Category Archives: Soccer

Tottenham Challenge Chelsea on Key Premier League Betting Line

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Tottenham Hotspur will hit the pitch at Stamford Bridge to tangle with favored Chelsea in an intriguing English Premier League soccer betting matchup this Saturday morning (8:45 am Eastern), with both teams coming off a taste of midweek disappointment on Wednesday.

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Chelsea (14-7-8) allowed a couple of late goals to fall 2-1 to Manchester City at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday afterGary Cahill provided a go-ahead goal in the 60th minute, while Tottenham (16-6-7) required a last-second strike in injury time by Rafael van der Vaart in order to secure a 1-1 draw with Stoke City.

Meanwhile Arsenal was able to blank Everton 1-0 as well on Wednesday, which pushed the Gunners past Tottenham into third place in the table heading into this weekend’s soccer betting action. Queens Park Rangers defeated Liverpool 3-2 in the only other match.

So the stage is set for a crucial matchup between fifth-place Chelsea and fourth-place Tottenham on Saturday morning, with the Blues currently listed as -110 favorites to win at home over underdog Hotspur at +290, and draw odds of +240. Chelsea and Tottenham played to a 1-1 draw on December 22 at White Hart Lane.

Other Saturday fixtures include Wigan Athletic (+1100) at Liverpool (-400), Aston Villa (+700) at Arsenal (-250), Blackburn Rovers (+205) at Bolton Wanderers (+130), Queens Park Rangers (+350) at Sunderland (-130), Everton (+220) at Swansea City (+120), Wolverhampton (+350) at Norwich City (-130) and Manchester City (-175) at Stoke City (+450).

The Sunday spotlight will shine on Newcastle United (+185) at West Bromwich Albion (+140), while on Monday Fulham (+1100) travels to Old Trafford to tackle Manchester United (-400).

Get all your English Premier League soccer lines and international futures odds today at Bovada.

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Soccer Odds: Barcelona Back in Action as UEFA Champions League Resumes

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Defending champion FC Barcelona highlights the return of UEFA Champions League soccer betting action this week after a two-month hiatus, as the Round of 16 begins with Barcelona visiting Beyer 04 Leverkusen on Tuesday (2:45 pm Eastern) in the first leg of their quarterfinal matchup.

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Barcelona, which is currently listed as the 3/2 favorite on the soccer betting odds to repeat as the UEFA Champions League winners in 2012, are listed as the heavy -275 chalk to defeat underdog Leverkusen (+700). Leverkusen will be without the formidable Michael Ballack, who suffered a calf injury during training on Sunday, and is at 200/1 odds to win the Champions League.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi is currently the 8/11 favorite on the soccer betting futures to win the top goal-scorer award in Champions League play, and with six goals already he is tied with Mario Gomez (10/3) of Bayern Munchen for the current scoring lead.

Also Tuesday, Ligue powerhouse Olympique Lyonnais (-225) will play host to upstart APOEL Nicosia (+600). Lyon is at 66/1 to win the Champions League, while APOEL is at 250/1.

AC Milan and Arsenal will kick off their Round of 16 marquee matchup on Wednesday (2:45 pm Eastern), with AC Milan (-105) listed as the matchday favorites to defeat their English Premier League adversaries and the Gunners listed at +275 odds to register the upset. AC Milan is currently listed at 22/1 to win the Champions League title, while Arsenal is close behind at 25/1.

Also Wednesday (Noon Eastern), Zenit Saint-Petersburg (+140) will tangle with Benfica (+190). Zenit is at 100/1 to win the Champions League, while Benfica is a value pick at 50/1 odds.

Get all your 2012 international soccer betting odds at Bovada.

Be there for every victory.

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Soccer Odds: Barcelona Back in Action as UEFA Champions League Resumes

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Defending champion FC Barcelona highlights the return of UEFA Champions League soccer betting action this week after a two-month hiatus, as the Round of 16 begins with Barcelona visiting Beyer 04 Leverkusen on Tuesday (2:45 pm Eastern) in the first leg of their quarterfinal matchup.

Visit Bovada today for all yourinternational soccer betting lines and futures.

Barcelona, which is currently listed as the 3/2 favorite on the soccer betting odds to repeat as the UEFA Champions League winners in 2012, are listed as the heavy -275 chalk to defeat underdog Leverkusen (+700). Leverkusen will be without the formidable Michael Ballack, who suffered a calf injury during training on Sunday, and is at 200/1 odds to win the Champions League.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi is currently the 8/11 favorite on the soccer betting futures to win the top goal-scorer award in Champions League play, and with six goals already he is tied with Mario Gomez (10/3) of Bayern Munchen for the current scoring lead.

