Here’s another dream weekend for TAB football customers! Virtually all the big-gun teams in Europe and South Africa will be in action and TAB soccer pools are loaded with quality contests, plus there are carryovers totalling R500,000 to three bets - Friday night’s Soccer 10 and then Saturday’s Soccer Any 13 Xtra and the mid-afternoon Soccer 10. And there’s a guaranteed R18-million jackpot in Saturday’s Soccer 13 if there’s only one outright winner.
Tonight’s Soccer 10 kicks off with a R150,000 carryover so customers can bank on an inflated dividend and there’s a standout banker in Chelsea, who make a 30-minute journey across London to take on West Ham.
FIFA Club World Cup winners Chelsea didn’t exactly set the pitch alight when drawing 0-0 with Crystal Palace in their first English Premier League game of the new season, but make no mistake Palace are always tricky (just ask reigning EPL champs Liverpool) and Chelsea are sure to be much sharper tonight.
More important is that West Ham made a hash of their first game of the new season, going down 3-0 to newly-promoted Sunderland, a team many pundits expected to be out of their depth in the top flight in spite of a host of new signings.
That result has seen West Ham manager Graham Potter shorten to firm favourite to be the first EPL manager sacked this season and also indicates that the Hammers will have to improve leaps and bounds to keep Chelsea at bay.
Arsenal look a banker bet to win at home against another newly-promoted club in Leeds United in Saturday’s R150,000 carryover Soccer 10.
This is a make-or-break season for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. The Gunners have finished runners-up for the last three seasons, but another near miss will not cut it this time round. Arsenal have not won the EPL trophy since 2004, when Arsene Wenger’s “invincibles” did not lose a league game.
They opened the new campaign with a lacklustre 1-0 win at Manchester United last Sunday, but there’s much better to come and they have made another big signing this week in Eberechi Eze. The Crystal Palace attacking midfielder was all set to join Spurs until Arsenal snatched him from under their hated rivals’ noses in a deal set to increase the enmity between the two clubs.
Eze is undergoing a medical today and could well make his Arsenal debut against Leeds. With Arsenal having already signed the likes of centre-forward Victor Gyokeres, winger Noni Madueke and midfielder Martin Zubimendi, Eze’s arrival will add significantly to the formidable firepower manager Mikel Arteta now has at his disposal.
Leeds shocked many by beating Everton on Monday night, but they will find Arsenal’s assault force infinitely more difficult to contain.
The other games in the carryover pool are tougher to predict, but Bournemouth should be too slick for Wolves in M4 and Aston Villa should outgun Brentford, still reeling from the loss their long-time manager and players like Bryan Mbeumo, in M5.
Both MTN8 semi-final second legs are also included in the pool and you wouldn’t want to go all in on the outcome of either game.
Pirates grabbed a late equaliser against Sundowns in last Saturday’s first leg in Orlando, which means it’s all square going into the return tie at Atteridgeville except Sundowns do have a potentially vital away goal.
Pirates, winner of the MTN8 trophy three years running, must score at least one goal or be eliminated. They have done it before, but it’s going to be an uphill struggle against Sundowns in their own backyard. The biggest factor in Pirates’ favour is that they have become the cup kings in recent years, whereas Sundowns often fluff their lines in sudden-death competitions.
Stellenbosch go into the away leg of their semi-final full of confidence after a 2-0 victory over Sekhukhune last Saturday. Sekhukhune may win, but their chances of overturning the first-leg deficit look bleak especially if their rivals score a goal.
