What a smashing start to March! TAB is pumping in over R3.4 million in cash bonuses and carryovers to nine Soccer 4, 6, 10, 13 and Any 13 Xtra pools this Friday through Sunday. All the details are in this mailer so make your choices and take your bets. It’s a great chance to win bundles of cash on a weekend packed with top-flight matches at home and abroad.
The top leagues in South Africa and England look to be all over bar the shouting - Sundowns are speeding towards an eighth successive PSL title and Liverpool are coasting to a decisive triumph in the English Premier League.
Victory over Sekhukhune United on Wednesday evening moved Miguel Cardoso's Sundowns 15 points clear of Orlando Pirates at the top of the Betway Premiership table.
By the time Pirates kick off away to Marumo Gallants on Saturday, that lead may well be 18 points with Sundowns hosting Kaizer Chiefs at the Lucas Moripe Stadium a couple of hours earlier.
Pirates have four games in hand on the log-leaders, but Sundowns hold all the aces at the moment and Kaizer Chiefs are unlikely to pose much of a problem for Cardoso's side on Saturday.
Amakhosi have been a model of inconsistency under Nasreddine Nabi this season, winning seven matches in the league but losing just as many. Every time Chiefs seem to be hitting form they promptly lose, the latest example an embarrassing 4-1 defeat to SuperSport United on 18 February.
Inconsistency aside, Chiefs have the joint fourth-worst defensive record in the league this season, having conceded 23 goals, and will be against a Sundowns attack in prime form. Sundowns have scored a staggering 29 goals in their last nine matches in all competitions and are far and away the PSL's highest scorers with 46 goals in 19 games.
They look a banker bet to win against Chiefs and so do Pirates in an away clash against Gallants.
The EPL takes a break this weekend with eight FA Cup quarter-final clashes Friday through Monday in which Aston Villa, Manchester City, Burnley, Crystal Palace and Notts Forest all look banker bets. For Liverpool, incredibly knocked out of the Cup by Plymouth, it’s an opportunity to take a well-earned break after a tough string of matches.
Barcelona to win at home to Real Sociedad look the top banker for Sunday’s big Soccer 13 and if you need to cut down the cost of your bet, you could gamble on Real Mallorca and Ossasuna to also win at home in LaLiga.
Bologna to win at home against Cagliari look the best banker to win in the four Italian Serie A games in the carryover Soccer 13. You can also make a banker of Lyon to win at home against Stade Brest in France’s Ligue 1. But the sole English match in the pool, a FA Cup clash between Manchester United and Fulham, is tough to call. Fulham are slick on their day and could sink United if they are on song, but there’s no guarantee of that.
SOCCER 10 V1 SUGGESTED BET:
| M1: Stellenbosch vs Polokwane City | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Friday-night, month-end bonanza Soccer 10 that kicks off with R250,000 in the pot from TAB. Stellenbosch have won three of their last four games with one draw, while Polokwane are winless in their last five. Stellenbosch beat Polokwane 2-0 recently and have won five of the last seven encounters with one draw. | |||
| M2: Randers FC vs AGF Aarhus | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Randers have won six of their last 10 games, while AGF are on a seven-game winning streak. The previous meeting ended 2-2, but AGF have won three of the last seven encounters with four draws. AGF are third in the Danish Superliga with 34 points, three ahead of fifth-placed Randers after 19 games. | |||
| M3: RKC Waalwijk vs Fortuna Sittard | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Waalwijk have won three of their last four, while Fortuna are winless in their last seven. Fortuna are 11th in the Dutch Eredivisie with 26 points, nine ahead of 17th-placed Waalwijk after 23 games. | |||
| M4: Fiorentina vs Lecce | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Fiorentina have lost three games running, while Lecce are winless in their last three. Fiorentina won the previous meeting 6-0, their third win in the last seven encounters. Fiorentina are sixth in Serie A with 42 points, 17 more than 16th-placed Lecce. | |||
| M5: Shelbourne vs Shamrock Rovers | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Reigning Irish Premier Division champions Shelbourne have won their first two league games of the new season, while last term’s runners-up Shamrock lost their opening game. Shelbourne have won two of the last four encounters between the sides with one draw. | |||
| M6: Sporting Charleroi vs Genk | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Genk are unbeaten in their last seven games and top the Belgian First Division A table with 61 points, 25 ahead of eighth-placed Charleroi, who are unbeaten in seven of their last nine. | |||
