TAB will pump nearly R700,000 in add-ins and a carryover into five TAB soccer pools this weekend and there’s good soccer action on the menu. Major League Soccer in the USA is gathering momentum and the 2024-25 season gets out the starting stalls in Europe with the first games of the Swiss Super League and Denmark’s Superliga in the new term. Qualifiers for competitions like Champions League in the new season are, of course, already underway.
Belgian giants Club Brugge will be hoping to start their season with a trophy on Saturday, when they take on Union St Gilloise in the Belgian Super Cup. Brugge won the Belgian league title for the sixth time in nine seasons as they pipped Union in the Championship play-offs, despite finishing way behind them in the regular Belgian 2023-24 campaign.
Union, however, did win the Belgian Cup, beating Club Brugge in the semi-finals en route to taking the trophy for the first time in 110 years.
It has been a remarkable revival for Union, who have won the Belgian league title 11 times, but the last of those came way back in 1935.
In 2018, they were bought by businessmen Tony Bloom and Alex Muzio, the former also being chairman of English Premier League side Brighton. That sparked an upsurge in their fortunes, as they won promotion in 2021, and have challenged for the Jupiler Pro League title in every season since then, without quite crossing the finishing line in first place.
Both Brugge and St Gilloise have a South African link in Percy Tau, who starred for both teams when on loan from Brighton. Brugge have also just signed 19-year-old South African forward Shandre Campbell from SuperSport United.
The two teams know each other very well, having met six times last season with two wins apiece and two matches ending in draws. The clash headlines the second TAB Soccer 6 pool tomorrow and is also included in the first Soccer 10 pool.
Elsewhere this weekend, less than a week after the EURO 2024 final (won 2-1 by Spain as tipped last week), the Swiss Super League kicks off with St Gallen visiting Winterthur tomorrow.
St Gallen finished fifth in last season's Super League, enough to get them into the Europa Conference League, while Winterthur were a place back in sixth and just missed out on a chance to play in Europe.
Last season the two sides met four times, with St Gallen winning twice, Winerthur once, and the other match ending in a draw. As with the Belgian Super Cup, you will find the game in the second Soccer 6 tomorrow and the first Soccer 10 bet.
Major League Soccer in the USA is in full flow and this weekend should see good tussles in the Eastern and Western Conferences, as the New York Red Bulls face Cincinnati FC and the Colorado Rapids take on Real Salt Lake.
New York are fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, but trail Cincinnati by 10 points. Cincinnati are chasing Lionel Messi's Inter Miami hard for the Eastern Conference title, sitting just two points off the top heading into Saturday's match.
In the Brazilian top flight, Botafogo opened up a three-point lead over Palmeiras when they beat them 1-0 this week, and should have far too much for 14th placed Internacional on Saturday. That’s the top banker bet for tomorrow’s R200,000-added Soccer 10 (S10 V3) - a home win for Botafogo over Internacional. You can probably also count on Palmeiras to get back to winning form by beating Cruzeiro at home.
That Soccer 10 and tonight’s Soccer 10, which also kicks off with a R200,000 bonus add-in from TAB should each total close to R2 million and both are must-plays for TAB soccer customers.
