TAB WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 16 - 18 May
TOP-DRAWER ACTION AND GREAT CHANCES TO SCORE BIG The final ...
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TAB WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 16 - 18 May
May 2025
TOP-DRAWER ACTION AND GREAT CHANCES TO SCORE BIG
The final days of the 2024-25 football season are rushing by and TAB’s grand range of soccer bets is overflowing with enticing matches and cash boosts this weekend. The action will be top drawer from Friday through Sunday, spanning battles to avoid relegation and win slots in continental club competitions to the FA Cup final at Wembley and the Napoli-Inter Milan duel for the Serie A title. And TAB is enhancing your chances of scoring a big win by injecting over R600,000 in cash into selected pools, plus there’s a guaranteed R18-million pot in the event of only one outright winner of Saturday’s Soccer 13.
FRIDAY: 2 STANDOUT BANKERS IN R150,000-ADDED SOCCER 10
Tonight’s Soccer 10 is a must-play. Whatever the results, you can bank on a big pool and an inflated payout thanks to TAB kick-starting the pot with a R150,000 add-in. And the good news is that the two English Premier League clashes in the pool both offer standout bankers.
Aston Villa and Chelsea are still in the brawl for Champions League slots next season, so both will have plenty of motivation to win at home against Europa League finalists Spurs and Manchester United respectively.
Bizarrely, Spurs and United are having shocking seasons and both would be staring down the barrels of a relegation shotgun had Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton not proved so poor. That they will contest the final of UEFA’s second-most important club competition says little for the new formats and it’s hard to visualise either of them getting anything from tonight’s games, given their focus now is on next week’s final.
SATURDAY: PEP’S MEN ARE ODDS ON TO WIN THE FA CUP
Manchester City are having a mediocre season by their standards, but fans will have little to moan about if Pep Guardiola’s men beat Crystal Palace in the FA Cup and also secure a place in next season’s Champions League.
City are 5-6 favourites to win with 3-1 a 90-minute draw and 7-2 a Palace victory. The odds look a fair reflection of the likely outcome, especially given that Palace have not beaten City since 2021 and that City wiped the floor with them at the Etihad last month.
All that said don’t be surprised if Palace lift the trophy. Much will depend on Pep’s line-up, but he has a habit of botching finals and City’s ongoing fragility at the back and lack of inspiration in front of goal was well illustrated against Southampton last weekend.
There are cash-boosted Soccer 6 and 10 bets, plus a R200,000 carryover Any 13 Xtra, and they contain all the day’s Betway Premiership fixtures. The big point of interest is what next for Orlando Pirates after their talented Spanish coach Jose Riveiro said goodbye following Tuesday’s 3-0 victory over Arrows.
Riveiro’s spell of just under three seasons yielded five trophies, comprising three MTN8 trophies and two Nedbank Cups. He may have been slightly disappointed with how it finished - they were knocked out in the semi-finals of CAF Champions League and then beaten in last weekend’s Nedbank Cup final, but there’s no doubt he leaves Pirates in far better health than he found them.
The immediate task for Pirates’ interim head coach Mandla Ncikazi is a home Betway Premiership clash with TS Galaxy. The match is a dead rubber for Pirates, who are going to finish second in the league, whatever their fate in their final four matches.
Ncikazi may field a few youngsters and there’s a danger of a hangover from the departure of Riveiro, but Pirates should still have too much class for Galaxy. The match is M2 in the three cash-boosted TAB soccer bets tomorrow and best advice is to rely on Pirates to win.
SUNDAY: CHANCE FOR NAPOLI TO CLINCH SERIE A TITLE
There are two games remaining in Italy’s Serie A and currently Napoli top the log by a point from Inter Milan. Napoli should win away at Parma and Inter must be fancied to take all three points at home against Lazio, which will ensure the duel goes down to the final day. But if Inter lose to Lazio, a win by Napoli will secure them the title. Exciting stuff, be sure to watch.