The MTN8 clashes and all the EPL matches on Saturday and Sunday are included in the R200,000 carryover Soccer Any 13 Xtra.
| M1 | Eibar vs Granada CF | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Eibar unbeaten in last three games, Granada winless in last six. Eibar won last meeting 2-0 and have won 9 of last 14 encounters. | |||
| M2 | Barracas Central vs Defensa y Justicia | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Barracas won 5 of last 8 games, Justicia won 4 of last 7. Teams drew 1-1 last clash. Barracas leads table by 2 points. | |||
| M3 | Bayern Munich vs RB Leipzig | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Champions Bayern have won four on the trot, Leipzig won four of last six. Last meeting ended 3-3 in May. | |||
| M4 | Drogheda United vs St Patrick's Athletic | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Drogheda unbeaten in last five games, St Pat's won seven of last 10. Last meeting 0-0 draw. Drogheda 4th with 42 points, 4 points ahead of St Pat's. | |||
| M5 | Galway United vs Derry City | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Galway lost five of last nine, Derry winless in last four. Derry 3rd with 42 points, Galway 8th. Last meeting 1-1 draw. | |||
| M6 | Waterford FC vs Sligo Rovers | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Waterford winless in last three, Rovers won five of last 10. Rovers won last clash 1-0 but Waterford have 8 more points in table. | |||
| M7 | Derby County vs Bristol City | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Derby lost both league games this season, Bristol have win and draw. Bristol won last meeting 1-0 in January. | |||
| M8 | West Ham United vs Chelsea | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Chelsea unbeaten in last eight games, West Ham won five of last nine but lost 3-0 to Sunderland. Chelsea won 8 of last 15 meetings. | |||
| M9 | CD Castellon vs Real Valladolid | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Castellon won six of last 10 games, Valladolid lost six of last 10 but made winning start to new season. | |||
| M10 | Real Betis vs Deportivo Alaves | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Betis drew opening game, Alaves kicked off with victory. Alaves beat Betis 3-1 in January. | |||
Suggested R48 perm: 1 x 1 x 1 x 1,2 x 2,3 x 1 x 3 x 3 x 1,2 x 1,2,3.
| M1 | Mamelodi Sundowns vs Orlando Pirates | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| MTN8 semi-final second leg after 1-1 first leg. Sundowns won 8 of last 15 clashes vs Pirates' 3. Both won PSL midweek. | |||
| M2 | Eintracht Frankfurt vs Werder Bremen | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Frankfurt undefeated in 9 of last 10 games. Bremen on 4-game losing streak. Frankfurt won 6 of last 15 meetings. | |||
| M3 | Union Berlin vs VFB Stuttgart | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Berlin lost 4 of last 5 friendlies. Stuttgart lost 2-1 to Bayern in Super Cup. Last meeting 4-4 draw, Stuttgart finished 10 points ahead last season. | |||
| M4 | Bournemouth vs Wolverhampton | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Bournemouth winless in last 5, Wolves winless in last 10. Both won 5 times in last 13 meetings over 11 years. | |||
| M5 | Brentford vs Aston Villa | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Brentford lost 3-1 to Notts Forest. Villa drew 0-0 with Newcastle despite playing with 10 men. Villa won last clash 1-0 in March. | |||
| M6 | Burnley vs Sunderland | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Both promoted last season. Burnley lost to Spurs, Sunderland beat West Ham 3-0. Last meeting 0-0 in Championship. | |||
| M7 | Real Mallorca vs Celta de Vigo | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Both lost opening LaLiga games. Celta won last meeting 2-1 in April and finished 7 points ahead last season. | |||
| M8 | Sekhukhune United vs Stellenbosch | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| MTN8 semi-final second leg. Sekhukhune lost 2-0 in first leg. Sekhukhune won 3 league games, Stellenbosch lost to Pirates midweek. | |||
| M9 | Arsenal vs Leeds United | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Arsenal won 6 of last 8 games. Leeds unbeaten in last 10. Both won EPL openers: Arsenal beat Man Utd 1-0, Leeds beat Everton 1-0. | |||
| M10 | Genoa vs Lecce | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Serie A first round. Genoa unbeaten in last 4, Lecce won 5 of last 7. Genoa won 10 of last 15 meetings, finished 9 points ahead last season. | |||
Suggested R72 perm: 1,2 x 1 x 3 x 1 x 3 x 1,2,3 x 1,2,3 x 1,2 x 1 x 1.