There are plenty of ways to stream football – whether it's Premier League, Champions League or anything else – by getting BT Sport and Sky Sports beamed straight to your TV without a contract
(Image credit: Future)
Do you stream football on your laptop? It may be convenient, but let's face it, watching the Premier League is better on a big screen.
Back in the olden days, you needed someone to come round and fit an aerial just so you could catch the latest edition of Wenger vs Ferguson. With more ways than ever to beam the football straight to your TV, however, it's now super easy to get high-quality streams on a widescreen.
Some of these options will only offer one of the Premier League broadcasters - so make sure if you're not investing in something that you can't use if you're one of those lucky buggers who has Sky, BT and Amazon Prime.
The latest Premier League broadcaster's standard stick is a marvel - but it's Sky-less
Specifications
Storage: 8GB
Processor: Quad-core
Definition: 4K
Reasons to buy
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Easy set-up
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Alexa-enabled
+
High quality
Reasons to avoid
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Doesn't include Sky Sports - boo!
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Needs Prime subscription and BT Sport pass for matches
Price: £49.99
Amazon's Fire Stick is reliable, excellent quality and the perfect way to watch all of the games broadcast on the service - this season, that's 20 games.
OK, so you might not want to splash out near to £50 just for those fixtures - especially when you're only guaranteed to watch your team - but given that you can also get the BT Sport app on there (which you'll need the BT Sport monthly pass for), you'll be getting plenty of Premier League games, as well as European fixtures and the FA Cup.
Siri, play me Premier League coverage from any broadcaster in high definition
Specifications
Storage: 32GB, 64GB
Processor: A10X Fusion chip with 64-bit architecture
Definition: 4K
Reasons to buy
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Tons of storage
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BT, Sky and Amazon all available
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Turn your iPhone into a remote
Reasons to avoid
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Pricey
Price: £149
The Apple TV 4K is three times more expensive than the Fire Stick 4K. Wowzers. If you're just after the football, then that seems like a lot more to pay just because Sky Sports is also included.
One of the benefits though of Apple's device is that the storage is double or quadruple what you get with Amazon's. Sure, that doesn't mean much if you're just after something to watch the football - but if you're also looking to download some movies to watch on your iPad or Macbook, then that's when the Apple TV 4K really does stand out.
Think of this less of a streaming box and more as an extension of your phone
Specifications
Definition: 1080p
Reasons to buy
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Compatible with BT Sport and Sky Sports
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Cost-effective
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Android and iOS compatible
Reasons to avoid
-
Requires another device to cast
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Limited device
Price: £30
The Google Chromecast is a useful device that can serve you well for more than just football. Plug it into the HDMI slot in your TV and you can cast anything from your laptop onto your TV - yes, that includes anything on Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime or even just a Dennis Bergkamp compilation on YouTube.
At 1080p, it's not the best quality but hey, it's £30. That seems like not a lot of money to make everything on your phone or laptop bigger on TV, to us.
You even get a month free of Sky Sports when you buy one of these bad boys
Specifications
Processor: Quad-core
Definition: 1080p
Reasons to buy
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Pause and rewind live
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Can watch Sky Sports and BT Sport
Reasons to avoid
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Need Now TV and BT Sport passes to watch games
Price: £29.99
For years, NOW TV has been associated with Sky Sports - it's a Sky product, after all, and the best place to see the channel if you've not got Sky TV. With BT Sport added to the device now, it's hard to argue that this isn't the go-to place for all your football viewing.
With a month free of Sky Sports - free we tell you, free! - there's even more reason to invest. The best time to buy one of these is now, too - there are so many games on in the next 30 days.
Why get a fancy gadget when a simple wire will suffice?
Reasons to buy
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Simple
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Cheap
Reasons to avoid
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You need to use your laptop open and plugged in
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A big wire across your lounge isn't ideal
Price: £5.99
If you're not sure about fancy casting and streaming or you're simply running a tight budget - perhaps you still have dial-up internet and reckon Wayne Rooney will win the Ballon d'Or one day - there's nothing wrong with opting for a traditional HDMI cable. At least they're cheap and you won't lose the remote.
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