TAB WEEKEND SOCCER HIGHLIGHTS: 8 – 10 MAY 2026

Soccer

FIVE CASH-ADDED POOLS AS TITLE BATTLES RAGE ON

The championship battles in both the local Betway Premiership and the English Premier League continue this weekend and TAB is upping the potential rewards from its exciting range of soccer bets with five cash-added pools, including two R250,000-added Soccer 10 bets, and a Soccer 13 guaranteed jackpot pool of R17.5 million if there’s only one outright winner of Saturday’s bet.

CHIEFS THROW A LIFELINE TO THEIR ARCH-RIVALS

Orlando Pirates’ prospects of dethroning reigning league champions Mamelodi Sundowns looked gone and forgotten when they dropped two points by drawing with Kaizer Chiefs in the recent Soweto derby. But Chiefs did their arch-rivals a huge favour on Wednesday night when they put a spoke in Sundowns’ wheel and held them to a 1-1 stalemate.

That outcome has put Pirates back in the driving seat. Sundowns, seeking their ninth PSL title in a row, still top the log with 65 points. But Pirates are only three points behind and have a game in hand plus a significantly better goal difference, which will decide the race if the two finish level on points.

In a nutshell if Pirates win their three remaining games this season they should clinch the title for the fifth time this millennium and now it’s all about them holding their nerve.

Sundowns have a chance to increase the pressure on Pirates this Saturday, when they host Siwelele in a game that will finish before the Buccaneers take on Magesi in Polokwane.

By the time that game kicks off at the old Peter Mokaba Stadium, Pirates are likely to trail Sundowns by six points with two games in hand, but as we all know games in hand do not necessarily covert into maximum points.

That said Sundowns have the tougher of the two tasks on Saturday. Siwelele have lost just one of their last 14 league matches and those statistics include drawing with Pirates in March and beating Chiefs 2-0 in April. Pirates, on the other hand, go up against a team that has won just four matches this season and is facing automatic relegation.

ALL THE BANKERS FOR R250,000-ADDED SOCCER 10

The Sundowns clash is included in the R250,000-added Soccer 10 and many will banker them to win in a pool in which the best bankers looks to be victories for Brighton at home to Wolves and Manchester United away at Sunderland. Inter Milan should also win away in Rome against Lazio, but the worry here is that they have already secured the Serie A title and are unlikely to risk injury in a game they can afford to lose.

In England title combatants Manchester City and Arsenal will be in action in the late games on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

City probably lost the title race away at Everton on Monday night in a bizarre contest in which they were 1-0 up and cruising until a rare Marc Guehi error gifted their rivals an equaliser. Within minutes City were 3-1 down, but an Erling Haaland goal followed by a last-minute magical strike by Jeremy Doku levelled the scores and salvaged a point.

The outcome left City five points behind Arsenal with a game in hand and their London rivals now have an edge in that they can win two and draw one of their remaining three games, and still clinch the title with a superior goal difference.

City on the other hand must win all their remaining four games to stay in the hunt until the final day and their immediate task is to beat Brentford at the Etihad on Saturday by as many goals as possible.

They look a sound banker to win barring the habitual chink in their armour against weaker teams, which is to totally dominate possession while playing at too slow a tempo to find a way through the forest of defenders and simultaneously leaving themselves exposed at the back.

WEST HAM POSE BIGGEST REMAINING HURDLE FOR ARSENAL

The biggest hurdle in Arsenal’s last three games comes on Sunday in a London derby away to West Ham, who are on the brink of relegation and likely to fight for every ball. That said Arsenal are showing no signs of wilting under pressure after safely navigating a two-legged Champions League semi-final and slamming Fulham 3-0 in between.

The first chance to win big money comes in tonight’s R250,000-added Soccer 10 in which the safest bankers look to be home wins for Borussia Dortmund against Frankfurt in M3, Venezia in M5 and Lens in M7.

R250,000 ADDED SOCCER 10 POOLS THIS WEEKEND

Friday 8 May – S10 V1

M1 Durban City vs Stellenbosch: Betway Premiership clash kicks off this bonanza Friday night bet, which starts with a R250,000 cash boost from TAB in the pot. City have lost four of their last nine games, while Stellenbosch had avoided defeat in eight of 10 games before being outgunned by Pirates midweek. City are seventh on the log with 37 points, five ahead of 10th-placed Stellenbosch.

M2 Arbroath vs Dunfermline: Scottish Championship playoff match. Arbroath are unbeaten in their last three games, while Dunfermline have avoided defeat in eight of their last 10. The teams drew 0-0 in their last two clashes and Arbroath finished only a point ahead of Dunfermline on the log.

