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WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 10 - 12 May

PREMIERSHIP CRUNCH TIME AND A R550,000 CASH BOOST FROM TAB It’s crunch time in the English Premier League. The final round of matches will be played Sunday week 19 May, but the race for the league title and the relegation battle involving Luton, Burnley and Forest are set to be decided in the next few days. You will find all the key games included in various TAB soccer pools and the great news is that TAB is pumping R550,000 into selected pools this Friday and Saturday. CHALLENGING GAMES FOR MANCHESTER CITY AND SPURS Manchester City currently trail Arsenal by a point, but the title is theirs to lose because they have a game in hand and will be crowned champions if they win their three remaining matches. That’s no given though. They face Fulham away in the early game tomorrow and are 1-4 favourites to win, which looks a fair assessment of the difference in ability between the two sides. But many top teams have come unstuck at claustrophobic Craven Cottage down the years. City then return to London on Tuesday to meet Spurs before finishing at home to West Ham next weekend. It will be hugely ironic if Spurs do their old foes a favour and sink City’s title hopes. Arsenal have their own challenges because their penultimate game of the season is at Old Trafford this Sunday, when they must win to stay in the title race. It should be straightforward for the Gunners on paper, given how poor United were in losing 4-0 to Crystal Palace on Monday, but Old Trafford has never been a kind venue to Arsenal. United manager Erik ten Hag will be hoping to have several key names back for the game, including skipper Bruno Fernandes, and it’s on the cards that they will improve dramatically on their Palace flop. The Red Devils are having a record-breaking season for all the wrong reasons. The defeat to Palace was their 13th of the season, their most yet in the EPL, but they have lost just one of their last 16 Premiership home games against Arsenal and that was back in November 2020. Burnley will be relegated if they fail to beat Spurs tomorrow and a win will not be enough if Nottingham Forest beat Chelsea later in the day. Luton Town are away at West Ham and will be relegated if they fail to at least match Nottingham Forest's result. Seven EPL clashes are included in tomorrow’s R200,000-added Soccer 10. In the DStv Premiership, the battle for second spot continues with Stellenbosch one point ahead of third-placed Orlando Pirates. The Winelands club have a tough one away at Moroka Swallows tomorrow, when Pirates will look to extend their winning streak to eight successive games against struggling Richards Bay. But before that there’s a bumper Soccer 10 to play tonight. The pool also starts with R200,000 added by TAB and there’s every chance of a mega payout. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEKEND Mokoena to get more time; Cape Town’s Nodada out for months; injury woes for Frosinone; Pepe fails again; Silva may leave City. * Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena says influential international midfielder Tebogo Mokoena is making progress in his return from injury. But Sundowns have no urgent need for his services right now, having already secured the DStv Premiership title, and the coach intends to allow him more time to get fit. * Cape Town City are targeting a fourth-place finish this season, but will be without Thabo Nodada until well into next season after he underwent knee surgery. The nuggety midfielder has been missed by the club, who on Tuesday snapped an 11-match winless streak by beating Swallows 2-0. * Relegation-threatened Frosinone will be without injured quartet Stefano Turati (hand), Sergio Kalaj (thigh), Anthony Oyono (ankle) and Mateus Lusuardi (unspecified) for tonight’s clash against already crowned Serie A champions Inter Milan. Plus Enzo Barrenechea is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, His absence could see Francesco Gelli deputise in centre-midfield alongside Luca Mazzitelli and Marco Brescianini. * Former Arsenal flop Nicolas Pepe is set to leave Turkish club Trabzonspor as a free agent when his contract expires at the end of June. The 28-year-old joined the Gunners for a club-record 72-million Pounds in 2019, but failed to live up to his price tag. He was sent on loan to Nice last season before being released by Arsenal last year. That allowed him to move to Trabzonspor, where he has also proved a disaster. At one point he went four months without starting a game as he struggled to make an impact. He has scored just once in his last six appearances and Trabzonspor are preparing to release him. * Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva wants his future resolved by the end of EURO 2024 in July. Silva has two years left on his current deal, but has long been linked with a move to Spanish giants Barcelona and is known to be keen on a new challenge. Paris Saint Germain have also tried to sign Silva, but he rejected the chance to join the French club and instead signed a one-year contract extension with City last year. But Silva could finally be ready to move on and the 29-year-old's new deal is said to contain a 50-million Pound release clause that can be activated from this summer.

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