Arsenal looks to save season with win over United

Soccer Betting Lines

04/11/2008 - Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just a few months ago it looked like Arsenal was a good bet to win multiple trophies, however the Gunners are faced with a must-win situation at Old Trafford on Sunday against Manchester United if they want to have any shot at silverware this season.

Arsenal was surprised by Tottenham in the semifinals of the Carling Cup, they exited the FA Cup after being hammered by United, and they are also out of the Champions League after a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Liverpool in the quarterfinals.

The club has also slipped to third in the league table, and trails United by six points with five matches to play. With that in mind, Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor admitted that the whole season is now down to winning Sunday's match.

"Our season now depends on Sunday, when we will know whether we are going to be on holiday or not," Adebayor told reporters. "That is the day we have to prove we can still win the Premier League otherwise United will have a hold on the title that will be very difficult to break."

While the task of winning at Old Trafford is a daunting one, especially since the Gunners will be without midfielder Mathieu Flamini and defender Bacary Sagna because of injury, Adebayor feels as though his side still has enough to get the job done.

"I believe it's still possible for us to win the league but we have to lift ourselves, keep our focus and keep our mentality strong," Adebayor said. "I think we will show that at Old Trafford, and stay in the battle for the title."

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson knows that his side will be in for a tough battle, but he feels as though the team's games with Arsenal and Chelsea will be occasions that his players will get up for, and that the team is well prepared to deal with both clubs.

"The games against Arsenal and Chelsea are the two big ones," Ferguson told reporters. "They are fantastic occasions which all the players look forward to. It's best if you go into the games in decent form and I think our form is decent. It will be a great game on Sunday. As we know Arsenal have been our main competitor for 13 years or whatever and it's not going to change on Sunday. It will be a hard-fought match and hopefully we will take the spoils."

The Red Devils will miss defender Nemanja Vidic because of injury, but they did get good news on Wednesday when both Mikael Silvestre and Gary Neville returned from long-term injuries.

Ferguson also rested Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney for Wednesday's Champions League match as United brought a two-goal cushion home for the return leg, giving all three players a little extra boost for Sunday's match.

Second-place Chelsea does not take the field until Monday, when the club hosts Wigan. The Blues trail United by three points and will still have a crack at the defending champions in a few weeks when United visits Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool will try to build on its dramatic Champions League victory when the club hosts Blackburn in Sunday's other contest. Liverpool trails Arsenal by eight points, but would be content to hold on to fourth place. The Reds own a three-point lead over Everton, which visits Birmingham on Saturday.

The relegation battle is becoming increasingly desperate for the bottom-three teams.

Last-place Derby has already been assured of relegation and they will host Aston Villa, while Fulham, which is six points from safety, visits Reading. Bolton has a good chance to inch closer to survival when they host West Ham. Wanderers are four points from safety, and with games against Sunderland and Middlesbrough still on the schedule, Bolton is not done yet.

Saturday's other games include Manchester City visiting Sunderland, Tottenham hosting Middlesbrough, and Newcastle going for its fourth consecutive win in league play against Portsmouth.

Wwwbetgameday Soccer Betting News

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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.