Gary Lemke looks ahead towards a jam-packed sporting weekend as the promotion/relegation playoff places is set to be decided, while teams fight it out for Champions League places in the Premier League.
PLENTY AT STAKE ON LAST DAY OF EPL SEASON
That end-of-season Sunday has arrived, where the English Premier League’s intoxicating Goal Rush unfolds on a screen near you where fans would be frantically following all the live scores. This year, there’s no intrigue in terms of winning the title or being relegated, but Nottingham Forest’s home game against Chelsea is a one-off shootout for Champions League qualification.
Forest need to win to have any hope of a top-five finish, while Chelsea could get away with a draw, but it’s unlikely.
Aston Villa will need to beat Man United at Old Trafford in another blockbuster. Surely United will be up for this in front of their fans?
DESPITE CHANGES, POLE IS VITAL IN MONACO
In an attempt to make the Monaco Grand Prix more exciting, a three-tyre compound, two-pit-stop race has been introduced for the narrow streets of Monte Carlo.
Last year, there was a red flag when all the cars stopped, changed tyres and basically completed the race on their preferred tire in single file.
Despite the attempt to introduce more under-cutting and over-cutting, this iconic event is often, and will still be, won at last in Saturday’s qualifying rather than the actual race on Sunday.
McLaren, 15-time winners of the race, are seeking their first since 2008.
FRENCH SPEEDBALL BOOSTS BORDEAUX
They reckon that Louis Bielle-Biarrey is the fastest rugby player on the planet, with a top speed of 37.8km/h, faster than any English Premier League footballer who has been measured.
The French winger will be one of the standouts when Bordeaux Begles take on a Northampton Saints team which includes Jarno Augustus in the final of the Investec Champions Cup in Cardiff on Saturday.
This cup is a step up from the United Rugby Championship, and the winners can claim to be the best rugby club in the world, given that the best of South African sides also competed. The French club are seven-point favourite to lift the silverware.
KZN TALENT MISSING FROM GRADE ONE CLASSIC
Will we see the winner of the 2025 Hollowyydbets Durban July come from the field of seven in Saturday’s Daily News 2000?
It might well be so, if Eight On Eighteen, the 5-10 favourite for this three-year-old Grade 1 classic, stands his ground and goes on to run in the country’s premier race.
However, Justin Snaith has warned that no final decision has been taken as yet, so it’s best you wait before taking those 9-2 odds for Africa’s richest race.
Obviously, if he wins, those odds will shorten. Decisions, decisions. There has been much debate about why only seven three-year-olds are living up to a prestigious Gr1 event.
For me, the bigger pity is that only four trainers have horses in the race – none from KwaZulu-Natal. Where are the KZN three-year-olds?
SIMBINE HEADS SA DIAMOND LEAGUE CHALLENGE
Athletics’ Diamond League circuit stops off in Africa on Sunday, with Rabat, Morocco, staging the fourth meeting of the season.
There are five South Africans involved – Akani Simbine and Shaun Maswanganyi (men’s 100m), Zakithi Nene (men’s 400m), Benjamin Richardson and Wayde van Niekerk (men’s 200m), Tshepo Tshite (men’s 1500m) and Prudence Sekgodiso (women’s 800m), Zeney van der Walt (women’s 400m hurdles), and Jo-Ane van Dyk (women’s javelin).
South African athletics is riding the crest of a wave in 2025, and Simbine will be looking to beat a stacked field to stay unbeaten in the 100m.
DOWN TO FOUR AS IPL REACHES TWO-MONTH MARK
Let’s check in on the Indian Premier League, which started on the 22nd March. By the end of this weekend, there will only be two matches left in the round robin of 70 games, and then it’s into the playoffs.
We know that only one of four teams can lift the trophy – Gujarat Titans (9-4), Mumbai Indians (26-10), Royal Challengers Bangalore (28-10) or Punjab Kings (4-1).
The Titans are favourites because they have the two leading run-scorers and the leading wicket-taker. While it remains a run-fest, only six hundreds have been scored, compared to last season’s 14, but five batsmen have been stranded not out in the 90s.
BOTTOM OF TABLE DRAMA IN PSL
Six games in the Betway Premiership all kick off at 3pm on Saturday, and there will be plenty of fans refreshing their phones for score updates. Especially so for Cape Town City, who need to beat third-placed Stellenbosch to avoid dropping into the promotion-relegation playoffs.
SuperSport United can retain their top-flight status with a home win over Richards Bay. With Durban City’s promotion confirmed, the teams which finish second and third in the Motsepe Foundation Championship will take on the 15th-placed Betway Premiership team – likely Cape Town City – for next season’s top-flight status.
