TAB WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 8 - 10 August

BIG CASH TO BE MADE AS CHAMPIONSHIP, PSL KICK OFF

TAB soccer customers are in for a challenging but exciting weekend with the first round of games in the new season in both the Betway Premiership and the English Championship, plus the Palace-Liverpool duel in the Community Shield on Sunday. Upsets seem inevitable as teams find their feet and there will be big bucks to be won in cash-added Soccer 10 pools and a carryover Any 13 Xtra. Saturday’s Soccer 13 has a guaranteed 18-million jackpot poo if there’s only one winner.

DEMOTED IPSWICH BEGIN BID FOR FAST RETURN TO EPL

The 2025-26 Championship gets rolling tonight with newly-promoted Birmingham City at home to recently-demoted Ipswich. It’s a fascinating opener between two teams both aiming to play in the English Premier League next season.

Ipswich will be assisted by the parachute payments flowing from their demotion from the EPL last season and, even more important, have managed to retain manager Kieran McKenna.

Birmingham take a steep rise in class after spending a term in the English third division, but they won League One with a record number of points last season and have made some smart signings in the current transfer window. They should be competitive and it will be no surprise to see them up among the leaders.

Southampton will also be hoping to bounce straight back into the EPL. They have retained head coach Will Still and, like Ipswich, have a stronger squad than most in the Championship.

Other Championship sides expected to do well this season are Coventry City, Millwall, Norwich, Sheffield United and demoted Leicester, although they may still be hit with a points’ deduction for alleged contraventions of the profitability and sustainability rules.

Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton and Hull are among the Championship sides likely to battle. Sheffield Wednesday remain mired in trauma with late payment of wages, transfer embargoes and part of their home-ground grandstand closed. If ownership of the club does not change, expect them to be playing in League One next season.

SUNDOWNS HEAD TO THE COAST AND SHOULD FRY CHIPPA

The first round of PSL games should be easier to predict because eight of the teams were in action in last weekend’s MTN8 quarter-finals and gave some indication of their likely capabilities in the new season.

Reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns begin the defence of their title away against Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha at 15:00 on Saturday.

Sundowns had only a fortnight of pre-season preparation after their participation in the Club World Cup in the USA, but looked refreshed and slick last Sunday when they demolished Richards Bay in the MTN8. Expect a repeat against Chippa, who have a new and untried coach in Sinethemba Badela.

Pirates, with a new coach in Abdeslam Ouaddou and a bunch of new players, looked good last weekend when they beat Polokwane City in the MTN8. But they face a much tougher test at Orlando Stadium this Saturday, when they begin their bid for a first league title since 2011 against Sekhukhune United.

The team from Polokwane have been impressively reinforced this season and new signings include veteran 37-year-old striker Bradley Grobler, who joined from now defunct SuperSport United. He made an immediate impact with two goals against TS Galaxy in the MTN8 last weekend, enabling Sekhukhune to win 3-2.

Three clubs - Durban City, Orbit College and Siwelele (the old SuperSport United) - make their debuts in the PSL this weekend. City, winners of the Motsepe Championship last season, have hired old hand Gavin Hunt to lead their bid to stay up.

Orbit College and Siwelele, however, might be short on talent and are likely to be outgunned and in trouble from the word go. They take on AmaZulu and Golden Arrows respectively and neither is likely to make a winning start in the top flight.

BIG SPENDERS BRING NEW FIREPOWER TO WEMBLEY CLASH

Liverpool have spent big in the current transfer window and should control the show against Crystal Palace at Wembley, where their fans will want to get a look at attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz and striker Hugo Ekitike, who collectively cost some 200- million Pounds! Cheaper new faces include Milos Kerkez and right-back Jeremie Frimpong, who takes over from Trent Alexander-Arnold now at Real Madrid.

All in all Liverpool have spent just short of 300-million Pounds and they’re still chasing Alexander Isak, who will cost well over 100-million Pounds if Newcastle let him go. They should recoup over 200 million from sales, but how the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United navigate the murky waters of profitability and sustainability, while lesser clubs run aground is beyond most football fans. Better to let clubs spend freely, but that’s another story for another weekend.

R100,000-ADDED SOCCER 10 POOLS MATCH BY MATCH

Fri 8 Aug – S10 V2

Suggested R72 perm: 1 x 1,2 x 3 x 1,2 x 3 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1.2,3.

Sat 9 Aug – S10 V1

Suggested R96 perm: 3 x 1 x 1,2 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 1,2 x 1 x 1,2 x 1,2 x 1.