OPPORTUNITIES GALORE TO SCORE A BIG WIN!
The Christmas holidays are upon us and TAB is showering soccer customers with opportunities to win sackfuls of cash, starting with four cash-added pools and a Soccer Any 13 Xtra carryover this weekend. And there are top-drawer games aplenty in TAB’s range of football bets with the start of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Morocco and crammed schedules for English Premier League (EPL) and Championship clubs.
AFCON SET TO IMPACT EPL AND CHAMPIONSHIP
There’s a full round of EPL matches this weekend and the action continues through the Christmas holidays with another four rounds from Boxing Day on 27 December until Thursday 8 January. It‘s a testing time for all clubs and their head coaches or managers, made that much worse this year by AFCON which bizarrely kicks off four days before Christmas and concludes on 18 January.
Which genius selected those dates is a good question and many EPL and Championship clubs are going to be impacted with more than 40 players from the two leagues going missing during the busiest time of the season.
Arsenal, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Leeds and Newcastle will not be affected at all, but it’s bad news for Sunderland who are doing infinitely better than expected in the big league after winning promotion from the Championship last season. They spent big and bought wisely during the off season, but six of their new signings have headed to Morocco including midfielder Noah Sadiki who has played in virtually all their games this season.
Burnley, Fulham and Manchester United are next most affected, having each lost three players, and United boss Ruben Amorim must be having sleepless night wondering how his team is going to fare without leading goal-scorer Bryan Mbeumo of Cameroon. Other AFCON absentees worth noting are Everton’s joint top-scorer Iliman Ndiaye and West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
MAKE OR BREAK FOR MANY WITH 15 POINTS ON OFFER
With five rounds of matches and 15 points up for grabs over the next three weeks, this can be make-or-break time for many EPL and Championship clubs. Things happen very quickly with insufficient time on the training ground between games to try and resolve any cracks that may suddenly develop.
Arsenal head into this frenetic period with a two-point advantage over Manchester City and Aston Villa only a point further back in third, having beaten the Gunners 2-1 at Villa Park earlier this month.
The two sides meet again in the reverse fixture in London on 30 December, a game that could prove decisive in terms of both teams’ title hopes.
Unai Emery’s team have improving Manchester United at home first on Sunday and then go away to Chelsea next Saturday 27 December before they meet Arsenal.
The Gunners have an away clash against Everton this Saturday followed by home games against Brighton and Villa to round out the year. In between, they take on Crystal Palace next Tuesday in the League Cup quarter-final and face a total of six games in just 20 days.
In Morocco on Sunday, the Africa Cup of Nations finals get underway and the home side have an easy start against tiny Comoros, the smallest and lowest ranked of the 24 teams at the tournament.
And don’t forget there’s a guaranteed R36-million Soccer 13 Jackpot on Saturday 27 December for all-13-correct bets!
R200,000 ADDED SOCCER 10 POOLS MATCH BY MATCH
Fri 19 Dec – S10 V3
| M1 | Bologna vs Inter Milan | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Italian Super Cup semi-final. Bologna have won six of their last nine games in all competitions, while Inter have won seven of their last 10. Inter top the Serie A log, eight points ahead of sixth-placed Bologna. | |||
| M2 | Bari 1908 vs Catanzaro | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Bari are winless in last six Serie B games, while Catanzaro are on a three-game winning streak. The last meeting between them ended 3-3. Catanzaro are seventh in the table, nine points ahead of 14th-placed Bari. | |||
| M3 | Borussia Dortmund vs Borussia M’gladbach | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Dortmund are unbeaten in their last three games and are third in Bundesliga with 29 points, 13 ahead of 11th-placed M’gladbach winner of six of their last 10 games. Dortmund won 3-2 when they last met in April. | |||
| M4 | Eibar vs Real Valladolid | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Eibar have lost four of their last eight games, while Valladolid have been unable to win in eight of their last 10 games. Valladolid won the last meeting between them 3-1 last year and are 10th in LaLiga, six points ahead of 20th-placed Eibar after 18 games. | |||
| M5 | Barrow vs Cheltenham Town | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Barrow have lost three of their last four games, while Cheltenham are winless in their last four matches. They are level on points in England’s League Two but 18th-placed Barrow have the better goal difference. | |||
| M6 | Northampton Town vs AFC Wimbledon | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Northampton have won six of their last 10 games, while Wimbledon have been unable to win in seven of their last 10. Northampton Town are 14th in League One with 24 points, three behind Wimbledon in 10th after 19 games. | |||
| M7 | Sporting Charleroi vs Genk | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Both have won only one of their last five games in Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League, but Charleroi have won two cup fixtures in a row. Seventh-placed Genk are four points ahead of Charleroi in the league table. | |||
| M8 | Swansea City vs Wrexham | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Swansea have lost seven of their last 10 games in all competitions, while Wrexham are coping after promotion to the Championship and have drawn 10 of 21 games this term, winning six. They are five points ahead of Swansea. | |||
| M9 | Valencia vs Real Mallorca | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Valencia have avoided defeat in seven of their last eight games in all competitions and Mallorca are unbeaten in their last four. Valencia won the last meeting between the teams 1-0 in March but are 17th in LaLiga, and two points behind Mallorca. | |||
| M10 | Estoril vs Sporting Braga | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Estoril are winless in their last three games, while Braga are unbeaten in their last six. Braga are fourth in the Portuguese premier league table, 11 points ahead of Estoril. | |||
Suggested R48 perm: 3 x 3 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 2,3 x 1,2 x 2,3 x 1 x 3.
