With a guaranteed R24-million pool for all-13-correct bets, there’s no doubt that Saturday’s Soccer 13 will be the chief target for most football fans this weekend and the bet contains a really appealing mix of English Premier League (EPL) and Championship games.
On the face of it, the six EPL matches offer several potential bankers, none more so than Manchester City to win at home against newly promoted Burnley. Scott Parker’s Burnley have made a reasonable start to life in the EPL with their five league games this term yielding a win, a draw and three defeats, which included holding Liverpool at bay until Mo Salah converted a 95th-minute penalty.
That said Burnley’s prospects of preventing City taking all three points look virtually zero. City’s vulnerabilities at the back remain, but it’s doubtful if Burnley will be good enough to exploit the chinks. And the City strike force is looking slicker with each game - Phil Foden is returning to his dynamic best in a central inside-forward position, which is helping fill the gap left by Kevin de Bruyne, and Jeremy Doku is giving defenders a real headache.
Nottingham Forest and Spurs are other potential bankers to win at home. Notts have not won since Ange Postecoglou took over as coach, but that should change come Saturday when they host Sunderland (M2 in Soccer 13).
Spurs entertain Wolves, who are yet to bank a point after five games and have scored just three goals while conceding 12.
The seven Championship clashes are trickier, but it could pay to gamble on home victories for Stoke City and Watford in the last two games in the bet.
Saturday’s second Soccer 10 kicks off with R125,000 in added cash from TAB and will appeal to many TAB football customers because the bet includes two PSL games as well as the Madrid derby between Real and Atletico.
Golden Arrows put Sundowns to the sword midweek and have a much easier task against Orbit College in the opening match of the Soccer 10, and Sekhukhune United should be up to beating Polokwane “away” in M2.
Sekhukhune currently top the Betway Premiership table and have made a dream start to the season under accomplished coach Eric Tinkler - and that’s in spite of being based in Johannesburg and playing their home games in Polokwane, which results in much additional travel. They have six wins and two draws from eight league outings and have a two-point lead over champions Sundowns, who have played one match more.
Sekhukhune have scored a healthy 13 goals in their eight games to date and conceded only three for the best goal difference in the table. They have been helped by 37-year-old Bradley Grobler, who arrived for free at the start of the season. He has already scored eight goals this season, but whether he can stay sound for 30 matches is the big question. He managed just 10 league starts for SuperSport United in the previous campaign.
Like Tinkler at Sekhukune, Xabi Alonso is off to an absolute flyer in his first season in charge at Real Madrid. Alonso won the German Bundesliga in his first full season with Bayer Leverkusen and will be hoping to repeat the feat with Real Madrid who have won all six LaLiga games so far this campaign.
On Saturday, Atletico Madrid host Real in the city’s main LaLiga derby. Diego Simeone’s Atletico have not had a good start by their high standards, but will be fired up to end their neighbours’ unbeaten run. And Real’s record at Atletico is not great in recent times - they last won there in September 2022.
For the record Simeone is reputedly the highest-paid coach in the world, earning 500,000 Pounds (R11.7 million) weekly!
Other pools to look out for this weekend are tonight’s R125,000-added Soccer 10 and Saturday’s R150,000 carryover Soccer Any 13 Xtra.
Both bets offer solid chances to start building a bank for the mega Soccer 13 on 25 October, when a guaranteed R62-million pool is likely to generate a total pool of over R100 million! Get all 13 games right that day and you could find yourself with more cash than you know what to do with. And it costs only R2 to have a shot at winning Soccer 13.
