TAB WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 6 - 8 MARCH 2026

R25-MILLION SOCCER 13 POOL LIGHTS UP WEEKEND

Soccer 13 continues to offer TAB football customers chance after chance to become instant multi-millionaires and this Saturday’s bet boasts a carryover of nearly R14 million with the all-13-correct portion of the pool guaranteed to hit R25 million. R2 buys you a chance to get a share of the cash and it doesn’t get much better than that for soccer fans, especially given there are three consolation payouts (any 10, 11 and 12 matches correct).

The big-cash action starts Friday night with a R200,000-added Soccer 10, one of four pools with TAB bonus add-ins totalling R500,000 through the weekend. Plus there’s a R200,000 carryover Soccer Any 13 Xtra in which you get to choose the 13 games. No doubting some TAB customers are going to find themselves rolling in cash on Monday.

THREE LOWER-TIER CLUBS IN CUP QUARTER-FINALS

Big-league action pauses for Nedbank Bank and FA Cup in South Africa and England respectively this weekend. At home Pirates and Sundowns both won their midweek league games and continue to slug it out at the summit of the Betway Premiership. Both are out of the cup and get the weekend off with two cup quarter-finals on Saturday and the others on Sunday. Amazingly, three lower-tier teams have made it to the last eight and the only all-PSL clash is the Arrows-Durban City encounter on Sunday evening.

Cup games do produce strange results, but this should prove the end of the line for the lower-tier outfits with both semi-finals almost certain to be all-PSL affairs.

Midweek English Premier League clashes in England sent tremors through the football landscape. Log-leaders Arsenal kept rolling with a gutsy 1-0 victory at Brighton and Manchester City probably handed the EPL title to their London rivals on a plate by dropping two points at home to Notts Forest.

That leaves City seven points behind with a game in hand and as things stand even beating Arsenal at the Etihad on 19 April will not be enough to secure them the title.

Meanwhile at the other end of the table Spurs are now staring relegation in the face after Forest and West Ham picked up points midweek. Spurs, by contrast, turned in another pathetic display at home on Thursday night, when they went 1-0 up and then lost Van de Ven to a red card and conceded three goals in just seven minutes.

The best option for Spurs right now may be to fire coach Igor Tudor after only three matches at the helm and find somebody who understands the EPL and the principles of a relegation battle, which are all about boosting confidence, keeping 11 players behind the ball and hoping to snatch a goal or two in a quick transition. That said whether the Spurs’ squad has the guts for a relegation battle is questionable.

CHELSEA SET TO END WREXHAM’S CUP RUN

This weekend’s FA Cup last-16 games contain some fascinating contests, none more so than the clash in north-east Wales tomorrow between Wrexham and EPL giants Chelsea.

In November 2020, Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds and American actor Rob McElhenney bought Wrexham, then playing National League (fifth tier) football. Their investment in the Welsh side has transformed both the city and its soccer club, and yielded a Hollywood fairy-tale outcome with Wrexham winning promotion to League Two, League One and the Championship over three successive seasons.

As it stands, Wrexham have a chance of making it four in a row and playing in the EPL next season. They are sixth in the table, which qualifies them for the Championship play-offs at the end of this season (the same route followed by Sunderland last term) if they can hold the slot.

Wrexham have got this far in the cup by beating Forest on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw in the third round, followed by a victory over fellow Championship side Ipswich 1-0 at home in the last round. But Chelsea are on a level Wrexham have never encountered and common sense dictates making the London club a banker to win in M2 of the bumper Soccer 13. Chelsea do blow hot and cold, but have hammered Championship sides Hull and Charlton in earlier rounds and should cope with anything Wrexham can throw at them.

SUGGESTED BANKER BETS FOR THE WEEKEND

Other suggested bankers for the Soccer 13 are Ipswich, Sheffield United, Bradford City and Luton to win at home. And it may pay to gamble on an away success at Charlton for Birmingham, who will find their rivals easier to deal with than Middlesbrough and Millwall in their last two games.

Tonight’s R200,000-added Soccer 10 includes a fascinating rematch between Wolves and Liverpool, just three days after Wolves capitalised on a Liverpool weakness to concede late and beat them 2-1 in the league.

Can Wolves do it again in the cup? No according to the bookmakers who see Tuesday’s result as an aberration and again make Liverpool 1-2 favourites to win within 90 minutes. It may not be that simple in a game both will be desperate to win and a draw may be the better option.

Suggested banker bets in tonight’s pool are home wins for Galway, Preston and Napoli, while Real Madrid can get back on the winning trail in an away clash with Celta Vigo after back-to-back losses. Madrid’s injury list includes Militao, Bellingham, Rodrygo and Mbappe, but they usually beat Vigo and should do so tonight.

There’s also a R200,000-added Soccer 10 tomorrow and here the most likely bankers are home victories for Cagliari against Como and Sekhukhune in their cup clash with lower-tier Milford.

MATCH PREVIEWS FOR R200,000-ADDED SOCCER 10 POOLS

Fri 6 Mar - S10 V2

M1 Cheltenham Town vs Barrow: Bonanza Friday night pool that could pay big. A League Two clash in England kicks it off and Cheltenham are unbeaten in their last four games, while Barrow have lost nine of their last 10. Cheltenham won the last meeting 2-1 away and are 18th on 36 points, nine more than 22nd-placed Barrow.

