Are Sekhukhune and Chippa United worth an outside pick?
The Betway Premiership kicks off this weekend with a full set of enthralling fixtures to feast on for fans of the beautiful game in South Africa.
Probably the most exciting of all is Sunday’s meeting between Stellenbosch and Kaizer Chiefs at Athlone Stadium.
A sell-out crowd is expected in the Mother City to watch Amakhosi start their season against Steve Barker’s Stellies.
Stellenbosch did lose three times to Chiefs last season – twice in the Betway Premiership and once in the Nedbank Cup. It was Stellies, however, who finished the season six places above Chiefs in the Premiership table, ending up in third for a second successive campaign.
The odds for Sunday’s game do slightly favour the Winelands side, with Stellies priced at 2.16 to Chiefs’ 3.40 and a draw at 3.20.
The pressure will certainly be on Chiefs, with Nabi’s side finishing a disappointing ninth in the table last season, and missing out on a place in the MTN8 for the second year in a row.
Chiefs did win the Nedbank Cup, beating Stellenbosch in the quarterfinals, but could do with getting their new league campaign off to a flying start.
On Saturday, Abelsam Ouaddou takes charge of his first Premiership game as Orlando Pirates head coach. The Buccaneers are at home to Erik Tinkler’s Sekhukhune, who beat Pirates 1-0 in this fixture last season.
Pirates, however, are heavy favourites to win this time, priced at 1.49 to Sekhukhune’s 6.80, with a draw at 4.00.
Both Pirates and Sekhukhune won their opening matches of the season last weekend as they reached the MTN8 semifinals.
Tinkler, meanwhile, will no doubt relish the chance to test himself again against a side he took to the Caf Confederation Cup final in 2015.
Early in the season, this could be the time to take on Pirates, and at 6.80, a bet on an away win will certainly get you more bang for your buck if it comes through.
If you are looking for an outsider, meanwhile, you can also get 10.00 on Chippa winning at home to reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday.
As the odds reflect, this is highly unlikely to happen, but early season could just be the time to pick an upset.
Please note that these Betway odds were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.
