Big-gun club soccer is back on the menu after the international break and TAB soccer customers have a grand weekend ahead of them with a smashing combination of good football and great chances to win, notably tomorrow’s cash-boosted Soccer 10 and a carryover Soccer 13 on Sunday.
Locally, it’s the start of the Carling Knockout Cup for PSL teams with the eight first-round matches from this Friday through Sunday. The bulk of the games are on Saturday with two of them in the R100,000-added Soccer 10 and another three in the last Soccer 10 of the day.
Newly-crowned MTN8 champions Orlando Pirates start favourites for the Carling Cup. They don’t have the depth to match the firepower of Sundowns across a league season, but they can teach the champs a thing or two in knockout competitions. Remarkably, Pirates have won five of the last six domestic cup competitions with their only failure coming in last year’s Carling Cup, in which they were dumped out on penalties in the quarter-finals by Richards Bay.
They take on newly-promoted Magesi in Orlando on Saturday afternoon and should be a safe banker to win in the Soccer 10, barring a dramatic loss of form. Other bankers in the Soccer 10, which should total close to R2 million thanks to the cash boost from TAB, include Polokwane to win at home against Marumo Gallants and home wins for Newcastle in the English Premier League and Osasuna in LaLiga.
The most-watched game in the pool is likely to be the Manchester United-Brentford clash at Old Trafford. And most won’t be watching because of the quality of the football, but rather to see whether United head coach Erik ten Hag can keep his job. Should Brentford put United to the sword in their own backyard, it’s likely Ten Hag will get the boot unless frugal Sir Jim Ratcliffe decides it’s just too expensive to terminate his contract. Ironically, Brentford boss Thomas Frank in the leading contender to replace Ten Hag.
The last Soccer 10 on Saturday has a glut of stand-out bankers - home wins for AC Milan, Sundowns, Bayern Munich, Girona and Cape Town City plus Arsenal to win away at Bournemouth. Not so easy to call is the clash between trophy-hungry teams SuperSport United and Kaizer Chiefs in Polokwane on Saturday night. But Amakhosi are on the upgrade and could have the edge.
Bankers to win for Sunday’s carryover Soccer 13 are Liverpool, Manchester City, Barcelona and Villarreal.
SOCCER 10 V2 SUGGESTED BET:
| M1: AmaZulu vs Stellenbosch | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Carling Cup opener. AmaZulu are on a four-game losing streak, while Stellenbosch have won seven of their last 11. They drew 0-0 when they last met in May and four clashes before that yielded two wins for Stellenbosch, a draw and a win for AmaZulu. | |||
| M2: Borussia Dortmund vs St. Pauli | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Bundesliga. Dortmund have won eight of their last 11 games, while St. Pauli have won eight of 14. St. Pauli won 2-1 in their last meeting two years ago, but Dortmund had won five in a row before that. Dortmund are seventh in the table with 10 points to St. Pauli’s four. | |||
| M3: Monaco vs Lille | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Monaco are unbeaten in their last 10 games, while Lille have won three in a row. Monaco currently top France’s Ligue 1 with 19 points, six more than fifth-placed Lille. Their last six clashes have yielded two wins apiece. | |||
| M4: St Patrick's Athletic vs Galway United | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| St Patrick's are on an eight-game winning streak and Galway are unbeaten in their last four league. Galway are fourth in Ireland’s Premier Division with 50 points, three more than their rivals who have played a game more. | |||
| M5: Deportivo Alaves vs Real Valladolid | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Alaves have lost three straight LaLiga games, while Valladolid are winless in their last nine. Alaves won 1-0 in their last meeting in January 2022 and are five points ahead of Valladolid in the table. | |||
| M6: Leeds United vs Sheffield United | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Leeds are unbeaten in their last four games, while Sheffield United are unbeaten in their last six Championship fixtures. Sheffield won their last clash with Leeds 2-0 and are currently second in the table with 19 points, three more than Leeds. | |||
| M7: Newport County vs Chesterfield | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| English League Two. Newport have lost eight of their last 14 games, whereas Chesterfield are unbeaten in their last five. They are level on points in the table with Chesterfield 12th and Newport 13th. | |||
| M8: Atletico Goianiense vs Cuiaba | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Cuiabá are five places above Atlético in Brazil’s Serie A, having accumulated 26 points to Cuiaba’s 21. Both have struggled recently, although Cuiaba did score a good home win last time. | |||
| M9: CA River Plate vs Velez Sarsfield | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Sarsfield top Argentina’s Liga Profesional with 36 points, 11 more than seventh-placed River Plate. Vélez have won 12 of their last 14 matches, while River Plate are unbeaten in 13 of 14 and won 5-0 when the two last met in February. | |||
| M10: Cruzeiro vs Bahia | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Cruzeiro are winless in their last four games, while Bahia have lost five of their last seven. Bahia won 4-1 in their previous meeting this year and are seventh in Serie A with 45 points, two more than their rivals. | |||
Suggested R36 permutation: 3 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 2,3 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 1.
SOCCER 10 V1 SUGGESTED BET:
| M1: Como vs Parma | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| With a R100,000 cash boost from TAB, this Soccer 10 should total around R2 million and could pay well. The opening game is an Italian Serie A clash and hosts Como have been unable to win in 10 of their last 14 games, while Parma are winless in their last five. They drew 1-1 in a Serie B fixture in February in their last clash and are currently separated by just two points. | |||
| M2: Genoa vs Bologna | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Genoa are on a four-game losing streak in Serie A, whereas Bologna have avoided defeat in 11 of their last 13 matches. Bologna won the previous meeting with their rivals 2-0 and have eight points to Genoa’s five. | |||
| M3: Orlando Pirates vs Magesi | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Carling Cup first round and cup kings Pirates are unbeaten in their last 11 games in all competitions, while Magesi have won eight of their last 15. They have not clashed before. | |||
| M4: Polokwane City vs Marumo Gallants | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Carling Cup. Polokwane are unbeaten in 11 of their last 15 league games and Gallants have won six of their last 10 games in all competitions. | |||
| M5: Fulham vs Aston Villa | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| English Premier League. Fulham are sharp and have won seven of their last 13 games, while Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last eight. Villa have won five of the last six encounters with one success for Fulham. Tight match likely. | |||
| M6: Manchester United vs Brentford | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| United’s struggles continue and they are winless in their last five games, whereas Brentford have won five of their last nine. United have won four of the last six meetings between the two, but Brentford are two points ahead of United in the table. | |||
| M7: Newcastle United vs Brighton | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Newcastle have won nine of their last 14 matches to Brighton’s nine of 13. Drew 1-1 in last meeting in May and they are currently level on 12 points apiece after seven games. | |||
| M8: Southampton vs Leicester City | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Southampton have lost six of their last nine games, while Leicester have lost seven of their last 14. Leicester won the last meeting 5-0 and have a point more than their rivals in the EPL log. | |||
| M9: Stoke City vs Norwich City | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| Norwich are unbeaten in their last four Championship games and won the previous meeting between the two 3-0, their fifth victory in the last six encounters. They are seventh with 15 points to Stoke’s 10. | |||
| M10: Osasuna vs Real Betis | TEAM A WINS | DRAW | TEAM B WINS |
| LaLiga. Osasuna are unbeaten in their last four games and Betis have lost their last two. Osasuna are fifth with 15 points, three more than their rivals. | |||
Suggested R162 permutation: 1,2,3 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 3 x 1.