WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 2 - 4 August

August 2024

FASCINATING FRIENDLIES AND FIVE CASH-BOOSTED POOLS

The 2024-25 soccer season is gathering momentum - top leagues in Belgium and Switzerland have already kicked off and we are only a fortnight away from the start of big-gun leagues like the English Premiership, La Liga and Serie A. This weekend’s TAB soccer pools contain an exciting combination of pre-season friendlies and key games in Argentina’s Liga Profesional and Brazil’s Seria A. And there’s big cash on the table with cash boosts to five pools including a R150,000-added Soccer 10.

REAL MADRID AND BARCELONA FACE OFF IN NEW YORK

This Saturday sees two pre-season games that would ordinarily be extremely high-profile matches in their respective leagues. Real Madrid play Barcelona in a pre-season El Clasico at the MetLife Stadium in New York, presumably a game that will generously oil both sides bank accounts, and that also gives American fans of the two Spanish giants a chance to watch their heroes in action.

German coach Hansi Flick has taken over at Barcelona and will hope to give Real Madrid an early indication that his side are ready to put up more of a fight for La Liga in the 2024-25 campaign.

Real Madrid are likely to be without new signing Kylian Mbappe, as well as their star signing of last season, Jude Bellingham, but still have a strong side, with Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo possibly added to the team that lost 1-0 to AC Milan in their most recent warm-up match.

Barcelona drew 2-2 with Manchester City in their most recent pre-season match but Flick fielded a young team, and it remains to be seen how many regulars return for El Clasico. What does seem clear is the Yamine Lamal, the teenage sensation who helped Spain to win Euro 2024, will not be available.

In the other stand-out pre-season encounter on Saturday, English Premier League giants Manchester City and Chelsea meet at the Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

Pep Guardiola led City to a third successive English Premier League title last season, and they have a chance to show Chelsea just how difficult it will be to challenge them again this season.

Chelsea's new head coach Enzo Maresca is a former assistant of Guardiola at City, and the Blues' board seem to have followed Arsenal (and Mikel Arteta) in hoping a disciple of Guardiola can lead them to trophies.

Both Chelsea and City have been slightly underwhelming in pre-season up to now, with Maresca's side drawing with Wrexham and losing to Glasgow Celtic 4-1, before finally managing a win over Mexico's Club America. City were also beaten by Celtic (4-3) and by AC Milan before losing on penalties following a draw with Barcelona.

But these games are basically irrelevant in the grand scheme and little can be read into them. Wait for the real thing in a couple of weeks’ time before making any premature assessments.

R150,000-ADDED SOCCER 10 POOLS MATCH BY MATCH

Friday 2 August Soccer 10 V1

SOCCER 10 V1 SUGGESTED BET:

M1: Hercules vs Deportivo Alaves	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
With R150,000 added cash from TAB and a likely pool of R2 million, here’s a chance for a cracker win on a Friday night. Two friendlies kick off the pool. Hércules are unbeaten in their last 12 games, Alaves in their last six. Both won their latest friendlies.
M2: Tranmere Rovers vs Wigan Athletic	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Another friendly. Wigan are unbeaten in their last nine games. Lower-tier Tranmere have lost six of their last 14 League Two games. Wigan beat Tranmere on penalties after a 0-0 draw in an EFL Trophy clash in November.
M3: FC Koln vs Hamburg SV	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
German second division clash. Cologne are unbeaten in their last five, Hamburg have won nine of their last 15. Cologne won last meeting 4-0, but Hamburg have won three of the last six games between the two.
M4: Drogheda United vs Bohemians	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Drogheda have lost nine of their last 15, whereas Bohemians are winless in 11 of their last 13. Bohemians won last meeting 1-0 and three of the last six. Bohemians are eighth and seven points ahead of Drogheda.
M5: Dundalk vs Galway United	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Galway have won their last two and are 11 points ahead of ninth-placed Dundalk in fifth. But the last six clashes between the two have yielded three wins each.
M6: Finn Harps vs Bray Wanderers	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Finn Harps are on a three-game losing streak, while Bray have lost eight of their last 15. Bray beat Finn Harps 1-0 in May and have won two of last six meetings between them. Finn Harps are fourth, just one point ahead of fifth-placed Bray after 24 games.
M7: Treaty United vs Cork City	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Cork have won seven of their last eight and top the Irish second tier with 58 points. Treaty are eighth with 28 points. Last meeting was a 1-1 draw, but Cork had won three of five clashes with Treaty before that.
M8: Waterford FC vs Shamrock Rovers	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Waterford have won 10 of their last 15 games, whereas Shamrock Rovers have lost seven of their last 13. Waterford won last meeting between the two 3-1, their fourth win in the last five clashes. Waterford are third with 37 points with Shamrock fourth on 34 points.
M9: Benfica vs Fulham	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Friendly. Benfica are unbeaten in their last seven games and smashed Feyenoord 5-0 in a recent friendly. Fulham play their first match of the new term after ending last season with a 4-2 away win against relegated Luton Town. Benfica won the last meeting between the teams 5-1 two years ago.
M10: Nottingham Forest vs Villarreal	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Both lost friendlies last time out. Before that Forest had an unbeaten four-match sequence with Villarreal unbeaten in five games. The two have not met before.