Also Tuesday, Ligue powerhouse Olympique Lyonnais (-225) will play host to upstart APOEL Nicosia (+600). Lyon is at 66/1 to win the Champions League, while APOEL is at 250/1.

AC Milan and Arsenal will kick off their Round of 16 marquee matchup on Wednesday (2:45 pm Eastern), with AC Milan (-105) listed as the matchday favorites to defeat their English Premier League adversaries and the Gunners listed at +275 odds to register the upset. AC Milan is currently listed at 22/1 to win the Champions League title, while Arsenal is close behind at 25/1.

Also Wednesday (Noon Eastern), Zenit Saint-Petersburg (+140) will tangle with Benfica (+190). Zenit is at 100/1 to win the Champions League, while Benfica is a value pick at 50/1 odds.

Get all your 2012 international soccer betting odds at Bovada.

Be there for every victory.

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Harry Redknapp next coach of England soccer team?

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The surprising news that Fabio Capello has resigned as the coach of ’s soccer team has caused quite the uproar overseas – now those passionate fans want to know who will replace Capello with Euro 2012 just four months off. The leading contender is Tottenham coach Harry Redknapp.

Capello’s resignation was accepted late yesterday by executives from the Football Association hours after Redknapp, the English bookmakers’ favorite to replace him, was cleared of tax evasion in a trial in London. Capello left after the F.A. removed John Terry as team captain without consulting him.

Terry, a Chelsea defender, faces criminal charges of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand of Queens Park Rangers in a Premier League match in October. The delay of his hearing until after June’s European Championship prompted the F.A.’s move.

Redknapp escaped a possible jail term when a jury decided his use of a Monaco bank to keep $295,000 paid to him by Sheffield Wednesday owner Milan Mandaric when they were both at Portsmouth didn’t amount to tax evasion.

Former England captain Rio Ferdinand has joined current star Wayne Rooney in backing the Tottenham Hotspur boss to take over at the head of the national side. But Redknapp has told “I’ve not even thought about it. I’ve got a big game Saturday with Tottenham.”

Manchester United defender Ferdinand, who played under Redknapp at West Ham, wrote on Twitter: “I think we need an English manager now, we don’t need anything else lost in translation… Harry Redknapp would be my choice by a distance.”

Rooney wrote on Twitter: “Gutted Capello has quit. Good guy and top coach. Got to be English to replace him. Harry Redknapp for me.”

Although Capello was known to be frustrated by the F.A.’s move, the Italian’s decision to walk away caught many, including Redknapp, by surprise.

Redknapp said: “I was shocked. I was surprised. I didn’t expect that to happen. We knew he was going to leave in the summer. I didn’t expect it to happen now.”

Redknapp has been in charge at Tottenham since October 2008, when he took over a team sitting bottom of the Premier League. He soon lifted the team clear of danger and has since led them to a Champions League quarter-final, while they are involved in the Premier League title battle this season.

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Rivalry Renewed as Liverpool Looks to Upset Manchester United

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The right combination of results in soccer betting action this weekend could conceivably lead Manchester United to the top of the English Premier League table, but the Red Devils will first have to secure three points from their ancient Merseyside rivals as Liverpool visits Old Trafford on Saturday morning (7:45 am Eastern) in the marquee matchup of the weekend.

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Despite their pedestrian record of 10-9-5 which has them sitting in seventh place in the current EPL standings, Liverpool figures to be a dangerous foe as the Reds are coming off a scoreless draw with third-place Tottenham a week ago and a 3-0 victory over lowly Wolverhampton just prior to that. Liverpool also eliminated Manchester United from FA Cup play two weeks ago with a 2-1 victory at Anfield on a late game-winning goal by Dirk Kuyt.

Manchester United, which is 17-4-3 and sitting just two points behind first-place Manchester City, is listed as the -125 betting favorite to defeat Liverpool, which is currently sitting as a +360 underdog. Earlier this season United needed a late equalizer from Javier Hernandez to secure a 1-1 draw back in October at Anfield. Steven Gerrard converted a free kick for the Reds in that match.

United is coming off a stirring 3-3 come-from-behind draw at Chelsea last weekend and haven’t lost in five EPL matches since dropping a 3-2 decision at home to Blackburn on January 31.

