DSTV Prem Best Bets & Value Bets by Opta Jabu

Opta Jabu has crunched the numbers and provides the best bets for DSTV Premiership midweek action. Check out our betting preview below.

Marumo Gallants (11) v AmaZulu (8)

With one win away from home in ten matches since May, AmaZulu are on the road once again this weekend. They visit one of the in-form teams in the PSL – since Dan Malesela joined the club a month ago, only Sundowns (15) have won more points in the league than Marumo Gallants (14). They’ve also conceded one goal in the last five games, which complicates Benni McCarthy’s assignment a bit more.

We’re trying to look beyond the narrative of draws that has followed them for a while, but that’s a really difficult task at the moment. AmaZulu have drawn seven games in a row, a new consecutive stalemate record for the club. Worse still, it’s not just a club record.

7 – Seven consecutive draws equals the all-time PSL top-flight record (seven in a row by Ajax 2005/6, Jomo Cosmos 2007/8 and Swallows 2020/21).

No PSL team has ever drawn eight in a row.

Suggested Bet: Under 2.5

Value Bet: Draw

Mamelodi Sundowns (1) v Orlando Pirates (3)

The big game of the weekend sees Pirates travel to Sundowns on Friday evening. 16 games into the season, the gap between Sundowns and Pirates stands at exactly 16 points. To put this into perspective, the gap between the two sides at the end of last season was 17 points. While Sundowns seem to have found a new gear this season, there’s no doubt that Pirates have also managed to shoot themselves in the foot throughout the campaign. There are several angles to look at the gulf between the two sides, but the head-to-head results this year are a pretty good summary.

4 – Pirates have lost 4 times to Sundowns already this year, the joint-most defeats they’ve suffered against a single PSL opponent in a calendar year.

Plus, Pirates have lost 22 league matches against Sundowns, more than they have against any other opponent in PSL history, scoring Over 0.5 just once in the last seven.

Suggested Bet: Sundowns win/draw

Suggested Bet: Sundowns clean sheet

Cape Town City (10) v Swallows (13)

The win against Baroka was Swallows’ first away win of the season, and Dylan Kerr will hope his new regiment has turned a corner. They’ll be in Cape Town on Saturday night, and it’s not for the Christmas holidays. City are unbeaten in five at home, but were shaky in their last home game – a 3-2 win over Maritzburg. Tinkler will be hoping his team can repeat their performance from the 4-0 MTN8 semi-final win, but that was a different Swallows side then.

9 – TS Galaxy (11) are the only side to have conceded more than Cape Town City at home this season (9, alongside Supersport).

Suggested Bet: CT City win/draw

Suggested Bet: Under 1.5

Royal AM (4) v Kaizer Chiefs (2)

Revenge will be on Kaizer Chiefs’ minds when they travel to Royal AM this Sunday. After all, the 4-1 hammering happened only three months ago. Having said that, the defeat could have been a turning point for Chiefs. They may not be purring, but they’ve lost only one of the subsequent 10 games since then (W5 D3). If we had a league table starting from the day after the loss to Royal AM, Chiefs would be second, behind only Sundowns. And that’s with two games less than they were supposed to play. 

John Maduka’s team have stuttered a bit recently, and have won just one in six, but they are riding high at home. Royal AM have won 17 points at home this season. Only Sundowns (25) have more.

9 – Nine matches involving Royal AM have seen both sides score this season, a league high.

Suggested Bet: Kaizer Chiefs win/draw

Value Bet: BTTS