TAB WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 25 - 27 July
BIG SOCCER 10 AS TOP LEAGUES EMERGE FROM HIBERNATION
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TAB WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 25 - 27 July
July 2025
BIG SOCCER 10 AS TOP LEAGUES EMERGE FROM HIBERNATION
The great news for all football fans is that big-gun soccer is coming out of hibernation - the preliminaries in the 2025-26 Champions, Europa and Conference leagues are already underway and the top leagues in Belgium and Switzerland kick off this weekend. TAB soccer pools again offer plenty of chances to win piles of cash, including a R150,000-added Soccer 10 this Friday night and a guaranteed R18-million jackpot in Saturday’s Soccer 13 if there’s only one outright winner.
SPAIN LOOK THE PART IN EURO WOMEN’S FINAL
Best news of all for TAB soccer customers is that we are now only a week away from the resumption of the South African season with the quarter-finals of the MTN8 scheduled for next weekend.
It has been a busy transfer window as clubs seek to strengthen their teams for the new campaign. Sekhukhune United and Orlando Pirates have been really active in their bid to try and knock reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns off their perch and Pirates have brought some 10 new faces on board. They are at home to Polokwane in the first of the MTN8 clashes next Saturday with Sekhukhune taking on TS Galaxy three hours later.
The headline clash this weekend is the final of the 2025 Women’s Euro at St. Jakob Park in Basel at 18:00 on Sunday, when England and Spain clash in a repeat of the 2023 Women’s World Cup final.
Spain won that match 1-0 with Olga Carmona scoring the only goal and go into this final as clear favourites to repeat that triumph.
Spain and England have already met twice this year. In the UEFA Women’s Nations League England won 1-0 at home in February with Jess Park getting the only goal. Spain, however, won 2-1 on their own patch in June, when Claudia Pina notched both goals for Spain.
These two teams know each other’s games inside out and everything points to a closely contested contest, which will ultimately be won by Spain unless England can step up on their performances at this tournament so far.
England have been too pedestrian and only sheer tenacity and a refusal to accept defeat has carried them to the final.
Coming into this tournament as the reigning champions after their Women’s Euro triumph on home soil in 2022, head-coach Sarina Wiegman’s side were on the brink of defeat in both the quarter and semi-finals.
They were 2-0 down to Sweden in the latter stages of their quarter-final and on their way home, before they scored two quick goals and then won a bizarre penalty shootout in which 28 penalties yielded just five goals.
And then, trailing Italy into the sixth minute of stoppage time in the semi-finals, England found a late equaliser before scoring a winning goal deep in extra time.
On both occasions England’s squad depth has made the difference. The Arsenal pair of Chloe Kelly and Michelle Agyemang have come off the bench to amazing effect with 19-year-old Agyemang scoring the equaliser against both Sweden and Italy.
Kelly scored the winner against Italy and also provided two assists against Sweden.
In Spain, however, England face the form side of the tournament who surged through the group stages on a sea of goals. Spain were also dominant in their semi-final against Germany, even if they had some close shaves, and on current form you have to fancy them to come out tops.
Make them a banker to win in Sunday’s first Soccer 10, as well as Club Brugge and Sint-Truiden who are at home to Genk and Genk respectively in the opening round of the 2025-26 Belgian First Division A.
TWO BANKER BETS FOR TONIGHT’S R150,000-ADDED SOCCER 10
In tonight’s Soccer 10 bank on wins by Zurich in the first game of the new season in the Swiss Super League and Sligo Rovers, who are away to bottom-of-the-log Cork.
The bet kicks off with a tricky encounter between competent Scottish Premiership outfit Aberdeen and Ipswich Town, who are back in the English Championship after a disastrous one-season adventure in the English Premier League.
Ordinarily Ipswich would be fancied to win, but they lost star striker Liam Delap to Chelsea in the off season and it remains to be seen whether the trauma of relegation has blunted many of their other players.
The most fascinating of the many friendlies this weekend is the clash between EPL clubs Fulham and Nottingham Forest on Saturday night, a game that should provide pointers to how both teams will fare in the opening clashes of the 2025-26 EPL.