The rest of Saturday’s EPL slate: Queens Park Rangers (+185) at Blackburn (+140), Wigan Athletic (+250) visits Bolton (EVEN), Chelsea (+130) is at Goodison Park to tangle with Everton (+200), Stoke City (+260) is at Fulham (EVEN), Sunderland will play host to Arsenal (+110), Swansea City (-115) is at home to Norwich City (+300), and Newcastle United (+550) travels to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham Hotspur (-220).

There are two fixtures scheduled for Sunday with West Brom (+200) at Wolverhampton (+130), and Manchester City (-150) on the road for an encounter with Aston Villa (+450).
 
Get all your Premier League soccer betting lines and international futures at Bovada. 

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U.S. women face Mexico in Olympic soccer qualifying

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It’s a big match on Tuesday night in British Columbia for the women’s soccer team as they face in qualifying for this summer’s London Olympic tournament. Place your soccer bets at Bovada.

The United States routed Guatemala 13-0 Sunday to clinch a berth in the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the . Vancouver native Sydney Leroux led the way with five goals. Leroux’s goals came in the 48th, 51st, 57th, 70th and 87th minutes. She is the only member of the roster who didn’t play for the U.S. in last year’s World Cup. The goals were Leroux’s first five for the senior national team after finishing her Under-20 career as the USA’s all-time leading international scorer for that age level. She was born and raised in Vancouver area but has an American father and has opted to play for the U.S. over Canada.

And Abby Wambach, who was replaced by Leroux at halftime, moved into third on the career goals list for women’s international soccer with 129, ahead of Germany’s Birgit Prinz (128) and behind only Mia Hamm (158) and Kristine Lilly (130). The only active player in the 31-year-old forward’s range is Canada’s Christine Sinclair with 125 — including five in this tournament.

After scoring a team-record 14 goals in their opening match on Jan. 20 against the Dominican Republic, the U.S. found the net 13 more times to set a U.S. women’s record of 27 over a two-game stretch. That topped the previous mark of 24 goals in 1991 when the U.S. topped Mexico and Martinique by 12-0 margins on April 20 and 22 of that year. The 13 goals were the second-most scored in a game by the U.S., behind only Friday’s result against the Dominican Republic.

The U.S. result, combined with Mexico’s 7-0 victory against the Dominican Republic in the other Group B game of the evening, clinched semifinal places for both teams. The U.S. and Mexico will meet for the group title at 10:30 p.m. ET The match will be televised live on Universal Sports Network and streamed live on universalsports.com and concacaf.com.

The USA, which holds a plus-15 goal differential over its southern neighbors heading into the final group match, needs a win or a draw against Mexico to win Group B and face the second-place team from Group A for a berth to the Olympics.

It was at the semifinal stage that the Americans stumbled against Mexico in 2010, forcing the U.S., the top-ranked team in the world, into a playoff just to get into the World Cup in Germany.

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Premier League Powerhouses Set to Collide in Soccer Betting This Weekend

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In what promises to be a fascinating weekend of fixtures in English Premier League soccer betting action, a full slate of eight games on Saturday will be followed by four of the five top-ranked teams in the table doing battle against each other on Sunday.

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Third-place Tottenham (14-4-3) will kick off the Sunday showdowns beginning at 8:30 am (Eastern) when the Spurs take the pitch at Etihad Stadium against first-place Manchester City (16-3-2). Tottenham sits just five points behind City and will be looking for a much better showing than they put forth back in August in a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Blues.

Hotspur is listed as +330 underdogs on the road to defeat Manchester City, which is listed as -120 favorites with draw odds of +265.

Shortly thereafter with kickoff scheduled for 11:00 am (Eastern) at Emirates Stadium, second-place Manchester United (15-3-3) will square off against fifth-place Arsenal (11-3-7). The Red Devils trail frontrunning City by just three points, and also decimated their Sunday opposition in their most recent matchup with an 8-2 rout of visiting Arsenal at the end of August.

This time around Arsenal is listed at +180 to earn a home victory with United listed at +150 to secure the win, and draw odds of +240.

The full Saturday slate includes Chelsea (-175) at Norwich City (+500), Blackburn Rovers (+550) on the road against Everton (-200), Fulham (EVEN) playing host to Newcastle United (+275), Wigan Athletic (+280) traveling to Queens Park Rangers (EVEN), West Brom (+300) at Stoke (-110), Sunderland (-130) at home to Swansea City (+375), Aston Villa (+180) visiting Wolverhampton (+150), and Liverpool (-170) at Bolton (+260).

Be there for every victory. 
Get all your Premier League soccer odds at Bovada’s online sportsbook.

