.
That’s not all! We also have prop bets, with which you can select which player is going to score the first goal of the game, which team is going to win the first half, the total for yellow cards and corners, to name a few. Summing up, more chances for you to win!
Title Contenders
The Egypt Premier League is dominated by two teams who consequently always dominate the Egypt Premier League odds to win the title. We’re talking about Al Ahly and Zamalek. Either Al Ahly or Zamalek have won the title in each of the last 18 seasons. The last team able to interrupt that trend was Ismaily in the 2001-02 season.
Overall, Al Ahly has won the title 42 times, while Zamalek has won it 14 times. However, if you’re interested in a couple of dark horses, besides Ismaily, keep an eye in Al Masry and Al Ittihad. They’re in the top five of teams with the most points in the history of the Egypt Premier League.
