Betting Notebook: Final January matchday

The PSL roadshow rolls again this coming weekend, with a series of games lined up all weekend for local football lovers. Another KZN derby kicks off the spectacle on Friday, with Golden Arrows making the short trip to Richards Bay. Orlando Pirates have a chance to move up the table, and can even top the table by the end of the weekend should they win by a large enough margin on Saturday. Then on Sunday, TS Galaxy and Sekhukhune battle it out among other fixtures on the weekend. Our Betting Notebook brings you statistical context to the weekend.

Friday: Richards Bay (9th) v Golden Arrows (11th)

Between them, Richards Bay and Golden Arrows have won just one of their last 10 games combined. Such have been the struggles for these KZN-based sides in the last few months. They would both have welcomed the AFCON break with open arms, and seen it as an opportunity to reset for the second half of the campaign. Yet, Richards Bay will be the happier of the two teams at the moment, having drawn with Siwelele in their first game back. Arrows, meanwhile, succumbed to another away defeat against Chiefs. At 2/1, Bay are considered favourites for the win, and it will  take a brave punter to back Arrows given their lacklustre away form.

1 – Arrows are winless away from home since winning Manqoba Mngqithi’s first away game back in March last year, drawing four times and losing eight on their travels since.

You can bet on both teams to score

You can bet on a draw

Saturday: Orlando Pirates (3rd) v Magesi (16th)

It’s top versus bottom when Orlando Pirates host Magesi at the newly renamed Orlando Amsel Arena. If a team needed a good game to celebrate a stadium milestone, they don’t come better than a home game against a side anchored at the bottom of the table. Bookmakers’ implied probabilities give the Bucaneers a 77% chance of victory in this game, while Magesi are at 10%. A look at the two teams’ home/away records tells you why the odds are overwhelmingly in the home team’s favour. Pirates have won nine in a row at home, and could equal a PSL record with a 10th straight home win. Magesi meanwhile have laboured on the road for a year.

1 – Magesi are winless away from home in the league for the past 12 months, drawing four games and losing 11 since February last year.

You can bet on a Pirates win

You can bet on Over 2.5 goals

Sunday: TS Galaxy (7th) v Sekhukhune (5th)

Sekhukhune are back on the road this Sunday, playing their third game in a week, and fourth since the league restarted. Tinkler and his team need a good result to arrest an alarming run of form. They have played 20 games this season in all competitions, and the difference between the first and second 10 games is stark. After losing one of their first 10 games, they have won just one of the next 10. Fifth at the moment, they could find themselves in 8th place at the end of the weekend, should they lose and other results conspire against them. There is nothing to separate the sides in the market, with just under 3/1 for a win with both teams. There has not been much to separate them historically, either.

3 – TS Galaxy & Sekhukhune have won three games against each other in all competitions (D5).

You can bet on a draw or Galaxy win

You can bet on Under 2.5 goals