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WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 31 May - 2 June

BIG CASH TO BE WON AS 2 FINALS SIGN OFF 2023-24 SEASON Saturday’s Nedbank Cup final in Nelspruit and the Champions League final at Wembley close the door on the 2023-24 football season and TAB is maximising the weekend for its many soccer customers with a guaranteed R14-million Soccer 13 pool, two R200,000-added Soccer 10 bets and a R150,000 Soccer Any 13 Xtra carryover. PIRATES WILL MAKE SUNDOWNS WORK FOR LEAGUE-CUP DOUBLE At Mbombela Stadium tomorrow, Mamelodi Sundowns attempt to complete the league-and-cup double by beating Orlando Pirates and that should be a routine assignment, given their runaway success in winning the league by 23 points from second-placed Pirates. But it has been a long and testing season for Sundowns, who have played an extraordinary 57 games and, not surprisingly, have looked tired in recent games. To that you must add Pirates’ long run of success in cup competitions. They are the current holders of the Nedbank Cup and are looking for a second cup success over Sundowns this season, after beating them in the MTN8 final in October on post-match penalties. So the clash in Nelspruit is likely to be a lot closer than many pundits are predicting, although in the end Sundowns’ superior firepower should prove decisive. At Wembley later in the day, Real Madrid will start hot favourites to win the Champions League trophy from Borussia Dortmund, who have surprised many by making it to the final at Wembley. Much of Dortmund’s success this season has been down to a solid defence. They have kept six clean sheets in this year’s competition, which is their highest tally since the 1997-98 competition. And to keep Paris St Germain, who had scored 19 goals in 10 games up to that point, quiet both home and away was particularly impressive. Nevertheless, Real Madrid have players like Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham who can turn a match on its head in a split second, and must be fancied to win. They are coming off a stellar season in Spain, where they lost just once in winning LaLiga. Unbeaten in 25 straight matches since January's Copa del Rey defeat to Atletico Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti's men scored in every fixture away from their Bernabeu base in the 2023-24 season, another factor in their favour in tomorrow’s final. It has been a staggering 43 years since the Spanish giants came out second best in the showpiece of European football. And since that crushing loss to Liverpool in 1981, they have triumphed in each of the last eight Champions League finals in which they have played. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEKEND Pirates have a hot record in cup clashes; Lunin steers clear of other Real Madrid players; tough task for the Grasshoppers; Rovers must do without Lopes; Philadelphia still have injury issues. * Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has not tasted defeat in the Nedbank Cup since he arrived in local football at the start of last season, excelling in a competition he repeatedly talks up as vital to the Buccaneers. His greatest test comes tomorrow, when Pirates take on Sundowns in the final. Riveiro is on a run of only one outright defeat in 19 domestic cup-competition matches over the past two seasons, an incredible record. * Real Madrid goalkeeper Andriy Lunin will be making his way to London alone after coming down with flu this week. Madrid players arrived in the English capital yesterday and Lunin will touch down today or tomorrow to reduce the chances of him infecting his teammates. * Grasshoppers face an uphill struggle in their battle to keep their top-flight status in tonight’s Swiss promotion-relegation playoff against Thun. They will be without German youth international Meritan Shabani and Michael Kempter, who are both out due to anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Plus 20-year-old midfielder Dijon Kameri is sidelined with a muscle injury and they are away after scraping a 1-1 draw in their home leg. * Shamrock Rovers will be unable to call on centre-back Roberto Lopes tonight, when they play at Drogheda, as he serves a suspension after being sent off for a pair of bookable offences in last week’s loss to Irish league-leaders Shamrock Rovers. Lopes is a Cape Verde international, who played against South Africa in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final in the Ivory Coast in January. * A lingering knee injury kept Philadelphia Union keeper Andre Blake off the field on Wednesday and Isaiah LeFlore also sat out with a sore right knee, while Holden Trent was unavailable due to a finger issue. They all remain doubtful for the home match tomorrow night against Montreal. Julian Carranza, who has been linked with a move to Feyenoord in the Eredivisie, also missed their midweek encounter after he picked up a knock in training.

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WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 31 May - 2 June

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