SOCCER 10 V2 SUGGESTED BET:
| M1: Sirius vs Malmö | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| The first of two Soccer 10 bets this weekend with a R200,000 kick-start from TAB. With a likely pool of around R2 million, there’s big money to be won. The visitors have won 11 of 15 games this season and top Sweden’s premier league Allsvenskan with 35 points. Sirius are ninth with 18 points. | |||
| M2: Barracas vs Newell's Old Boys | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Argentina’s Liga Profesional. The visitors have lost their last two and are 19th with six points. Barracas are 23rd with four points, but won last time and look to be finding their feet in the new season. Newell's won the last clash with Barracas 1-0. | |||
| M3: Nordsjælland vs AaB | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Start of the new season in Denmark’s Superliga. Nordsjælland won 5-1 against AaB in their last meeting in November 2022. Nordsjælland had a strong home record last season with nine wins, six draws and one loss. | |||
| M4: Bohemians vs Shamrock Rovers | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Cup clash in Ireland. Bohemians are winless in six games and Shamrock have failed to win in 10 of their last 14. Their last meeting in May ended 1-1. | |||
| M5: Cobh Ramblers vs Kerry | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Cobh are unbeaten in 10 of their last 15 Irish First Division games. Kerry have lost 10 of their last 15 across all competitions. In five clashes over the last year, there have been three draws and a win apiece. | |||
| M6: Drogheda vs Dundalk | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Drogheda are winless in their last 10 league games and Dundalk have lost six of their last 11 league matches. In their last six clashes, Dundalk have won three and Drogheda two with one draw. | |||
| M7: Avai vs Ceara | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Avaí are winless in their last five matches and are fifth in Brazil’s Serie B with 23 points, while Ceará lost their last game and are 13th with 19 points. Avaí won 1-0 in their previous meeting last season and are unbeaten in their last three games against Ceará. | |||
| M8: Belgrano vs Deportivo Riestra | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Belgrano are unbeaten in their last three and are 10th with eight points in Argentina’s top league. Riestra are 18th with six points. Belgrano won the last clash between the two 2-1 in April 2022. | |||
| M9: Rosario Central vs Sarmiento | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Rosario are winless in their last four games and Sarmiento have lost nine of their last 15. Sarmiento won 4-1 in their previous meeting and are 12th with seven points to Rosario Central’s six points. | |||
| M10: Coritiba vs Mirassol | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Coritiba are winless in their last four, whereas Mirassol have avoided defeat in 10 of their last 14. Mirassol are seventh with 22 points in Brazil’s Serie B and Coritiba 10th with 20 points after 15 games. | |||
Suggested R72 perm: 1,2,3 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 3 x 1 x 1,2 x 1 x 1 x 1,2 x 1.
SOCCER 10 V3 SUGGESTED BET:
| M1: Paysandu vs Ponte Preta | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| The second R200,000-added Soccer 10 of the weekend. Paysandu are unbeaten in last six and Ponte Preta in their last four. They are level on points after 15 games with Ponte Preta 11th and Paysandu 12th. | |||
| M2: Botafogo vs Internacional | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Botafogo unbeaten in their last five matches and Internacional winless in last six. Botafogo won their last meeting, but in their last six clashes they have won only twice and Internacional four times. Botafogo lead the table with 33 points and Internacional are 12th with 19 points, having played three games less. | |||
| M3: Banfield vs Atletico Tucaman | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Banfield have won seven of their last 14, whereas Atlético are winless in their last five games. Banfield won their last meeting 3-0. Atlético are 16th with six points and Banfield 22nd with four points. | |||
| M4: New York RB vs Cincinnati | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| MLS in the USA. New York are unbeaten in their last six games and Cincinnati have won 12 of their last 15. Cincinnati lead the win tally 5-2 in their last seven meetings with New York and top the MLS with 48 points, 11 ahead of New York in fourth. | |||
| M5: Orlando City vs New York City | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Orlando are on a three-game winning streak and NYC have won nine of their last 15. NYC beat Orlando 4-2 three weeks ago and have won four of their last six meetings. | |||
| M6: Philadelphia Union vs Nashville SC | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Philadelphia winless in last 10 and Nashville have lost four in a row. Nashville won their last clash 2-1, but Philadelphia have won three of last five between them. Nashville are five points ahead of Philadelphia after 23 games. | |||
| M7: Palmeiras vs Cruzeiro | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Reigning champs Palmeiras have won eight of their last 10 games and are second in Brazil’s Serie A, four points ahead of fifth-placed Cruzeiro. Previous encounter between them ended 1-1 in December. | |||
| M8: Sporting KC vs St. Louis | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Sporting KC are on a three-game winning streak and St. Louis have lost eight of their last 12. Sporting KC have won three of the last six meetings between the two. | |||
| M9: Colorado Rapids vs Real Salt Lake | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Colorado have won five of their last seven games and Salt Lake eight of their last 15. Salt Lake won their last meeting 5-3 and have triumphed in five of their last seven clashes. They are second in the MLS table with 43 points with Colorado fourth, five points behind. | |||
| M10: LA Galaxy vs Portland Timbers | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Galaxy have won seven of their last 10 and Portland eight of their last 12. Galaxy are third with 43 points and seven ahead of fifth-placed Portland. | |||
Suggested R24 perm: 1 x 1 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1,2 x 1,2 x 1.