Whether you are celebrating the Festive Season at home or heading to a holiday destination, you can bank on TAB soccer bets providing grand entertainment and umpteen chances to win bundles of cash over the next three weeks. Guaranteed Soccer 13 pools of R32 million (26 December) and R22 million (29 December) will close off the year and there’s plenty of action before that, starting with six cash-boosted pools this weekend.
It has been a turbulent week in football with Manchester United ditching director of football Dan Ashworth just five months after moving heaven and earth to employ him. Even better was United’s new 28% shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe reducing a hardly-generous 100-Pound Christmas bonus to staff to a 40-Pound shopping voucher - and that against a background of burning hundreds of millions of Pounds on unsuitable players and sacking coach Eric ten Hag and his team just months after extending their contracts for another year.
Meanwhile, Mamelodi Sundowns axed head-coach Manqoba Mngqithi a few days ago and replaced him with Miguel Cardoso who takes charge of the local champs for the first time on Sunday, when they square up to Raja Casablanca in a CAF Champions League encounter in Tshwane.
The shock defeat to Magesi FC in the Carling Knockout final probably cooked Mngqithi’s goose, but several sharp soccer fans reckons it’s a huge risk employing Cardoso, who has no experience of coaching in South Africa. Time will tell, but Cardoso did win the Tunisian domestic league with Esperance last season. Plus he took them to the CAF Champions League final, beating Sundowns in the semis before losing to Al Ahly in the final.
Cardoso has had minimal time to effect anything of note with his new squad, but with home advantage Sundowns should floor their rivals.
The match headlines the first Soccer 10 pool on Sunday, but there’s an even more entertaining clash in the second Soccer 10, namely City playing host to cross-town rivals United
It’s a fascinating encounter between two teams that have to be rebuilt for different reasons. Pep Guardiola at City has been hit with a perfect storm combining injuries, notably key midfielder Rodri who is out for the season, a couple of players like Kyle Walker suddenly looking past their sell-by dates, others who have lost their touch temporarily and some youngsters who just aren’t good enough.
United on the other hand are reaping the results of a series of ill-conceived purchases in recent years, leaving new manager Ruben Amorim with an even bigger task than Guardiola. Who will win come Sunday - probably City because they have more quality than their arch-rivals.
Saturday’s R200,000-added Soccer 10 is a cracker pool with several standout bankers. Orlando Pirates travel to the Ivory Coast to take on Stade D'Abidjan in their third Group C match in CAF Champions League.
With Stade D'Abidjan desperately needing a win to remain in contention, Pirates should get plenty of opportunities on the counter-attack in Abidjan. An away win looks likely for the Buccaneers and in the same pool Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle rank banker bets to win at home in the English Premier League.
There’s also a carryover Soccer Any 13 Xtra and cash-added Soccer 4 and 6 bets on Saturday, plus a R200,000-added Soccer 10 tonight.
SOCCER 10 V1 SUGGESTED BET:
| M1 | AmaZulu vs Royal AM | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| R200,000 TAB bonus add-in, which should generate a total pool of about R2 million. PSL clash to kick it off and AmaZulu have lost seven of their last nine games, while Royal AM have failed to win in nine of their last 10. AmaZulu won the previous clash 1-0 in February. Royal AM are 12th with eight points, two points ahead of AmaZulu, who have played two games less. | |||
| M2 | SBV Excelsior vs Volendam | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Excelsior are unbeaten in their last seven games and Volendam in their last 10. Excelsior won last game between them 4-0 in April, but in their last six meetings Volendam lead the win count 3-2. Excelsior top the Dutch second division on 37 points with Volendam second on 36. | |||
| M3 | PEC Zwolle vs Willem II | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| PEC Zwolle are winless in seven of their last nine games, while Willem II have lost their last two. Zwolle won 3-2 in their previous clash in March last year, their third win in the last six clashes. Both teams have 16 points in the Dutch Eredivisie table. | |||
| M4 | Freiburg vs Wolfsburg | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Freiburg are unbeaten in seven of their last 10 games, while Wolfsburg are on an eight-game unbeaten streak. Wolfsburg won the previous clash in April 2-1, but Freiburg have four of the last six meetings between them. Both teams have 21 points in the German Bundesliga. | |||
| M5 | Crusaders FC vs Glentoran FC | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Crusaders and Glentoran are unbeaten in their last three games. Crusaders won the previous meeting between them 1-0, but Glentoran have won three of the last six. Glentoran are a point ahead in the Northern Ireland Premiership but have played two games more. | |||
