TAB WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 21 – 23 AUGUST 2026
FASCINATING FOOTBALL WITH GREAT CHANCES TO WIN
There’s a fascinating weekend of football ahead for TAB soccer customers with chances aplenty to win astonishing amounts of cash. It’s the opening weekend of the 2026-27 English Premier League (EPL) season and the semi-final first legs of the MTN8 with the big-money opportunities including two R200,000 added Soccer 10 pools, a R100,000-added Soccer 6 and a guaranteed R16-million jackpot in the event of a single outright winner of Saturday’s Soccer13.
PIRATES AND SUNDOWNS ARE THE ONES TO BEAT
Let’s get going with the headline soccer action at home. On Saturday, Sekhukhune United host Betway Premier champs Pirates in a first leg MTN8 semi-final clash. The game will be played at the smaller Polokwane stadium as the main Peter Mokaba Stadium is still undergoing pitch maintenance.
Sekhukhune look a potential outsider for silverware this season after some additions to their squad and it is going to be a tough test for Pirates. Bucs did win 3-0 against Chippa United last Sunday, but they are not firing on all cylinders and coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has expressed concern about his World Cup players suffering from mental and physical fatigue.
That’s the worry, but on the plus side Pirates are the cup kings of local soccer and are seeking an unprecedented fifth successive MTN8 trophy.
Sundowns host Golden Arrows on Sunday in the first leg of the other MTN8 semi-final.
This is one competition in which Sundowns have repeatedly failed and they have won the MTN8 just once in the last 18 seasons, despite competing in 16 of the last 18 tournaments.
Sundowns often start slowly in a new season and that has seemed the case again this year. They were lucky to score a last-gasp victory over TS Galaxy in their opening league match and were flat in attack against Chiefs in last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Soccer City.
But Sundowns, winner of African Champions league last season, did beat Gallants 2-0 midweek, so they are gathering momentum and their fans will expect them to should have the edge over Arrows. That said Arrows have not conceded a goal in their last seven games and will not go down without a fight.
Expect Pirates and Sundowns to meet in the final but it will no surprise to see one or both of this weekend’s games end in draws.
MANY UNKNOWNS AS EPL READIES TO KICK OFF
The start of the EPL season is loaded with uncertainty because there have been a flood of changes in terms of managers and players, and there will be many more arrivals and exits before the transfer window closes on 1 September.
Big guns Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool all start the season with new managers/head coaches and a bunch of new players.
The Guardiola reign at City is over and key players Bernardo Silva and Rodri have departed to Spain with City splurging 116-million Pounds on Elliot Anderson in a bid to fill the void.
They were trashed by EPL champs Arsenal in the Community Shield last weekend, but it’s early days and many will expect them to do a lot better against Bournemouth on Sunday. Bournemouth have lost manager Andoni Iraola to Liverpool and there’s no knowing what impact his departure and that of key defender Marcos Senesi will have on them, They finished sixth on the log last season, but it will be no surprise to see them at the other end of the table this time round.
Expect Iraola to have a positive impact at Liverpool but that may not be instantaneous and the same applies to Chelsea, where Xabi Alonso has taken over the reins and brought in veterans like Jordan Henderson to add experience to a young squad.
What is certain is that newly promoted Coventry, Ipswich and especially Hull will battle at this level and much will depend on how a host of new signings at all three clubs pan out.
ARSENAL SHOULD OUTGUN EPL ROOKIES AT EMIRATES
Reigning champs Arsenal start the season at home to Coventry tonight and should prove much too good for their opponents, while other EPL banker bets through the weekend look to be Manchester United to win away at Hull, Everton to beat Crystal Palace (new manager and best players gone) and Sunderland to beat Ipswich.
Keith Andrews’ Brentford have held on to most of their squad from last season when they just missed out on qualifying for Europe. They should be good again this term, but might find Spurs too hot to handle in a London derby tomorrow. Spurs just avoided relegation last season, but new manager Roberto de Zerbi has made several shrewd acquisitions since then and will want to get the new season off on the right note.
Sunday’s banker bet has to be Liverpool to win away at Newcastle, who start the season with a new manager and without their three best players of last season in Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes. On top of that they have lost the experience of Kieran Trippier, making them another club likely to find themselves at the wrong end of the table.
MATCH PREVIEWS OF R200,000-ADDED SOCCER 10 POOLS
Friday 21 August – S10 V3
M1 Inverness CT vs Partick Thistle: Scottish Championship clash gets this R200,000-added pool underway. Inverness have drawn their two league games this season, while Partick have won both and top the log. Last meeting ended 3-3 in January.
