By The Numbers – 100 DSTV Premiership Games Played

The two matches played on Wednesday night were the 99th and 100th matches played in the DSTV Premiership this season. Sundowns’ 1-0 win in Durban set a new record for them as a 10th straight victory from the season start. Across the country, Sekhukhune’s 2-0 win at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium also secured back-to-back wins for the club. To mark the 100-game milestone, we looked at some of the betting numbers from the midweek games, and also some numbers that have characterized the 2023/24 season so far.

Midweek Games

On the betting front, the away win for Sundowns and a home win for Sekhukhune would have been safe bets this week. A double-up on a Sundowns’ home win and Under 1.5 would have been a bit riskier, but still conceivable. But few would have envisioned Over 1.5 goals for Sekhukhune, given their scoring history.

3 – occasions where Sekhukhune scored Over 1.5 goals last season
2 – occasions where Sekhukhune scored Over 1.5 goals this season (before yesterday)
1 – this was the 1st time in three years since their promotion that they recorded Over 1.5 goals in back-to-back games

The 1-0 win for Sundowns over AmaZulu was less surprising, but also it was emblematic of these two stats:

100% – Downs have scored in every game this season, the only team with a 100% score record.
8/13 – AmaZulu have blanked in more matches than any other side (8)

Away Wins On The Up

Unsurprisingly, home wins remain the more common result overall in the division. 100 games in, and 42 matches have ended as home wins (42%), while 36 were away wins (36%). 22 games have ended in a draw.

One interesting thing to note is the increase in away wins. The recent surge in away wins in November may have been seen by many as an anomaly. But compared to historical averages, we’ve seen a slightly significant increase in away teams getting a result.

14 – games played between November 11 and November 29
8 – away wins in that period
3 – home wins in that period (and three draws)

28% – away win ratio in PSL history (almost 3 in 10 games end with an away win)
28% – away win ratio last season (in line with the historical average)
36% – away wins in the league this season.

This may yet even out throughout the season.

Goals Remain A Scarcity

Goals remain a scarcity in the Premiership. With 40% of the season played, six of the sixteen teams have 10 or fewer goals scored. Half of the division have scored 11 or fewer goals, with 10 of the sixteen averaging 1 goal per game or less.

30% – 1-0 is the most common scoreline, occurring in 30 of 100 games.
45% – 45 of the 100 games have seen less than 1.5 goals.

Last season, the 100th game came just before the World Cup, with 201 goals recorded at that point. There has been not much of a difference this season, with 198 goals nearly par. We’ve also seen an even spread between 1st and 2nd half goals.

198 – goals scored this season (at 1.98 goals per game)
100 – goals scored in the first half of games
98 – goals scored in the second half of games

Other

79 – of 100 matches have Under 1.5 goals half-time
8 – Both teams have scored in 8 matches involving Cape Town Spurs (out of 13), a league-high
0 – Spurs are yet to keep a clean sheet this season
9/13 – games involving Spurs that saw Over 2.5 goals.