R150,000 CARRYOVER SOCCER 10 POOLS MATCH BY MATCH
Friday 16 May – S10 V1
| M1 | Famalicao vs Casa Pia | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Two premier league clashes in Portugal kick off this Friday night cracker, which starts with R150,000 in the pot from TAB. Famalicao are winless in their last four games and Casa Pia in eight of their last 10. The last meeting between them ended 1-1. Casa Pia are seventh on the Primeira Liga table, one place and one point ahead of Famalicao. | |||
| M2 | Rio Ave vs Gil Vicente | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Rio Ave have lost six of their last 10 games, while Gil Vicente have lost five of their last nine Primeira Liga fixtures. In the last seven meetings there have been three draws and two wins apiece. Rio Ave are 10th on 37 points, four ahead of 14th-placed Gil Vicente. | |||
| M3 | Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Villa have won seven of their last 10 games in all competitions, while Spurs have lost four of their last eight English Premier League fixtures. Villa won the last clash between them 2-1 in the FA Cup and are currently sixth in the table, 25 points ahead of 17th-placed Spurs. | |||
| M4 | Bohemians vs Shelbourne | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Irish Premier League. Bohemians have won seven of their last nine games, while Shelbourne have avoided defeat in eight of their last 10. Bohemians are fourth with 24 points, two more than sixth-placed Shelbourne, who won the last game between the two 1-0 in April. | |||
| M5 | Cobh Ramblers vs Dundalk | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Top-of-the-table clash in the Irish First Division. Ramblers are on a five-game winning streak and Dundalk are unbeaten in their last. Dundalk won the last meeting 1-0 in April and top the league with 32 points, three ahead of Ramblers after 14 games. | |||
| M6 | Drogheda United vs Derry City | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Drogheda have avoided defeat in seven of their last nine games, while Derry have lost three in succession. But Derry are second in the table with 26 points, two ahead of third-placed Drogheda. | |||
| M7 | OH Leuven vs Westerlo | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Belgian First Division A clash. Leuven have lost two in a row, while Westerlo have avoided defeat in eight of their last 10. The last meeting between them ended 2-2. | |||
| M8 | Waterford FC vs Shamrock Rovers | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Rovers are unbeaten in their last four games and head the Irish Premier Division table on goal difference. Waterford are five points behind them in seventh after winning four consecutive league matches. Shamrock won the last clash between the sides 2-0 in April. | |||
| M9 | Walsall vs Chesterfield | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| English League Two second-leg playoff match. Walsall have won two in a row, including beating Chesterfield 2-0 away in the first leg. Chesterfield have avoided defeat in eight of their last 10, but will have to improve sharply to feature here. | |||
| M10 | Chelsea vs Manchester United | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Chelsea have won five of their last six games in all competitions, while United have lost four of their last eight EPL fixtures. The last meeting between them ended draw. Chelsea are fifth in the table with 63 points, 24 more than 16th-placed United. | |||
Suggested R108 perm: 1,2,3 x 1 x 1 x 1,2 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 1,2,3 x 3 x 1 x 1.
Saturday 18 May – S10 V2
| M1 | Marumo Gallants vs Chippa United | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| This cracker pool has a R150,000 cash kick-start from TAB and six of the games are PSL clashes. Gallants have won five of their last 10 games, while Chippa are winless in their last five. The two drew 2-2 in January and are level on 30 points in the table with Gallants having played a game less. | |||
| M2 | Orlando Pirates vs TS Galaxy FC | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Pirates have won only five of their last 10 games in all competitions and are reeling after defeats in the ACL semi-final and Nedbank Cup final. Galaxy are winless in their last five PSL fixtures and are fifth and 21 points behind second-placed Pirates on the log. | |||
| M3 | Polokwane City vs Cape Town City | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Polokwane are winless in their last four games, while Cape Town are winless in their last 10. They last met in November with Cape Town winning 1-0. Polokwane are seventh with 33 points, 10 ahead of 15th-placed Cape Town after 26 games. | |||
| M4 | Richards Bay vs Golden Arrows | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Richards Bay have lost four of their last seven games, while Arrows have lost four in a row. Richards Bay won the last meeting between them 1-0 and are 11th with 29 points, three ahead of 14th-placed Arrows. | |||
| M5 | Sekhukhune United vs Kaizer Chiefs | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Sekhukhune are unbeaten in their last five games, while Chiefs have failed to win in seven of their last nine. But they did beat Pirates to win the Nedbank Cup last weekend. Sekhukhune are third with 45 points, 15 ahead of ninth-placed Chiefs in the table. | |||
| M6 | Stellenbosch vs SuperSport United | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Stellenbosch have won five of their last 10 games, while SuperSport are unbeaten in their last four PSL matches. The teams drew 1-1 in December in their last clash, but Stellenbosch are fourth with 44 points, 18 more than 13th-placed SuperSport who have played two matches less. | |||
| M7 | Borussia M'gladbach vs Wolfsburg | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Borussia are winless in their last six games and Wolfsburg in their last nine. Wolfsburg won the last meeting 5-1 in January, but Borussia have won four of the last seven clashes. Borussia are 10th and five points ahead of Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga table. | |||
| M8 | Freiburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Freiburg are unbeaten in their last five and Frankfurt in their last four. Frankfurt won the last meeting between them 4-1 in January and are third on the log, two points ahead of Freiburg in fourth. | |||
| M9 | Hoffenheim vs Bayern Munich | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Bayern are unbeaten in their last six games and have already clinched the Bundesliga title for the season, whereas Hoffenheim are winless in their last four games and are 15th, 47 points behind Bayern. | |||
| M10 | Mainz 05 vs Bayer Leverkusen | ||
| Team A Wins | Draw | Team B Wins | |
| Mainz are struggling with seven losses in their last eight Bundesliga games. Leverkusen, on the other hand, have avoided defeat in seven of their last nine league matches. Leverkusen beat Mainz 1-0 in January and have won five of the last seven encounters. They are second in the table, 17 points ahead of sixth-placed Mainz. | |||
Suggested R144 perm: 1,2,3 x 1 x 1 x 1,2 x 1,2,3 x 1 x 1,2 x 1,2 x 3 x 3.
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