| M7: St Patrick's Athletic vs Sligo Rovers | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| St Pats have one point from their first two games of the new Irish season and Sligo have lost both matches so far. St Pats have won three of the last four clashes between the two. | |||
| M8: Aston Villa vs Cardiff City | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Villa were thumped 4-1 by Crystal Palace midweek, but were unbeaten in four games before that and are 10th in the Premiership. Lower-tier Cardiff won midweek but are struggling in the English Championship. Villa’s class should prevail. | |||
| M9: Real Valladolid vs Las Palmas | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Valladolid are on a six-game losing streak and Las Palmas are winless in their last eight. Las Palmas won 2-1 in their last meeting in December. Las Palmas are 17th in LaLiga with 23 points, eight more than Valladolid. | |||
| M10: Sheffield Wednesday vs Sunderland | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Both have lost their last two games. Sunderland are fourth in the Championship with 62 points, 17 more than 12th-placed Sheffield. | |||
Suggested R72 perm: 1 x 1,2,3 x 1,2 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1,2 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 3.
SOCCER 10 V3 SUGGESTED BET:
| M1: Girona vs Celta de Vigo | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| TAB is pumping R250,000 into this bet so get set for a month-end, must-play pool of over R2 million! Girona have lost three in a row, while Celta are unbeaten in their last three. The two drew 1-1 in September. Celta are 10th in LaLiga with 32 points, one more than Girona. | |||
| M2: Magesi vs SuperSport United | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Magesi have lost six of their last 10 games, while SuperSport have won two on the trot. SuperSport won the last meeting 2-0 and are three places and six points ahead of Magesi in the PSL. | |||
| M3: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Kaizer Chiefs | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Sundowns are on a four-game winning streak and have won six of the last seven encounters with Chiefs. They lead Chiefs, who have won five of their last nine, by 26 points in the PSL table. | |||
| M4: RB Leipzig vs Mainz 05 | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Leipzig are unbeaten in their last four games and Mainz have won six of their last 10. Leipzig won the previous meeting between them 2-0, but Mainz have won three of the last seven clashes. They are level on 38 points in the Bundesliga after 23 games. | |||
| M5: Werder Bremen vs Wolfsburg | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Bremen are on a three-game losing streak and Wolfsburg are unbeaten in their last five Bundesliga fixtures. Wolfsburg won the last meeting 4-2 in October and are eighth with 34 points, four more than Bremen. | |||
| M6: Bournemouth vs Wolverhampton | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Bournemouth have won six of their last nine games, while Wolves have won three of their last five. Wolves beat Bournemouth 1-0 away last Saturday, but may battle to repeat that success in this FA Cup clash. In the last seven meetings, both sides have won three times with one draw. | |||
| M7: Rayo Vallecano vs Sevilla | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Vallecano have lost two in a row, while Sevilla have failed to win seven of their last 10 games. Rayo are sixth in LaLiga with 35 points, four ahead of 13th-placed Sevilla. | |||
| M8: Nacional vs Famalicao | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Nacional have lost five of their last 10 games and Famalicao are unbeaten in their last five. Famalicao are ninth in Primeira Liga with 31 points, Nacional have 23 points. | |||
| M9: TS Galaxy FC vs Golden Arrows | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Galaxy are on a three-game losing streak and Arrows are winless in their last four. Galaxy have won four of the last seven meetings between the two sides with three draws. Galaxy are seventh in the PSL with 25 points, five more than Golden Arrows who have played four games less. | |||
| M10: Marumo Gallants vs Orlando Pirates | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Gallants are winless in seven of their last 10 games, while Pirates have won eight of their last 10. Pirates won 8-1 in their previous meeting and have won four of the last seven clashes. They are second in the league with 36 points, 20 ahead of 14th-placed Gallants who have played three games more. | |||
Suggested R216 perm: 1,2 x 3 x 1 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 1,2 x 1,2,3 x 1,2,3 x 3.