Suggested R192 perm: 1 x 3 x 1,2,3 x 1,2 x 1,2 x 1,2 x 3 x 1,2 x 1 x 1,2

Saturday 3 August S10 V2

SOCCER 10 V2 SUGGESTED BET:

M1: Grasshopper Zurich vs FC Basel	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Like Friday’s Soccer 10, this pool gets a R150,000 kick-start from TAB. A Swiss Super League clash is first up. Both are winless in their last three games, but Basel have lost only two of their last 14 games. Basel won the last meeting between the two 1-0 in May. In the last six clashes, Grasshoppers have won four and Basel two.
M2: Galatasaray vs Besiktas	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Turkish Super Cup with the league winners pitted against Cup heroes Besiktas. Galatasaray have won 11 of their last 15 games and Besiktas have lost only three of their last 15. Galatasaray won the previous meeting 1-0 and have won four of the last five encounters to Besiktas’ one.
M3: Schalke 04 vs Eintracht Braunschweig	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
German second division. Schalke have lost only two of last 14 games. Eintracht are on a three-game winning run in friendlies. Schalke won last meeting 1-0 in February and have won four of last six clashes with Eintracht winning two.
M4: Sint-Truiden vs Sporting Charleroi	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Sint-Truiden are on a three-game losing streak, whereas Charleroi have won seven of last nine and look a banker bet to win.
M5: Sporting Lisbon vs FC Porto	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Portuguese Super Cup with league winners Sporting Lisbon up against Porto who beat them in the cup final in May. Sporting have won 11 of their last 15 games and Porto are on a 10-game winning streak. Porto have won three of the last five encounters with one draw and one Sporting win.
M6: Manchester City vs Chelsea	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
City are on a four-game losing streak after losing three pre-season friendlies, including a 4-3 defeat to Celtic. Chelsea won five of their last seven Premier League games but lost 1-4 to Celtic in a friendly last time after drawing with Wrexham before that. City have won three of the last five meetings with Chelsea with two draws.
M7: Crystal Palace vs West Ham United	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Crystal Palace are unbeaten in their last nine games, while West Ham have failed to win in 12 of their last 15. Over the last five meetings between them in two years, Crystal Palace have won three, West Ham one, with one draw.
M8: Barcelona vs Real Madrid	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Barcelona ended last season with a four-game winning streak in La Liga and then won a pre-season friendly with Manchester City on penalties. Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last 15 games across all competitions and then won a pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund. Real Madrid won their last meeting with Barca 3-2 in April and have won four of the last five clashes.
M9: Wolverhampton vs RB Leipzig	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
Wolves have lost nine of their last 14 games, while RB Leipzig are unbeaten in their last 12. The two teams have never faced each other before.
M10: Manchester United vs Liverpool	TEAM A WINS	DRAW	TEAM B WINS
United have won five of their last six games and Liverpool are unbeaten in their last five. The two drew 2-2 in April.

Suggested R162 perm: 1,2,3 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 3 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 1 x 3 x 1 x 1,2,3.

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