WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 30 Aug - 1 Sep
MEGA SOCCER 13 POOL SET TO GENERATE BUMPER PAYOUT
Read moreSaturday’s Nedbank Cup final in Nelspruit and the Champions League final at Wembley close the door on the 2023-24 football season and TAB is maximising the weekend for its many soccer customers with a guaranteed R14-million Soccer 13 pool, two R200,000-added Soccer 10 bets and a R150,000 Soccer Any 13 Xtra carryover.
At Mbombela Stadium tomorrow, Mamelodi Sundowns attempt to complete the league-and-cup double by beating Orlando Pirates and that should be a routine assignment, given their runaway success in winning the league by 23 points from second-placed Pirates.
But it has been a long and testing season for Sundowns, who have played an extraordinary 57 games and, not surprisingly, have looked tired in recent games. To that you must add Pirates’ long run of success in cup competitions. They are the current holders of the Nedbank Cup and are looking for a second cup success over Sundowns this season, after beating them in the MTN8 final in October on post-match penalties. So the clash in Nelspruit is likely to be a lot closer than many pundits are predicting, although in the end Sundowns’ superior firepower should prove decisive.
At Wembley later in the day, Real Madrid will start hot favourites to win the Champions League trophy from Borussia Dortmund, who have surprised many by making it to the final at Wembley. Much of Dortmund’s success this season has been down to a solid defence. They have kept six clean sheets in this year’s competition, which is their highest tally since the 1997-98 competition. And to keep Paris St Germain, who had scored 19 goals in 10 games up to that point, quiet both home and away was particularly impressive.
Nevertheless, Real Madrid have players like Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham who can turn a match on its head in a split second, and must be fancied to win. They are coming off a stellar season in Spain, where they lost just once in winning LaLiga. Unbeaten in 25 straight matches since January's Copa del Rey defeat to Atletico Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti's men scored in every fixture away from their Bernabeu base in the 2023-24 season, another factor in their favour in tomorrow’s final.
It has been a staggering 43 years since the Spanish giants came out second best in the showpiece of European football. And since that crushing loss to Liverpool in 1981, they have triumphed in each of the last eight Champions League finals in which they have played.
Pirates have a hot record in cup clashes; Lunin steers clear of other Real Madrid players; tough task for the Grasshoppers; Rovers must do without Lopes; Philadelphia still have injury issues.
* Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has not tasted defeat in the Nedbank Cup since he arrived in local football at the start of last season, excelling in a competition he repeatedly talks up as vital to the Buccaneers. His greatest test comes tomorrow, when Pirates take on Sundowns in the final. Riveiro is on a run of only one outright defeat in 19 domestic cup-competition matches over the past two seasons, an incredible record.
* Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin will be making his way to London alone after coming down with flu this week. Madrid players arrived in the English capital yesterday and Lunin will touch down today or tomorrow to reduce the chances of him infecting his teammates.
* Grasshoppers face an uphill struggle in their battle to keep their top-flight status in tonight’s Swiss promotion-relegation playoff against Thun. They will be without German youth international Meritan Shabani and Michael Kempter, who are both out due to anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Plus 20-year-old midfielder Dijon Kameri is sidelined with a muscle injury and they are away after scraping a 1-1 draw in their home leg.
* Shamrock Rovers will be unable to call on centre-back Roberto Lopes tonight, when they play at Drogheda, as he serves a suspension after being sent off for a pair of bookable offences in last week’s loss to Irish league-leaders Shamrock Rovers. Lopes is a Cape Verde international, who played against South Africa in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final in the Ivory Coast in January.
* A lingering knee injury kept Philadelphia Union keeper Andre Blake off the field on Wednesday and Isaiah LeFlore also sat out with a sore right knee, while Holden Trent was unavailable due to a finger issue. They all remain doubtful for the home match tomorrow night against Montreal. Julian Carranza, who has been linked with a move to Feyenoord in the Eredivisie, also missed their midweek encounter after he picked up a knock in training.