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English Premier League Soccer Betting: City Seeks Redemption After Stunning Loss

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Hot on the heels of a wild weekend inEnglish Premier League soccer bettingresults, Manchester City returns home after a shocking defeat to face Liverpool on Tuesday afternoon (3:00 pm Eastern, ESPN2) in a pivotal EPL match at Etihad Stadium.

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Manchester City (14-3-2) maintains a share of first place in the table with 45 points but blew an opportunity to regain sole possession of the EPL lead by giving up a goal to Dong-won Ji in the late stages of injury time to lose 1-0 to lowly Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

That stunning result, combined with the 3-2 loss suffered at home by Manchester United (also 14-3-2) on Saturday to Blackburn Rovers, left the two EPL powerhouses tied atop the table after 19 games heading into this week’s action.

Liverpool (9-7-3) sits nine points in arrears heading into Tuesday’s fixture against City, after defeating Newcastle United 3-1 on Friday on the strength of two goals by former Newcastle strikerCraig Bellamy and another tally from Steven Gerrard. Gerrard contributed to the Reds’ attack for 31 minutes in only his second game back since returning from an ankle infection.

Manchester City is listed as -140 favorites to defeat visiting Liverpool (+375) on Tuesday afternoon, with draw odds of +260.

Manchester United will watch that battle unfold with great interest before hitting the pitch themselves on Wednesday afternoon (3:00 pm Eastern) against host Newcastle United (8-6-5) at Sports Direct Arena.

Manchester United, which received two second-half goals from Dimitar Berbatov in their loss to Blackburn, is currently sitting as -145 favorites to defeat Newcastle United (+425) with draw odds of +245.

Get all your Premier League soccer odds at Bovada’s online sportsbook. 
Be there for every victory.

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Manchester City fullback Wayne Bridge slams Roberto Mancini over selection jibe

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Wayne Bridge,Manchester City (Getty Images )
The left-back has been linked with a loan move to Arsenal, and the 31-year-old has suggested the Italian boss rarely speaks to him as he is frozen out at the club

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Wayne Bridge has hit out at Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini after the Italian had suggested the 31-year-old was only remaining at Eastlands to continue picking up his wages.

The left-back has been made aware that he was no future with the Premier League leaders, having joined the club in 2009 from Chelsea.

Bridge spent the second half of last season on loan at West Ham, and the former Southampton man has revealed that Mancini has made it clear he is not wanted at City, with the Italian hardly ever speaking to him.

“When I was at Chelsea I was playing for a team where Ashley Cole was the best in the world and I still got games,” Bridge told the Daily Mail. “It won’t happen at City. There has never been an explanation, but it’s obvious they don’t want me.”

Bridge has only played once this season, in September’s 2-0 League Cup victory over Birmingham City, and the player has compared his situation at the Etihad Stadium to that of Dutch defender Winston Bogarde at Chelsea, who made just nine Premier League appearances in four years at Stamford Bridge.

“Mancini doesn’t really speak to me, he doesn’t really speak to any of the players. The only time I’ve known a player isolated like this was Winston Bogarde at Chelsea. Usually you still train with the first team, even when they want you out,” he said.

The Blues already face a transfer dilemma over wantaway striker Carlos Tevez, but unlike the Argentine, Bridge insists he has never behaved negatively in order to force a move.

“I’ve never caused trouble, I’m not that kind of character,” he added. “There will be days when I’m frustrated – not depressed, but down. Training helps take my mind off the fact that I don’t play. If I kicked up a fuss I might have got out easier.”

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Did you smash it, Jamie? – Goal.com’s quotes of the year

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EPL,Mario Balotelli,Manchester United v Manchester City
Mario Balotelli, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Maradona and many more feature as we look back on some of the more eccentric moments in football during 2011

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Ah, Christmas. A time for reflection as we reach the end of the year. And even when a ball isn’t being kicked, somebody is saying something of interest to someone somewhere about football.

The modern day player has seemingly at times had most of the personality media-trained out of them. But fortunately for us, occasionally, a maverick – a renegade – goes ‘off message’ and delivers us a sumptuous piece of verbal pie.

The calendar year of 2011 had no shortage of these characters, and so, here is the pick of the bunch.

We begin at the start, in January, with the villains of our piece…

and with those four words, broadcaster Richard Keys, synonymous with the Premier League era, was dropped into the sexism row that had seen colleague Andy Gray lose his job. Off-air footage of Gray scoffing at the suggestion of a female assistant referee, and making inappropriate comments to fellow presenter Charlotte Jackson had earlier leaked.

Keys resigned and apologized, but claimed “dark forces” were at work in the leaking of the footage. The pair now present a talk radio show and have recently entered into the public speaking circuit.

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