M2 Vicenza vs Catanzaro: Italy Serie B first round of new season. Catanzaro just missed promotion to Serie A last season, whereas Vicenza won promotion from Serie C. Expect visitors to be too good.
M3 Bohemians vs Derry City: Bohemians are third in Irish Premier League and 11 points ahead of Derry in sixth. Bohemians have lost six of last 10, whereas Derry have won last two games. Derry won last meeting between them 4-1.
M4 Dundalk vs Galway United: Dundalk are fourth with 37 points and Galway seventh with 30. Dundalk have won five of last 10 games and Galway are unbeaten in last six. Dundalk won 1-0 away when teams last met in June.
M5 Marseille vs Strasbourg: French Ligue 1 first game of new season. Marseille have won six of last eight games and Strasbourg winless in last five. Last meeting ended 2-2 in February. Historically, Marseille lead win count 6-1 with eight draws in 15 meetings.
M6 Standard Liege vs RAAL La Louviere: Liege have drawn both games in Belgian premier league this season, whereas Louviere have lost twice. Teams drew 1-1 in February.
M7 Arsenal vs Coventry City: First game of the 2026-27 English Premier League (EPL) season with reigning champs Arsenal pitted against last season’s Championship victors. Arsenal have won six of last 10 games and Coventry are unbeaten in their last 10 games.
M8 Cordoba vs Girona: LaLiga2. Cordoba lost their opening game in the league, whereas newly demoted Girona managed to draw.
M9 Real Betis vs Real Sociedad: First game for both sides in LaLiga this season. Betis have won five of their last nine games and finished 14 points ahead of Sociedad last season. Last meeting ended 2-2 in May. In last 15 meetings Betis six wins and Sociedad four.
M10 Sligo Rovers vs Waterford FC: Waterford unbeaten in last seven games and Rovers winless in eight of last 10. Waterford eighth with 28 points in Irish Premier League and Sligo 10th on 22. Waterford won last meeting 4-0 in June. Historically, Sligo have won eight of last 15 meetings to Waterford’s five.
Saturday 22 August – S10 V2
M1 Sekhukhune United vs Orlando Pirates: Another R200,000-added bet and as with Friday’s Soccer 10, expect a bumper pool of over R2 million. MTN8 semi-final first leg gets the ball rolling with Pirates unbeaten in last 10 PSL games and Sekhukhune winless in last three.
M2 Everton vs Crystal Palace: Everton winless in eight of last 10 games and Palace have won four of last five. Last meeting ended 2-2, but much water has flowed under the bridge since. Everton have won eight of their last 15 clashes against Palace with five draws.
M3 Ipswich Town vs Sunderland: Ipswich play at the top level again after winning promotion last season and have 15 new players. Sunderland had a solid 2025-26 season and, by contrast to their rivals, have only three new players (all free transfers) for the new term.
M4 Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United: Forest have won five of last six friendlies and Leeds are unbeaten in last five friendlies. First league game of new season for both. Leeds won last meeting 3-1 in February and have made a couple of key signings, notably Harry Wilson from Fulham on a free.
M5 Wrexham vs Watford: Wrexham drew their opening game of the English Championship, whereas Watford beat Southampton 2-1. Watford won the last meeting with Wrexham 3-1 at home in March.
M6 Athletic Bilbao vs Sevilla: Bilbao on two-game losing streak in friendlies and Sevilla have won six of last 10 matches. Sevilla won last meeting 2-1 in January. Both have won six times in last 15 meetings.
M7 Luzern vs Lausanne Sport: Swiss Super League. Lausanne have five points from their first three games of the new season and Luzern only one. But Luzern won last meeting 3-1 away in May and lead the win count over the last five years 8-1 with six draws.
M8 Udinese vs Como: First Serie A game of the new term for both. Como finished fourth and 21 points ahead of Udinese last season. Last meeting ended 0-0 in April.
M9 Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur: Fascinating clash. Spurs just managed to avoid relegation last season but should be a different proposition now after several top signings in the off season. Brentford were never easy to beat last season and have home turf advantage, plus they have five new signings.
M10 Sparta Rotterdam vs Utrecht: Sparta winless in eight of last 10 and Utrecht on a three-game losing streak. Sparta won last meeting 1-0 away. In last 15 meetings Utrecht have won nine times to Sparta’s four.