M3 Borussia Dortmund vs Eintracht Frankfurt: Dortmund have won five of their last eight Bundesliga games, while Frankfurt are winless in three. The teams drew 3-3 in January. Dortmund are second in the league with 67 points, 24 ahead of 8th-placed Frankfurt.

M4 Cadiz vs Deportivo La Coruna: LaLiga2. Cadiz are winless in their last eight matches, while La Coruna are unbeaten in their last nine. The teams drew 2-2 in their last clash, but La Coruna are third in the table with 68 points, 29 ahead of 18th-placed Cadiz.

M5 Venezia vs Palermo: Venezia are unbeaten in 10 Serie B games, while Palermo are unbeaten in seven. The last meeting was a 0-0 draw. Venezia top the table with 79 points, seven ahead of fourth-placed Palermo after 37 games.

M6 Dundalk vs Bohemians: Dundalk have won six of their last 10 games, while Bohemians are winless in their last eight Irish Premier Division fixtures. The teams last met in March and drew 1-1. Bohemians are third on the log and Dundalk fourth, both on 22 points after 15 games.

M7 Lens vs Nantes: Lens are unbeaten in four games, while Nantes have failed to win eight of their last nine Ligue 1 matches. Lens won the reverse fixture 2-1 away in December and are second with 64 points, 18 ahead of 17th-placed Nantes.

M8 Torino vs Sassuolo: Torino are winless in their last three Serie A matches, while Sassuolo are unbeaten in their last three. Torino won the last meeting 1-0 away in December, but Sassuolo are 10th with 49 points, eight ahead of 13th-placed Torino.

M9 Hull City vs Millwall: Championship promotion playoff semi-final. Hull have not won in seven of their last nine league games, while Millwall are unbeaten in their last five. Millwall won the last meeting between them 3-1 away and finished third on the log with 83 points, 10 more than Hull.

M10 Levante vs Osasuna: Levante have avoided defeat in seven of their last nine games, while Osasuna have failed to win in seven of their last nine. Osasuna won the last meeting 2-0 in December, their eighth win in the last 15 clashes with three draws. Osasuna are 10th in LaLiga with 42 points, nine ahead of 19th-placed Levante.

Saturday 9 May – S10 V3

M1 Marumo Gallants vs Richards Bay: This bet gets a R250,000 bonus kick-start from TAB so look out for a bumper pool. Both teams are unbeaten in their last five games. Gallants won the last meeting between them 2-1 away, but Richards Bay are 11th on the log, 10 points above 15th-placed Gallants.

M2 Orbit College FC vs AmaZulu: Orbit broke a winless streak when beating Magesi midweek, while AmaZulu have been unable to win in eight of their last 11 in all competitions. AmaZulu won the last meeting between them 1-0 last August and are fourth on the Betway Premiership table with 43 points, 20 ahead of 14th-placed Orbit.

M3 TS Galaxy FC vs Chippa United: Galaxy are winless in their last six games, while Chippa have not won in eight of their last nine league fixtures. In their last clash Galaxy won 4-1 away and are 12th on the PSL table with 27 points, three ahead of 13th-placed Chippa.

M4 Brighton vs Wolverhampton: Brighton have won six of their last nine English Premier League (EPL) games, while Wolves are winless in their last six. The teams drew 1-1 last October in their last clash. Brighton are eighth on 50 points, 14 ahead of last-placed Wolves.

M5 Fulham vs Bournemouth: Fulham have lost four of their last eight, while Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last 10 EPL matches. Bournemouth won 3-1 when the teams met last October and are sixth with 52 points, four ahead of 11th-placed Fulham.

M6 Sunderland vs Manchester United: Sunderland are winless in their last three league games, and United are on a three-game winning streak. United beat Sunderland 2-0 in their last clash and are third in the league with 64 points, 17 ahead of 12th-placed Sunderland.

M7 Golden Arrows vs Polokwane City: Arrows are unbeaten in their last four games and Polokwane drew with Richards Bay midweek after back-to-back defeats. Polokwane beat Arrows 2-1 last September and are sixth on the PSL log, two points ahead of their rivals.

M8 Mamelodi Sundowns vs Siwelele FC: Sundowns are unbeaten in their last nine games and lead the log with 65 points, while Siwelele have only 33 but are unbeaten in their last four. The teams drew 1-1 in their last clash in December.

M9 Lazio vs Inter Milan: Lazio have won five of their last eight games, while Inter are unbeaten in their last eight. Inter won the last meeting 2-0 and top Serie A with 82 points, 31 ahead of eighth-placed Lazio.

M10 USM Alger vs Zamalek: African Confederation Cup final. Alger are unbeaten in their last four games, while Zamalek have avoided defeat in seven of their last eight. Alger won the last meeting between them 2-0 but that was nine years ago.