Pressure on Chiefs tonight
➳ TAB is giving customers the chance to win big festive season payouts with carryovers to various TAB pools tomorrow and Saturday
TAB is injecting cheer into the festive season with carryovers to over 10 soccer pools tomorrow and on Saturday. The carryover feast includes a R300,000 add-in to tomorrow's principal Soccer 10 pool, which comprises four PSL and six English Premier League games.
The carryover should generate a huge pool of about R3 million, which in turn boosts the prospects of a big payout.
Before that though there's plenty of cash to be won on tonight's Soccer 10 pools, which include the clash between Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United in Atteridgeville. It's a vital match for Chiefs who will play in the knowledge that another setback will see them slide even closer to the relegation places.
One win in their opening six games is fast evolving into the worst start to a league season by AmaKhosi and if they lose tonight, they could be in the drop zone for the first time in their 50-year history.
SuperSport have won as many games as they have lost to Chiefs and significantly have not lost to them in their previous three clashes.
They have also had a significant rest as they last played on 27 November when they won away in Maritzburg.
Chiefs have been busy in that period with a trip to Cameroon, where they won in the African Champions League, and then two tardy home displays. The first was the second leg of their tie against PWD Bamenda, which ended goalless as Chiefs spoilt a myriad of chances.
Then last Wednesday they conspired to throw it away against Black Leopards, but did show some pluck in fighting back to draw 2-2.
Despite all the games, coach Gavin Hunt has not found the right combination and Chiefs remain a club in a deepening crisis.
Benni McCarthy should be on the AmaZulu bench for the first time when they meet Lamontville Golden Arrows tomorrow in a local derby, but it will take him a while to get matters back on track.
The club owners are ambitious, but McCarthy will find the squad is mediocre and Arrows, still unbeaten this season, might hand him a rude start to his new coaching adventure.
Swallows FC are another unbeaten outfit and that run should continue at home to Maritzburg tonight. But Ernst Middendorp is in charge of a turnaround at the bottom-placed club and got a morale-boosting point against champions Mamelodi Sundowns in their last game. He could take it a step further with success against Swallows.