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Mamelodi Sundowns v Orlando Pirates
- Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025
- Kickoff: 15:30 SAST
- Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
For a change, champions Mamelodi Sundowns have a club snapping at their heels. It has been more than four years now since the last closely contested title chase when Sundowns pipped Chiefs on the last day of the season. Now it is Pirates who are keeping up the chase, sitting six points adrift but with a game in hand, and turning the title race into a potentially absorbing affair.
Orlando Pirates have a heady last couple of weeks with a famous away win over African champions Al Ahly in Cairo in the Champions League and the last weekend’s last gasp victory in the derby over Kaizer Chiefs. On Wednesday they had a tough trip to Polokwane but emerged with an important 2-1 victory over Sekhukhune United.
Key Betting Insights:
Sundowns chance to push ahead: This game could be considered a potential championship decider because if Sundowns emerge victorious, they will go nine points clear of Pirates, albeit having played one game more, and given Sundowns winning ways (13 wins from 14 games) it is hard to see them then being caught as they look for an eighth successive league title.
Psychological block: Pirates must feel they have removed the psychological block around beating Sundowns after they won the last meeting between the two clubs when Relebogile Mofokeng’s stoppage time goal saw them come back from a deficit to beat Sundowns in June’s Nedbank Cup. That made it three games in a row
Betting angles:
Less than 2.5 goals @1.47: This will not be a high scoring game, but Sundowns will be at Pirates’ throat and somewhere the dam walls with break. Only one of the last six meetings between the two teams
Prediction:
Score Prediction: Mamelodi Sundowns 2-0 Orlando Pirates @8.00
Sundowns will likely have a little too much firepower and, given Pirates’ inconsistency, look to shade this game and gain some revenge for the way they lost the Nedbank Cup final to the Buccaneers when the two teams last met in June.
Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur
- Date: Sunday, February 9, 2025
- Kickoff: 19:35 SAST
- Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham
This weekend’s agenda in England centres around the FA Cup and a chance for two of the potential contenders to keep up their bid for long awaited silverware. Villa’s last trophy success was in 1996 when they beat Leeds United 3-0 in the League Cup final while Spurs won the same competition in 2008 but have not won anything since. This is the second all-Premier League clash Villa have had to contest in the FA Cup this season. In the third round, they beat fellow claret-and-blue club West Ham United 2-1 at Villa Park.
Spurs had other cup commitments on Thursday, looking to hold onto a slender one-goal lead as they traveled to Anfield for the second leg of their League Cup semi-final against Liverpool. This week provides a welcome diversion from their league woes and the sword that hanging over the head of beleaguered manger Ange Postecoglou’s head.
Key Betting Insights:
Been out shopping: Villa have five new arrivals following this week’s closure of the transfer window with Marcus Rashford’s arrival on loan from Manchester United being arguably the most high-profile move in the transfer window. He should play especially after the departure of Jhon Duran in a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia.
My favourite opponent: James Maddison has scored five against Villa, only netting more in his career against Southampton, who he has scored seven against. He has also scored in each of his two appearances for Tottenham against Villa, including one earlier this season despite playing just eight minutes.
Betting angles:
More than 2.5 goals @ 1.47: Goals have flown into the net in the last clash between these sides, mostly for Spurs. Both sides have far too much quality for there not to be goals but this time it is likely to be a lot tighter affair.
Prediction:
Score Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur @7.50
The data analysts suggest the most likely scoreline for an Aston Villa win is 2-1 with a probability of 9.17%. Not the most convincing percentage but looks highly likely. Although Tottenham have won their past two games against Aston Villa, Spurs have struggled on the road of late. Tottenham have lost three of their past four domestic away games, and failed to win the other inside 90 minutes.
- Date: Friday, February 7, 2025
- Kickoff: 22:05 SAST
- Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris
Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain are only two places ahead of Monaco in the French league standings, but the points gap between the two rivals is 13, with PSG on 50 and Monaco on 37. That realistically means the title race is over for Monaco, even if there are still 14 rounds of fixtures to be played but Monaco could yet prove spoilers.
PSG mixed their selection up of Tuesday as they overcame third-tier Le Mans to reach the last eight in the Coupe de France. They managed the tie efficiently despite a spirited start from the hosts and saw defender Presnel Kimpembe mark his return after a nine-month injury absence, featuring for the final 15 minutes to bolster Luis Enrique’s side.
Key Betting Insights:
Frequent foes: This the third time in six weeks the two clubs face off against each other with PSG having won the past two encounters. The first was a league clash on December 18 in Monaco where Ousmane Dembele’s double helped the Parisians to a 4-2 win. Early last month, they met again in the Trophee de Champions, which is the French Super Cup usually between the league champions and cup winners. But, this time, because PSG did the double last season, their opponents were league runners-up Monaco. The game was played in Doha where Dembele scored the game’s only goal in stoppage time.
Poor on the road: Away form is a cause for concern because Monaco are on their worst run on the road for over five years, having won none of their last five away from home. It has included elimination from the Coupe de France when Stade Reims edged them on post-match penalties and a 3-0 loss at Inter Milan last week, seeing them fail to finish in the Champions League's top eight.
Betting angles:
More than 2.5 goals @1.35: PSG have not faced a club more often than Monaco (113 times), and they have become dominant in this fixture, scoring 27 goals in their last nine meetings at home, and losing just twice here since ownership of the club was taken over by Qatar.
Ousmane Dembele to score @1.91: Monaco will have to be at the top of their game to stop Dembele, who has scored back-to-back hat tricks, with 14 goals in eight games.
