Paraguay will have trouble stopping Spain
Soccer Betting Lines
07/02/2010 - Johannesburg, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain coach Vincente del Bosque admitted a few days ago "it's difficult to stop us" when we're in top form, so Paraguay faces a huge challenge Saturday in the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals.
Spain entered the World Cup with just one loss in its last 48 games, and since starting the tournament with a 1-0 defeat to Switzerland, has regained the form that resulted in a Euro 2008 title.
The Spaniards topped Portugal in the round of 16, 1-0, to advance to the final eight for the fourth time in the last seven World Cups. Now, Spain will try to get back to the semifinals for the first time since 1950.
Spain has never won the World Cup, but arrived in South Africa as the favorite - even ahead of Brazil. Although Spain struggled in its opener, it has cruised through the rest of its matches with wins over Honduras, Chile and Portugal.
"This is a team that wants to make history and we'll just have to wait and see if luck's on our side," Del Bosque said.
David Villa has four of Spain's five goals and assisted on the other. He would be alone atop the scoring list if not for a missed penalty kick against Honduras.
Villa also scored against Chile and scored the match-winner in the second half against Portugal.
"We have a lot of confidence in ourselves and in our potential," Villa said.
Paraguay defeated Japan in penalty kicks, 5-3, after the teams played to a 0-0 draw through 120 minutes. Paraguay, among four South American teams to reach the final eight, advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in their history.
Although Paraguay wasn't impressive in the group stage, it managed to end atop the standings with a win over Slovakia and draws against Italy and New Zealand.
Paraguay's offense has betrayed coach Gerardo Martino, as the team hasn't been able to score in their last two games. However, he's obviously thrilled to get his team through the opening stage of the knockout round.
"We've taken another step forward, but we've not achieved our goals yet. Let's hope we can recover quickly and keep making history," Martino said.
Antolin Alcaraz, Cristian Riveros and Enrique Vera each have one goal for the Paraguayans - or one less combined than Villa - but winning ugly has worked in the World Cup before.
Paraguay will need an even better defensive effort in the quarterfinal against Spain, which features one of the most dynamic teams in the world, but the team is confident, according to forward Lucas Barrios.
"The team's doing really well," Barrios said, "we're very united and we can go further."
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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.
MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines
Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow. Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season. Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints. These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order. As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS. The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens. The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.
MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:
Saints +6 @ Colts -6
Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)
Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)
Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5
Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1
Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3
Patriots -5 @ Jets +5
Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5
Steelers -4 @ Browns +4
Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6
Bears +6 @ Chargers -6
Lions +3 @ Raiders -3
Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5
Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4
Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3
Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3
Super Bowl line (2008)
NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5
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