TAB soccer customers have a potent brew of cash-boosted pools and top matches on the table this weekend, including the MTN8 final at home, several watershed clashes in the English Premier League and two R175,000-added Soccer 10 pools, as well as a likely R6-million Soccer 13 on Sunday when the bet will be boosted by a R1.7-million carryover.
Predictably, the first sacking of an EPL manager this season didn’t take long with Nottingham Forest’s Nuno Espirito Santo getting the boot this week just three games into the new term. That was the former goalkeeper’s reward for first saving Forest from relegation and then guiding them to a seventh-place finish in the EPL last season, which in turn delivered Forest participation in European club competition this season for the first time in three decades.
Bizarrely Nuno has been replaced by Ange Postecoglou, whose reward for Spurs finally winning a trophy last season was also a thank-you-don’t-come-back note.
Postecoglou will take charge of his first match at Forest this Saturday, when they go away to Arsenal in London. He doesn’t have a good record against Arsenal and it could get much worse if Forest adopt the helter-skelter attack tactics that marked Ange’s time at Spurs. In fact, the Gunners could rip them to shreds.
The manager now perilously close to the exit door is Graham Potter at West Ham, who are at home to Spurs in a London derby this Saturday. Potter’s goose looked well and truly cooked after two EPL defeats followed by a loss to Wolves in the League Cup, but a 3-0 win over Forest before the international break bought him a stay of execution.
The worry is that the win over Forest flowed from their rival’s internal squabbles rather than any real improvement by West Ham, and Spurs could underline that on Saturday.
The match is included in the day’s R175,000-added Soccer 10 in which home wins for Crystal Palace against Sunderland and Newcastle against Wolves look banker bets.
The other big EPL clash is Sunday’s Manchester derby. City are at home to their cross-town rivals, who four games into the new season are not looking significantly better than last term.
And neither are City, who have suffered two EPL losses in a row since beating battling Wolves 4-0 in their first league game of the new season. City have a bunch of new players on their books, including two goalkeepers, but do not appear to have solved their defensive frailties, especially on the right where Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes look perpetually vulnerable.
The game is M1 in Sunday’s R1.7-million carryover Soccer 13, which is packed with challenging games and could pay huge. Best bankers are Liverpool to win away at Burnley and home wins for AC Milan and Barcelona.
Back home it’s all about Saturday’s MTN8 final, in which Pirates will attempt to win the competition for an unprecedented fourth time in succession.
They face Stellenbosch at the Mbombela Stadium in Durban in a repeat of last year’s final, which they won 3-1 to become the first club to win the top-eight title three years in a row in the history of a competition stretching back more than five decades.
But it has not been a smooth preparation for Pirates. New coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, defender Thapelo Xoki and goalkeeper coach Tyrone Damons were injured in a car accident last week and spent a few days in hospital. Plus, they have had eight players away on international duty for the last 10 days.
Stellenbosch also gave up a few players to the national team and the under-20 side, but have had the bulk of their squad on hand to prepare for the final. They will come in better prepared, but Pirates are the cup kings and were markedly superior when beating Stellenbosch 1-0 in a league match last month.
Pirates’ fans will not think twice about making a banker of their team to win in the cash-added Soccer 10 and R200,000 carryover Soccer Any 13 Xtra, but it might be wise to also include the draw in permutations.