| M6 | Empoli vs Torino | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Empoli have won two in a row, but Torino are winless in their last six Serie A matches. In their last six encounters over two years, both teams have won twice with two draws. Empoli are ninth with 19 points, three ahead of Torino. | |||
| M7 | KV Mechelen vs Antwerp | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Mechelen have lost their last three and Antwerp have won five of their last 10 games. Antwerp have won four of the last seven clashes and fourth in Belgium’s First Division A with 27 points, three ahead of Mechelen. | |||
| M8 | Toulouse vs Saint-Etienne | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Toulouse have won four of their last six games, while Saint-Etienne have lost five of their last seven. Toulouse are 10th with 18 points in Ligue 1, five more than Saint-Etienne. | |||
| M9 | Derby County vs Portsmouth | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Derby are winless in their last six games and Portsmouth have two wins and two draws from their last four. The teams drew 2-2 in April and Derby have 21 points from 20 games in the Championship. Portsmouth have 17 points from 18 games. | |||
| M10 | Real Valladolid vs Valencia | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Real Valladolid have lost five of their last nine La Liga games, while Valencia have won three of their last five in all competitions. Valencia won the previous meeting 2-1 and have won four of the last six encounters. Valencia are 19th with 10 points, one more than Valladolid. | |||
Suggested R216 perm: 1 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 1,2 x 1,2,3 x 1,2 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 1 x 3.
SOCCER 10 V3 SUGGESTED BET:
| M1 | Golden Arrows vs Richards Bay | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| The big Soccer 10 of the day kicks off with R200,000 in the pool from TAB. Arrows have won two in a row, whereas Richards Bay are on a five-game losing run. Arrows won last meeting between them 2-1 in March, their third victory in the last four clashes. Arrows are sixth on the log with 13 points after eight games, Richards Bay have five points after 10. | |||
| M2 | Arsenal vs Everton | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Arsenal unbeaten in last seven games and Everton have avoided defeat in eight of their last 10. Arsenal are third in the EPL with 29 points, 15 more than Everton, and have won five of the last six games between the two. | |||
| M3 | Liverpool vs Fulham | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 18 games and Fulham in their last three. In last six meetings, Liverpool have won four times with two draws. Liverpool currently top the EPL with 35 points, 12 ahead of Fulham. | |||
| M4 | Newcastle United vs Leicester City | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Newcastle winless in their last four games. Leicester have improved under a new manager with a win and a draw in their last two. Newcastle have beaten Leicester in four of the last six meetings and have 20 points to Leicester’s 14. | |||
| M5 | Wolverhampton vs Ipswich Town | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Wolves have lost six of their last 10 EPL games and Ipswich are on a three-game losing streak. Both are level on nine points after 15 games in the EPL table. | |||
| M6 | Real Mallorca vs Girona | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Mallorca have lost their last two and Girona are winless in their last five. Mallorca eighth in LaLiga with 24 points, two points more than Girona. | |||
| M7 | Chippa United vs Cape Town City | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Chippa have won four of their last nine games and City have lost four of their last five. Last meeting was a 1-1 draw in February. Chippa currently fifth in table with 14 points, six more than City. | |||
| M8 | Marseille vs Lille | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Marseille have lost three in a row, whereas Lille are unbeaten in their last 11 games. Lille won the previous meeting 3-1 and have won three of the last six encounters with two draws. Marseille are second in Ligue 1 with 29 points, three more than Lille. | |||
| M9 | Stade d'Abidjan vs Orlando Pirates | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| CAF Champions League. Stade are on a three-game losing streak and Pirates have won seven of their last 10. Pirates drew 0-0 at home against Al Ahly last time and look up to winning this. | |||
| M10 | Udinese vs Napoli | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Udinese got back on the winning path by beating Monza away on Monday. Napoli have won six of their last 10. Napoli have won four of the last six meetings between the two with two draws. Napoli are second in Serie A, 15 points ahead of Udinese. | |||
Suggested R216 perm: 1,2,3 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 1,2,3 x 1,2 x 2,3 x 3.