| M1 | Twente vs Fortuna Sittard | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Twente have lost five of their last nine games, while Sittard have won three of their last four. The teams last met in a 1-1 draw in April. Sittard are sixth in the Dutch Eredivisie on 10 points, three ahead of Twente after six games. | |||
| M2 | Drogheda United vs Derry City | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Drogheda are winless in their last five games, while Derry are unbeaten in their last four. The teams last met in the FAI Cup, drawing 1-1 before Drogheda won on penalties. In their last 15 meetings, Derry have won five times to Drogheda's four. Derry are third in the Irish Premier Division with 50 points, four more than Drogheda. | |||
| M3 | Galway United vs Cork City | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Galway are winless in their last five games, while Cork have a win and two draws from their last five. Cork won the last meeting between them 1-0 in August. Galway are second last in the Irish Premier Division with 31 points, eight more than Cork. | |||
| M4 | OH Leuven vs Anderlecht | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Both have two wins from their last five, but Anderlecht are second in Belgium's First Division A with 14 points, seven more than OH Leuven in second-last place. The teams last drew 0-0 last December in their last clash, but in the last 15 meetings Anderlecht have won six times with seven draws. | |||
| M5 | Shelbourne vs Waterford FC | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Shelbourne have two wins and two draws from their last five, while Waterford are on a four-game losing streak. The last meeting between them ended 2-2. In the last 15 matches, Shelbourne have won eight times to Waterford's three. Shelbourne are sixth in the Irish Premier Division with 43 points, nine ahead of Waterford. | |||
| M6 | Strasbourg vs Marseille | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Strasbourg have won five of their last eight games and Marseille three of their last four. The last clash between them ended 1-1. Strasbourg are currently fourth in Ligue 1 with 12 points, three more than Marseille after five games played. | |||
| M7 | Girona vs Espanyol | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Girona are winless in their last six games, while Espanyol have won seven of their last 10. The teams last met in a 0-0 draw in the Copa Catalunya three months ago. Espanyol are fourth in the league, nine points ahead of 20th-placed Girona after five games. | |||
| M8 | Shamrock Rovers vs Bohemians | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Rovers are unbeaten in eight games and top the league, 10 points ahead of second-placed Bohemians who have played a game more. Bohemians won their last meeting between them 2-0 in June, but Shamrock have won seven of the last 15 encounters. | |||
| M9 | West Brom vs Leicester City | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Both have two wins from their last five matches and are separated by only a point in the English Championship log. Leicester won the last meeting between them 2-1 and have eight wins in the last 15 games between the sides. | |||
| M10 | Benfica vs Gil Vicente | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Benfica have won seven of their last 10 games, while Gil Vicente have won three on the trot. Benfica won the last meeting between them 3-0 in March. Benfica are third in Portugal's Primeira Liga table, one point ahead of Gil Vicente. | |||
Suggested R72 perm: 1 x 1,2 x 1 x 3 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 2,3 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 1.
| M1 | Golden Arrows vs Orbit College FC | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Both teams won midweek, Arrows downing reigning PSL champs Sundowns 1-0 and Orbit beating Polokwane by the same scoreline. Arrows are 10th on the Betway Premiership log with 10 points, three more than Orbit after eight games. | |||
| M2 | Polokwane City vs Sekhukhune United | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Sekhukhune are on a terrific run with six wins and two draws from eight PSL matches this season and top the log with 20 points, eight points ahead of seventh-placed Polokwane. Sekhukhune won the last meeting between the sides 2-0 in April. | |||
| M3 | Wolfsburg vs RB Leipzig | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Wolfsburg are winless in their last three games, whereas Leipzig have won three in a row in the German Bundesliga. Leipzig won the last meeting between the teams 3-2 away in April and are currently third in the league, four points ahead of 12th-placed Wolfsburg. | |||
| M4 | Chelsea vs Brighton | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Chelsea have won six of their last 10 games, while Brighton have avoided defeat in eight of their last 10. Brighton have won both clashes between the clubs this year, but Chelsea are sixth in the English Premier League with eight points, three more than 14th-placed Brighton after five games. | |||
| M5 | Crystal Palace vs Liverpool | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Palace are unbeaten in their last nine games, while Liverpool have suffered one defeat in their last 10, losing to Palace on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the Community Shield. Liverpool top the EPL log with 15 points, six more than Palace, and have won 10 of the last 15 meetings with Palace. | |||
| M6 | Leeds United vs Bournemouth | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Newly-promoted Leeds have won two of their five EPL games this season and are only three points behind Bournemouth, who are currently fourth in the table. The last meeting between them resulted in a 4-1 victory for Bournemouth two years ago. | |||
| M7 | Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Madrid derby. Atletico are finding form after a slow start to the season and are currently eighth in LaLiga with nine points, half the total of Real Madrid who have won all six league games this season. Sure to be a closely contested game. | |||
| M8 | Juventus vs Atalanta | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Juventus are unbeaten in their last eight games, while Atalanta have two wins and two draws from four Serie A games this term. Juventus are currently second in Serie A with 10 points, two ahead of fifth-placed Atalanta. | |||
| M9 | Standard Liege vs Club Brugge | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Standard Liege got back on the winning path when beating Westerlo last weekend, while Brugge have won seven of their last nine. The teams last met in February with Standard Liege winning 2-1 away. Brugge are third in Belgium's First Division A with 13 points, three ahead of Standard Liege with 11 points. | |||
| M10 | Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Forest are winless in their last four games, while Sunderland have two wins and two draws from their last five. Sunderland are seventh in the EPL with eight points, three ahead of 15th-placed Forest. | |||