Chelsea expects to grab one of three remaining spots
Soccer Betting Lines
12/08/2008 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With 13 of the 16 spots in the knockout round already decided, there is room for just three more teams in the next round of Europe's premier club competition.
European heavyweights Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal, Juventus, Liverpool and Real Madrid have already secured passage, but last season's finalists, Chelsea, are not safe just yet.
The Blues are part of a Group A picture that has yet to come into focus. The group is the only one of eight that has yet to place even one team in the last 16.
Roma sits on top of the group with nine points and will clinch the top spot with a win over Bordeaux at home. However, if Bordeaux is able to pull off the upset, it would force Chelsea to earn three points at home against CFR Cluj, the only team that cannot advance.
Despite the fact that the Blues have yet to secure a spot in the next round, manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is approaching the game like any other.
"It is one more game. It's important for our qualification for the next phase, but it is the same as other games," Scolari told the club's official website. "Three points and we need to win because if we win the game we are in the second round."
Midfielder Frank Lampard received a red card in Chelsea's last game against Bordeaux, and he will not play, while winger Florent Malouda is also out. Joe Cole is expected to be back in the lineup, however, offsetting Malouda's absence.
The only other spot up for grabs is from Group B, where Inter Milan is safe and waiting to be joined by either Panathinaikos or Anorthosis. Inter will visit Werder Bremen, which still has a chance at dropping to the UEFA Cup, while Panathinaikos meets Anorthosis at Athens Olympic Stadium and needs only a draw because they lead the Cypriot side by one point.
Group C has been totally decided with Barcelona through as group winners, while they will be joined by Sporting in the next round. Shakhtar Donetsk is headed for the UEFA Cup and visits Barca on Tuesday, while last-place Basel entertains Sporting.
Atletico Madrid and Liverpool are level on 11 points at the top of Group D, and while both are already through, they still must decide a group winner. Madrid holds a slight edge in goal difference and travels to Marseille, while Liverpool visits PSV.
Group E must still determine a winner as well, with Manchester United and Villarreal sitting even on nine points. United will go through as the top team if they can beat AaB at Old Trafford, while Celtic, which has been eliminated from European competition, hosts Villarreal.
Bayern Munich and Lyon will determine the top team in Group F when they meet at the Stade de Gerland, while the UEFA Cup spot will go to Fiorentina as long as they don't lose at Steaua Bucharest.
Arsenal visits FC Porto with a two-point lead over the Portuguese side, although both teams are already through. The UEFA Cup berth will be decided at Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium in Ukraine as Dynamo Kyiv needs only a draw against last-place Fenerbahce.
Juventus is on top of Group H by two points and will clinch the group with a home victory against BATE Borisov. Real Madrid is also through but will clinch the top spot only with a win over Zenit St Petersburg and a loss by Juve. Zenit, the defending UEFA Cup champions, will have a chance to defend that title no matter what happens in Spain.
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Mark Tauscher is out for the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during Sunday's 24-21 loss to the Houston Texans. "It's an ACL tear," Packers head coach
<< Illness ends Somebeachsomewhere career
Dover, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Leading Horse of the Year candidate
Somebeachsomewhere has been scratched from Monday's Matron Stakes elimination
race at Dover Downs due to illness. The three-year-old pacer came down with a
high t
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Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have claimed right-hander
Jeff Fulchino off waivers from the Kansas City Royals.
Fulchino appeared in 12 games for the Royals last season, going 0-1 with a
9.00 earned run average, whi
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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pillsbury Doughboy didn't perform
mascot duties at any of the four stadiums this past weekend for the
quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Football Championships, but he would have
felt right at home with
<< This Week in Golf - December 11th through December 14th
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - MERRILL LYNCH SHOOTOUT - Tiburon Golf
Club, Naples, Florida - At last year's Merrill Lynch Shootout, Woody Austin
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Springfield, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Springfield Falcons recalled forward Stephane Goulet and defenseman Ryan Constant from their ECHL affiliate, the Stockton Thunder, the American Hockey League club announced on Monday. Goulet star
Lemieux attempting unprecedented comeback >>
Worcester, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Claude Lemieux, a veteran of 20 NHL seasons
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The tug came from the heart of a player who posted 379 goals, 406 assists and
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Broncos' Hillis done for the season >>
Englewood, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Denver Broncos rookie fullback Peyton
Hillis will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his hamstring in
Sunday's 24-17 win over Kansas City.
Hillis, who will be placed on injured rese
Once more, UConn a unanimous No. 1 >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Connecticut was once again selected the
unanimous choice as the top-ranked women's basketball team, according to the
latest Associated Press poll released on Monday.
The Huskies (6-0) received all
Tigers ink Everett >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have signed shortstop
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incenti
Online Sportsbook Football Betting
Colts give the ‘D’ its due
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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