Written by The Caretaker Coach for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
After some midweek formalities with most teams performing as predicted, we head into a gameweek of fixtures without some big teams like Pirates and Sundowns. That sees double fixtures for sides like SuperSport United and Moroka Swallows. With no Friday night games, things only conclude on Tuesday with the log leaders in action.
Chippa United 27/20
Draw 21/10
Maritzburg United 19/10
Both these sides are in some seriously dry form, with neither of them registering a win in their last five outings. Chippa went down to AmaTuks in a game they should’ve got a point from. They’re at home on Saturday afternoon and will look to make up for lost time against a Maritzburg side that’s only won twice away from home so far. Chippa were in sublime form earlier in the season, but you have to go back to November for their last home win. Both sides could be content with a draw but you have to feel that sitting tied on 22 points from eighteen games isn’t good enough for either of them. Chippa are 13/20 for a Draw No Bet and these odds seem good enough for me to get some value, as well as cover for a possible stalemate.
Free State Stars 29/20
Draw 21/10
University of Pretoria 18/10
AmaTuks are certainly on the up and they visit a Stars sides that’s in surprisingly good form, especially at home. For most of the season the hosts have been poor and sit just a point above relegation, but you have to feel they’re going to make a hard time of things for travelling AmaTuks. Moeketsi Sekola has netted eight times so far for Stars, scoring almost half of his side’s goals. If he’s up to it come kick off, it could be a much tougher trip than AmaTuks would’ve thought. At 7/10 for a Stars Draw No Bet, there’s some feeling from the bookies that the away side may have a chance here. Despite them being unbeaten in 2015 I’m predicting this to come to a surprising end. Worst case scenario for me is a full refund for the draw.
Mpumalanga Black Aces 14/10
Draw 21/10
SuperSport United 19/10
These are two of my favourite sides in the league. Both are packed with potential but both are underperforming this season. Matsatsantsa have only lost one in their last five but are still far from the side we’re used to seeing. They sit a point behind Black Aces with a game in hand but will need a good performance to get points here. The home side came back to earn a draw against a struggling Platinum Stars side in midweek and will hoping to do better this time out. SuperSport lost the reverse fixture earlier in the season whilst they were in their pre-Igesund slump. It’s not going to be much easier for them to make good at the Mbombela Stadium, and the bookies tend to agree. In a tight game with both sides looking to move up the table, Both Teams To Score at 9/10 presents good value in tough game to call a result.
Polokwane City 11/10
Draw 22/10
Moroka Swallows 24/10
Swallows dominate the head-to-head record between these two sides, but it’s Polokwane that are in far better form at the moment. They find themselves in a surprising sixth spot, although the tight nature of mid-table in the PSL makes it a little flattering. There are lots of sides that will be charging from behind to make up lost ground before the season ends, but I don’t see Swallows being one of them. The history may favour the Dube Birds, but I think the home side will be tough to break down. I’m sure Swallows will throw everything they have at this one and this could cause Polokwane to sit and consolidate. Goals may be hard to come by in this one and the Under 2.5 Goals market at 7/10 is probably where you’ll find the safest bet in this matchup.
Bloemfontein Celtic 8/10
Draw 9/4
AmaZulu 7/2
Two sides that I’m never too keen to preview. They’ve been rather dull this season and it’s not surprising that they find themselves as the two lowest scoring sides in the PSL. It’s no secret that AmaZulu have a mountain to climb to prevent relegation and with games running out, it’s fixtures like these that could help them make up some ground. Unfortunately for Usuthu, whilst Celtic sit second-lowest in the goal scoring department, they also boast the third-best defensive record. With a tough defence to break down and neither side having any attacking prowess, we could be in for a dreary affair. The Under 2.5 Goals market is very short at 11/20, but may be the only sane play on a game that doesn’t hold much potential.
Moroka Swallows
Draw
Bidvest Wits
This will be Swallows’ second match of the gameweek, so stamina will definitely be tested and with Wits being the fresher of the two sides, they may be set up for failure here. Wits have been in sublime form, gathering an impressive away win at Maritzburg United and now extending their unbeaten run to six. Coming back from conceding an early goal, they have shown good maturity to make them a side difficult to rule out of a result, even from losing positions. Thulani Hlatshwayo has been in good scoring form, adding a seventh goal for the season to his tally last time out. Despite being on the road, I still fancy Wits to pick up a win and you may find significant value for the result.
SuperSport United
Draw
Kaizer Chiefs
Despite most results going the punter’s way in midweek, Chiefs’ goalless stalemate at Celtic certainly wasn’t one of them. Maybe it’s an AFCON hangover but the AmaKhosi weren’t the same side that’s built up a thirteen point lead at the top of the PSL. SuperSport were poor against Chiefs earlier this season and will need to put up a much stiffer challenge at home to prevent a reoccurrence of this. As I’ve mentioned time and time again, it’s really tough to bet against a side in such rich form, so you really have two options here. Either you leave out Chiefs from your bets in case of another draw (or a rare loss), or you include without thinking. You might get more than the usual 4/10 or so that we’ve been used to when it comes to the AmaKhosi, especially after their midweek disappointment, but I still cannot consider any other result at this stage.