Prediction:
Score Prediction: Paris St Germain 3-1 Monaco
PSG will be extending their 20-match unbeaten run in the league this season, especially after recording two wins over Monaco in the last six weeks. However, Monaco are the only club to have won more than 40 games against PSG in their history (48), and have scored on 12 of their last 13 trips to the Parc des Princes.
Borussia Dortmund vs VfB Stuttgart
- Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025
- Kickoff: 16:30 SAST
- Venue: Westfalenstadion, Dortmund
Dortmund might have been Champions League runners-up last season but their domestic campaign has been anything but smooth this term and they started a new chapter last weekend with Niko Kovac taking charge of the club for the first time when they won 2-1 away against Heidenheim in the Bundesliga.
The outcome of this game could go a long way to sorting out places in next season’s Champions League. The top four finishers in the Bundesliga qualify and Stuttgart sit in fifth place, one point behind RB Leipzig. Dortmund are now in 11th spot but remarkably only three points behind.
Key Betting Insights:
New coach: Former Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg coach Kovac gets a home debut after taking the place of Nuri Sahin, who was sacked after a run of four straight defeats at the start of 2025 – including three in the league – which left Dortmund 10th in the Bundesliga. Kovac has inherited a side in need of a pick up.
Vacillating form: Stuttgart lost 2-1 against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday, a match in which created a single chance to make it three successive defeats and by a cumulative score of 8-2 – though they did triumph in eight of their nine prior fixtures. But Stuttgart got back to winning ways in Tuesday’s German Cup quarter-final with a 1-0 home success over Augsburg.
Betting angles:
More than 2.5 goals @1.51: These are two clubs eager to attack and encounters between the pair produce a lot of goals. When they last met in September, Stuttgart thrashed Dortmund 5-1. Defence has been a problem for the teams and so it’s odd-on for a high-scoring affair. Borussia’s previous four encounters ended with at least three goals scored. Five of Stuttgart’s last seven fixtures have ended the same way.
Prediction:
Score Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 3-1 VfB Stuttgart @12.00
Regardless of Dortmund’s current circumstances, at home they are always the favourites. Stuttgart have had less time to rest, playing the cup tie against Augsburg with key key players, and it is probable that coach Sebastian Hoeness will use the same lineup on Saturday.
- Date: Sunday, February 9, 2025
- Kickoff: 21:45 SAST
- Venue: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples
Napoli dropped points in a 1-1 draw at Roma last weekend to end a seven match winning streak but they still have three point advantage at the top of Serie A over defending champions Inter Milan, who have played one game less. Much of Napoli’s success is down to an inspired choice of coach in Antonio Conte.
After back-to-back defeats saw them slip into the bottom half of Serie A, Udinese got back on track by beating Venezia 3-2 last Saturday and ending a run of five games without success. Udinese have picked up only five points this calendar year
Key Betting Insights:
Personnel and approach: Conte’s system relies on maximising the potential of key players, such as Scott McTominay, Romelu Lukaku and Matteo Politano. He often sacrifices defensive solidity to create numerical superiority in the final third. Napoli tried to sign Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United) and Karim Adeyemi (Dortmund) but the club pulled out of the negotiations as both players were deemed too pricey for the state of the club’s finances. They did make money however by selling Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to PSG last month.
Resilience: Udinese also remain one of two teams, along with Empoli, yet to gain any points from losing positions in Serie A this season, perhaps calling their character and resilience into question. They let slip a two goal at home to Venezia last weekend but rallied to win with five minutes left and move up to 10th place. Their away form sees three wins and three draws on 11 league trips this season.
Betting angles:
More than 2.5 goals @1.93: Napoli are on a roll and this could be a romp in front of their home fans. They have scored nine goals the last three times that they hosted Udinese.
Prediction:
Score Prediction: Napoli 4-0 Udinese @15.00
Napoli are unbeaten in their last 18 meetings with Udinese, stretching back to 2016. Udinese have won three of their last 25 visits to Naples and that came in 2011.
- Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025
- Kickoff: 22:00 SAST
- Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
While Real Madrid remain top of LaLiga, they suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at the hands of Espanyol in Barcelona, but bounced back on Wednesday as they beat Leganes away in the Copa del Rey and booked themselves a semi-final berth .. alongside Atletico, who won on Tuesday with a 5-0 home success over Getafe.
Atlético Madrid trail a mere one point behind Real in La Liga after winning against Mallorca last weekend. The match also marked Diego Simeone’s 500th La Liga game as head coach, which inevitably led to emotional scenes in the press conference.
Key Betting Insights:
Penalty furore: In an open letter after losing to Espanyol, Real requested that the Spanish federation release the audio recordings for two key decisions: disallowing Vinicius Jr.’s goal in the 21st minute and issuing Espanyol goal scorer Carlos Romero a yellow card instead of a red. This is not the first time Real have complained about referees. However, the open letter is strongly worded, mentioning corruption as one of the allegations. At the same time, Real have been awarded the most penalties this season (10) while not conceding a single one.
Team news: Atlético Madrid’s superior squad depth could be a key factor in securing success, despite their historical struggles at the Santiago Bernabéu. Their last victory on Real’s field was back in 2016. Antoine Griezmann scored the only goal and should be back again against a Real side in an injury quarry. Antonio Rüdiger’s injury has sparked outrage on social media, as he was the only reliable center-back who had remained injury-free this season. Real have only have two available centre-backs for the derby in Raúl Asencio and Jesús Vallejo.
Prediction:
Score Prediction: Real Madrid 2-2 Atletico Madrid @12.00
Three of three last four LaLiga clashes between the capital rivals have ended in a 1-1 draw but with the defensive facilities there should be more goals this time … but again no outright winner.
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