| M1 | Troyes vs Nancy | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| This bet starts with a R175,000 bonus add-in from TAB. Troyes have lost four of their last nine games, while Nancy are unbeaten in their last six. Nancy are third in France's Ligue 2 with eight points, one ahead of sixth-placed Troyes. | |||
| M2 | Avellino vs AC Monza | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Italy Serie B. Avellino are winless in their last three games, while Monza have won five of their last nine. Monza have four points from two league games this season and Avellino one. | |||
| M3 | Bayer Leverkusen vs Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Bundesliga clash. Leverkusen have won six of their last 10 games in all competitions. Leverkusen won the last meeting between them 4-1 in March, and have won 10 of 15 encounters over the past seven years. With Erik ten Hag fired and replaced by Kasper Hjulmand, expect Leverkusen to win here. | |||
| M4 | Drogheda United vs Shamrock Rovers | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Cup clash in Ireland. Shamrock are on a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions, while Drogheda have lost their last three. Shamrock won their last game against Drogheda 2-1 recently, their ninth victory in the last 15 matches between the sides. | |||
| M5 | Bohemians vs Derry City | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Bohemians have avoided defeat in eight of their last 10 games and Derry have been unable to win in seven of their last nine. The last clash between them ended 1-1. Bohemians are second on the Irish Premier Division log with 47 points, one more than third-placed Derry. | |||
| M6 | Marseille vs Lorient | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Marseille have avoided defeat in eight of their last 10 games. Marseille won the last meeting between them 3-1, their 10th win in 15 meetings over 11 years. Both have three points from three games in the new Ligue 1 season. | |||
| M7 | Standard Liege vs KV Mechelen | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Liege are on a three-game losing streak in Belgium's First Division A, while Mechelen have avoided defeat in nine of their last 10 games. The last meeting between them ended 0-0 draw. Mechelen are third in the table, four points ahead of Liege after six games. | |||
| M8 | Ipswich Town vs Sheffield United | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| United are on a six-game losing streak, including losing all four English Championship games this season. Newly-demoted Ipswich are not doing much better, but do have three points from their first four league games. | |||
| M9 | Sevilla vs Elche | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Spanish LaLiga. Sevilla have been unable to win in seven of their last nine games, while Elche have avoided defeat in five of their last six. Elche have five points from their first three league games and Sevilla three. | |||
| M10 | Alverca vs Tondela | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Both teams have just one point after four games in Portugal's Primeira Liga this season. Alverca won the last meeting between them 2-1 in a Segunda Liga fixture earlier this year. | |||
| M1 | Mainz 05 vs RB Leipzig | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| German Bundesliga clash. Mainz have won five of their last nine games and Leipzig five of their last eight. Mainz won the last meeting 2-1 in March. In the last 15 meetings, each has won six times with three draws. | |||
| M2 | Bournemouth vs Brighton | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| English Premier League. Brighton have won six of their last nine games and Bournemouth have lost four of their last eight, but Bournemouth are two points ahead. In the last 15 meetings, both teams have won seven times with one draw. | |||
| M3 | Crystal Palace vs Sunderland | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Palace are unbeaten in their last six games in all competitions, while newly-promoted Sunderland have won two of their three matches in the EPL this season. | |||
| M4 | Everton vs Aston Villa | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Everton have won three in a row and are fifth in the EPL with six points from three matches. Villa have made a poor start with just one point from their first three league matches, but did beat Everton 1-0 away in January, their ninth victory in the last 15 meetings. | |||
| M5 | Fulham vs Leeds United | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Fulham have won four of their last seven games in all competitions, while newly-promoted Leeds are winless in their last three. | |||
| M6 | Newcastle United vs Wolverhampton | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Newcastle are winless in their last nine games in all competitions and have two points from three league games. Wolves have lost seven of their last nine games and have zero points from three league games, scoring just twice and conceding eight. | |||
| M7 | Juventus vs Inter Milan | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Serie A. Juventus are on a four-game winning streak in all competitions, while Inter have won five of their last eight games. Juventus won the last meeting 1-0 earlier this year, but in the last 15 meetings both have won five times with five draws. | |||
| M8 | Athletic Bilbao vs Deportivo Alaves | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Bilbao have lost seven of their last 10 games in all competitions, but have maximum points from their first three LaLiga games. Alaves have been unable to win in five of their last six and have four points after three league games. In the last 15 meetings, Bilbao have won six times with six draws. | |||
| M9 | West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| West Ham have lost three of their last four games, while Spurs have avoided defeat in eight of their last 10 matches. The teams last met in a 1-1 draw in May. In the last 15 meetings, Spurs have won six times to West Ham’s five. | |||
| M10 | Orlando Pirates vs Stellenbosch | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| MTN8 final. Cup kings Pirates are unbeaten in their last five games, winning four, while Stellenbosch have lost four of their last nine. Pirates won the previous meeting with Stellenbosch 1-0 at home a few weeks back. | |||