Sat 20 Dec – S10 V2
| M1 | Augsburg vs Werder Bremen | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Challenging bet that kicks off with a R200,000 TAB add-in bonus and could pay rockets. Augsburg have lost six of their last eight games, while Bremen are winless in their last four. Augsburg won the last meeting 2-0, but are three points behind 12th-placed Bremen in the Bundesliga table. | |||
| M2 | FC Koln vs Union Berlin | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Koln are winless in their last five Bundesliga games, while Union have lost three of their last four in all competitions. Union are eighth in Bundesliga with 18 points, two ahead of 10th-placed Koln after 14 games. | |||
| M3 | Hamburger SV vs Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Frankfurt have won three of their last five matches and are seventh in the Bundesliga table, nine points ahead of 14th-placed Hamburger. Frankfurt won the last meeting between the teams 3-0, but that was seven years ago. | |||
| M4 | Wolfsburg vs Freiburg | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Wolfsburg have lost seven of their last 10 games in all competitions, while Freiburg have won six of their last nine. Freiburg won the last meeting 0-1 and are currently 9th in Bundesliga, two points ahead of 13th-placed Wolfsburg after 14 games. | |||
| M5 | VFB Stuttgart vs Hoffenheim | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Stuttgart have won six of their last nine games in all competitions, while Hoffenheim have won eight of their last 10. The last meeting between them ended 1-1 and Hoffenheim are fifth in the Bundesliga table with 26 points, one more than sixth-placed Stuttgart after 14 games. | |||
| M6 | Bournemouth vs Burnley | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Bournemouth are winless in their last seven English Premier League games, while Burnley are on a seven-game losing streak. The teams last met in March last year with Bournemouth winning 2-0 away. Bournemouth are 13th with 21 points, 11 ahead of 19th-placed Burnley after 16 games. | |||
| M7 | Brighton vs Sunderland | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Brighton are winless in their last three EPL games, while Sunderland continue to exceed expectations and have avoided defeat in seven of their last 10. Sunderland eighth in the EPL table and three points ahead of Brighton, both with a goal difference of two. Fascinating clash looms. | |||
| M8 | Manchester City vs West Ham United | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| City are on a winning streak of six games in all competitions, while West Ham are winless in their last five EPL fixtures, drawing three. City won the last clash between them 4-1, their 12th victory in the last 15 encounters. City are second on the log with 34 points, 21 ahead of 18th-placed West Ham United. | |||
| M9 | Wolverhampton vs Brentford | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Wolves are on a 10-game losing streak in all competitions and are yet to win a league game this season, while Brentford are winless in their last three league games and lost to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup midweek. The last meeting between them ended 1-1. Brentford are 14th with 20 points, way ahead of last-placed Wolves with just two, but the hosts are not playing badly and are overdue to win. | |||
| M10 | Levante vs Real Sociedad | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Both swerving. Levante have lost their last five LaLiga games and Sociedad their last three. Levante won the last clash between them, but that was in 2022 and they are now rock bottom in the league, seven points behind Sociedad in 15th. | |||
Suggested R48 perm: 1,2 x 1,2 x 3 x 3 x 1,2 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1,2,3
This article was originally published on TAB and is reposted here with permission.