SOCCER 10 V1 SUGGESTED BET:
M1: FC Thun vs Grasshopper Zurich | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
This Soccer 10 starts with R200,000 added to the pot by TAB so expect a bumper pool. Second leg of the promotion-relegation playoff in Switzerland with the winner playing in the top-flight next season. The first leg in Zurich last Sunday ended 1-1. | |||
M2: Athlone Town vs Cork City | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
An unbeaten run of eight matches sees Athlone third in the Irish second division, but they are 12 points behind runaway leaders Cork. | |||
M3: Drogheda United vs Shamrock Rovers | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
Champions Rovers are unbeaten on their last four visits to Drogheda, with three draws and a cup win in extra time. | |||
M4: Finn Harps vs Wexford FC | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
Both clubs have 25 points from 17 games this season, but Harps won away at Wexford earlier in the campaign. | |||
M5: St. Patricks Athletic vs Galway United | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
St Pats have won one of their previous 10 league matches in contrast to Galway’s nine-match unbeaten run. | |||
M6: Treaty United vs Longford Town | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
Treaty opened the season with three wins but have not won in 14 games since. Longford have lost one of their previous five fixtures, but sit bottom of the Irish second division. | |||
M7: Waterford vs Bohemians | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
Waterford’s four wins from their last five games have shot them up the Irish table and one point above Bohemians, who have won only one of their last six outings. | |||
M8: Ceara vs Coritiba | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
There have been 12 past meetings between these Brazilian clubs with four wins, four draws and four losses each. | |||
M9: New York City vs San Jose Earthquakes | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
NYC have won their last four outings, three of them away from home. They are also unbeaten in six previous home games against San Jose. | |||
M10: Goias vs Recife | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
Both sides are early season front-runners in the Brazilian second division. Sport are 8-7 up in the win count of their previous clashes with only two draws. |
Suggested R128 perm: 1,2 x 2,3 x 3 x 1,2 x 1,2 x 1,2 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1,2.
SOCCER 10 V2 SUGGESTED BET:
M1: IFK Goteborg vs IF Elfsborg | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
Another Soccer 10 with a R200,000 boost from TAB. Gothenburg sit precariously one position above the relegation zone in Sweden. Elfsborg have won four seasons in a row away at Gothenburg. | |||
M2: Mamelodi Sundowns vs Orlando Pirates | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
A second cup final between the two clubs this season after a goalless draw in the MTN8 decider in October, when Pirates won on post-match penalties. | |||
M3: Halmstad vs GAIS Goteborg | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
After a bright start to the season, Halmstad have now lost four of their past five fixtures. Newly promoted GAIS are flying high in third position in the Swedish league. | |||
M4: IK Sirius vs IFK Norrkoping | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
Sirius are a single point above Norrkoping in the Swedish standings with both sides close to the drop zone. They met in March in a cup clash at Sirius which ended 2-2 | |||
M5: Hamarkameratene vs Brann Bergen | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
HamKam beat champions Bodo/Glimt in their last home match and would have to snap a run of six games without a win against Brann to bring down one of the other early season front-runners in Norway. | |||
M6: Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
Dortmund have won one and lost one of their two previous European Cup finals. In contrast, Real have featured in the final 17 times and have lost only three, the last in 1981. | |||
M7: Gremio vs Red Bull Bragantino | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
Gremio have won two of seven past meetings with Bragantino, both of them at home. Their visitors have had four successes, but none away. | |||
M8: Vitoria Bahia vs Atletico Goianiense | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
Both clubs have a single point from their opening five games of the new Brazilian top-flight season and hoping to break their win drought here. | |||
M9: Fluminense vs Juventude | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
Fluminense’s home record against Juventude is dominant with seven wins, one draw and one loss in nine past visits. | |||
M10: Cuiaba vs Internacional | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
Cuiaba have played only four league games in Brazil this season and lost them all. Internacional were 2-0 winners on their last visit to Cuiaba last November. |
Suggested R192 perm: 2,3 x 1,2 x 1,2,3 x 1,2 x 3 x 3 x 1 x 1,2 x 1 x 1,2.