R150,000-ADDED SOCCER 10 POOL MATCH BY MATCH
Fri 25 July – S10 V1
| M1 | Aberdeen vs Ipswich Town | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Pre-season friendly between Scottish Premiership outfit Aberdeen and Ipswich, who have been relegated from the English Premiership. They have not played each other before and both won friendlies recently. | |||
| M2 | FC Zurich vs FC Sion | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Start of the 2025-26 Swiss Super League. Zurich have lost six of their last 10 games, while Sion have lost three of their last five. Sion won the last meeting between them 2-1 back in May. In 15 meetings over the last five years, Zürich have won seven times with five draws. | |||
| M3 | Cork City vs Sligo Rovers | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Rovers have won four of their last eight games, while Cork have lost six of their last 10. The teams last met in April and drew 1-1. Rovers are ninth in the Irish Premier League with 23 points, eight ahead of Cork in last place. | |||
| M4 | Derry City vs Bohemians | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Derry have won five of their last seven games, while Bohemians are unbeaten in their last five. Bohemians won the last clash 1-0 and have a one-point lead over Derry in the table after 24 games. | |||
| M5 | Galway United vs Waterford FC | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Waterford have won two in a row and won the last meeting between the sides 1-0. Galway have failed to win in seven of their last 10. Waterford are seventh in the table, one place and a point ahead of Galway after 24 games. | |||
| M6 | Antwerp vs Royal Union | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Opening game of the 2025-26 season in Belgian’s First Division A. Antwerp are unbeaten in their last four games, while Union lost 2-1 to Club Brugge in the Belgian Super Cup last weekend. Union beat their rivals here 4-0 in their last meeting in May, their eighth success in 15 games against Antwerp. | |||
| M7 | Columbus Crew vs Orlando City | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Columbus have won five of their last seven games, while Orlando have lost four of their last nine. Columbus won the last meeting 4-3 and are currently fourth in the MLS table, six points ahead of Orlando. | |||
| M8 | New England Revolution vs Montreal Impact | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| New England are winless in their last eight games, while Montreal are winless in their last five. New England are 11th in MLS with 25 points, 10 more than Montreal. | |||
| M9 | FC Dallas vs New York City | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Dallas have lost four of their last six matches, while New York have won five of their last 10. New York are eighth in the MLS table with 35 points, 10 ahead of Dallas after 23 games. | |||
| M10 | Houston Dynamo vs LA Galaxy | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Houston have lost five of their last eight MLS games, while Galaxy have won three of their last 10 MLS fixtures. The teams drew 1-1 in their last clash. Houston are 11th with 27 points, 11 ahead of Galaxy. | |||
Suggested R48 perm: 1,2,3 x 1 x 3 x 1,2 x 2,3 x 3 x 1 x 1 x 1,2 x 1.
BEST OTHER SOCCER 10 POOL OF WEEKEND
Sat 26 July – S10 V3
| M1 | Fulham vs Nottingham Forest | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| English Premier League (EPL) friendly. Fulham have lost seven of their last 10 games in all competitions and have not played since May. Forest have played two scoreless friendlies recently. Fulham won the last meeting between the teams 2-1 in the EPL this year. | |||
| M2 | Everton vs Bournemouth | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Opening clash in a pre-season EPL four-team summer series in the USA. Everton have had two warm-up games, losing to Blackburn recently, whereas Bournemouth beat Scottish outfit Hibernian in a recent friendly. The teams last met in the FA Cup this year with Bournemouth winning 2-0 away. | |||
| M3 | Botafogo RJ vs Corinthians | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Botafogo have won six of their last nine games, while Corinthians have been unable to win in six of their last seven. Botafogo won the last meeting between them 2-1 last September and are fifth in Brazil’s Serie A with 25 points, five more than 10th-placed Corinthians who have played two games more. | |||
| M4 | Mirassol vs Vitoria | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Mirassol are unbeaten in their last six Serie A games, winning four, while Vitoria have one win in their last 10 across all competitions. Mirassol are seventh in the league with 24 points, eight more than 15th-placed Vitoria after 14 and 16 games respectively. | |||
| M5 | Manchester United vs West Ham United | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| The other two clubs in the four-team summer series in the USA. United drew with newly-promoted Leeds in a recent friendly, while West Ham beat Grasshopper Zurich 3-1. The last meeting between the teams, who both battled last season, saw West Ham United win 2-0 away this year. | |||
| M6 | Inter Miami vs Cincinnati | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Cincinnati have won six of their last seven MLS fixtures and defeated Miami 3-0 in their last clash 10 days ago. Cincinnati currently head the MLS table with 48 points, seven more than fifth-placed Miami. | |||
| M7 | Atlanta United vs Seattle Sounders FC | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Atlanta are winless in their last seven MLS fixtures, while Seattle are unbeaten in their last five. Seattle are fourth in the MLS Western Conference with 37 points, 17 more than Atlanta in the Eastern Conference. | |||
| M8 | Chicago Fire vs New York RB | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Chicago have lost five of their last eight games, while New York have been unable to win in six of their last seven. New York won the last meeting 2-1 and are ninth in the MLS Eastern Conference with 33 points, one more than Chicago. | |||
| M9 | Saint Louis FC vs Minnesota United | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| St. Louis have lost seven of their last 10 games in all competitions, while Minnesota have avoided defeat in seven of their last eight. Minnesota won the last meeting between them 3-2 and are third in MLS Western Conference with 41 points, 23 ahead of St. Louis. | |||
| M10 | Real Salt Lake vs San Jose Earthquakes | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Salt Lake have won four of their last six MLS fixtures, while Earthquakes are winless in their last six. Earthquakes won the last meeting between them 4-0 in February. Earthquakes are ninth in the MLS Western Conference table with 29 points, one point ahead of Salt Lake who have a game in hand. | |||
Suggested R108 perm: 1,2,3 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 3 x 3 x 2,3 x 3 x 1.
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