M2 Falkirk vs Dundee United: Falkirk have won six of their last nine games, while United are winless in their last three Scottish Premiership games. United won the last meeting with Falkirk 3-2 away recently, their eighth victory in the last 15 meetings with another three drawn.

M3 Galway United vs Dundalk: Galway have won one of four games in the new Irish Premier Division season, while Dundalk have three draws and a defeat from their four matches. Dundalk have won seven of 15 meetings over the last 11 years and Galway six.

M4 Napoli vs Torino: Napoli have avoided defeat in seven of their last 10 games and Torino have lost six of their last 10. Torino won the last meeting 1-0 last October, but Napoli are third in Serie A with 53 points, 23 more than 14th-placed Torino.

M5 RAAL La Louviere vs Antwerp: Louviere are winless in their last six games, while Antwerp have lost six of their last nine. Antwerp won the last clash between them 2-1 and are 10^th in Belgium’s Jupiler Pro with 33 points, seven ahead of 15th-placed Louviere.

M6 Celta de Vigo vs Real Madrid: Celta are on a four-game winning streak and host Madrid, winner of eight of their last 10 games. Celta won the last meeting between them 2-0 away, but are sixth and 20 points behind second-placed Madrid in LaLiga.

M7 Preston North End vs Oxford United: Preston are on a four-game winless run in the league, while Oxford have lost five of their last eight in all competitions. Preston won the last meeting 2-1 away in December and are 12^th in the Championship with 49 points, 17 ahead of 23rd-placed Oxford.

M8 Shamrock Rovers vs Derry City: Shamrock have won one of three games in the new Irish season, while Derry have won two of four and drawn another. Derry won the last meeting between them 1-0 away in a cup fixture, but in the last 15 clashes, Shamrock have won seven times to Derry’s four.

M9 Shelbourne vs St Patrick's Athletic: Shelbourne have a win and two draws from three games in the new season, while St Pats are second in the table with two wins and a draw from four. The teams drew 0-0 last November and in the last 15 meetings over four years both have won six times.

M10 Wolverhampton vs Liverpool: FA Cup clash between fifth-placed Liverpool and last-placed Wolves, who have won only three EPL games this term. The two met in the EPL on Tuesday when Wolves ended Liverpool’s four-game winning streak and scored in the 94^th minute to win 2-1. The reigning champs will be out for revenge.

Sat 7 Mar - S10 V1

M1 Cagliari vs Como: This pool should total some R2 million. Cagliari are winless in their last four Serie A games, while Como are on a two-match winning streak. The teams drew 0-0 in their last clash, but Como are fifth in the table and 18 points ahead of 13th-placed Cagliari after 27 games.

M2 Heidenheim vs Hoffenheim: Hoffenheim have won six of their last nine Bundesliga fixtures, while Heidenheim are winless in 10 games. Hoffenheim won the last meeting between them 3-1 last October and are third in Bundesliga with 46 points, 18 ahead of 18th-placed Heidenheim.

M3 Mainz 05 vs VFB Stuttgart: Mainz are winless in their last three Bundesliga games, while Stuttgart have won seven of their last 10 in all competitions. Stuttgart beat Mainz 2-0 in the German Cup in their last clash and are fourth on 46 points, 23 more than 14th-placed Mainz after 24 games.

M4 Freiburg vs Bayer Leverkusen: Freiburg have won five of their last nine games and Leverkusen six of their last 10. Leverkusen won the last meeting 2-0 and are sixth in Bundesliga, seven points ahead of eighth-placed Freiburg.

M5 Wolfsburg vs Hamburger SV: Wolfsburg are winless in their last seven Bundesliga games, while Hamburger have been unable to win in eight of their last 10. Hamburger are 11th on 26 points, six ahead of 17th-placed Wolfsburg after 24 games.

M6 Dundee FC vs Motherwell: Dundee are unbeaten in their last three and Motherwell have won seven of their last. Motherwell won the last meeting 1-0 back in December and are fourth in the Scottish Premiership with 53 points, 25 more than ninth-placed Dundee.

M7 Levante vs Girona: Levante have lost four of their last five matches, while Girona have avoided defeat in seven of their last nine. Girona are 12th in LaLiga with 30 points, nine ahead of 19th-placed Levante who did win the last game between the two sides 4-0.

M8 Groningen vs Ajax Amsterdam: Groningen are on a six-game losing streak in Eredivisie, while Ajax are unbeaten in their last five. Ajax won the last meeting 2-0, their 12^th victory in 15 matches between the sides over nine years, and are third in the league, 13 points ahead of 11th-placed Groningen.

M9 Nantes vs Angers SCO: Nantes have lost six of their last seven games and Angers their last three in a row. Angers won the last meeting between them 4-1 in December and are 12th in Ligue 1 with 29 points, 12 ahead of 17th-placed Nantes.

M10 Sekhukhune United vs Milford: Nedbank Cup clash with PSL side Sekhukhune up against tier-lower Milford. Sekhukhune have won four of their last five games and Milford seven of their last 10. Sekhukhune won the last meeting between the teams 2-1 away in a Cup fixture.