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04/27/2009 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It is no secret that Barcelona possesses one of the deadliest offensive attacks in the world.
And as Chelsea prepares to meet this offensive juggernaut at the Nou Camp on Tuesday in the first leg of its Champions League semifinal, manager Guus Hiddink has acknowledged that not many teams have had success in slowing Barca down.
"I think a lot of teams have shown it is very difficult to stop them, they are able to score," Hiddink said. "The front line is world class, Thierry Henry has class, experience, [Samuel] Eto'o I had as a young player at Real Madrid when he was 17, and at that time he was already impressive and of course he has won titles and has experience."
The Dutchman is not even mentioning the dangerous midfield duo of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, but along with defender Dani Alves, who has a propensity for getting forward, this is a team that is loaded with quality offensive players.
However, much of Chelsea's success defensively will be tied to how well they deal with Lionel Messi.
The dynamic young Argentine has scored eight goals in Champions League play this season, and he has spearheaded a Barca attack that has piled up 94 goals in 33 La Liga matches this season.
Hiddink would appear to be in good shape with the experienced Ashley Cole at left back, but the problem is that the England international will miss the first leg through suspension, leaving a hole opposite Messi.
"I could start crying about not having Cole in that position and also look for excuses," the boss said.
"I am not like that, I like to put the full energy and the confidence to (the player) who is substituting him in that position."
The player who appears set to replace Cole is Jose Bosingwa, the team's regular starter at right back.
The Portuguese international was moved to the left side for Chelsea's 1-0 win over West Ham on Saturday, and Hiddink seems content to hand the job to him.
"We have some more options, but if Bosingwa is doing well he can do the job," Hiddink said.
"If you go to a double man [marking system], then we fail somewhere, another player with the quality to cause the damage. If you focus too much on that you forget there are other big players that can do the damage."
Plenty of players did damage in Barca's 4-0 pounding of Bayern Munich in the first leg of their quarterfinal win, and even though Chelsea's defense has looked shaky at times, they promise to put up a stiffer resistance than the German champions.
Chelsea booked its place in the semifinals by beating old rivals Liverpool, and even though they looked impressive in scoring seven goals over the two legs, Barca midfielder Seidou Keita believes that his manager, Pep Guardiola, will have the team well prepared.
"The coach is very thorough when it comes to preparing for games," Keita said. "We watch a lot of their games and analyze their weak spots and threats.
"Chelsea is an opponent we know well, as they're a great side and we always look out for their scores. We have seen their games in the Premier League and in the Champions League. They are a tough side with some physically strong players who can make a difference."
The Catalan side does enter the match on the heels of a 2-2 draw with Valencia over the weekend that cut their lead over second-placed Real Madrid to just four points.
And with the two Spanish giants set to meet up at the Bernabeu on Saturday, there is a chance that Chelsea is catching Barca at a good time.
However, Keita has said that his team is in a good frame of mind, and that they are only worried about themselves.
"The team is calm because we're working well," the midfielder said. "We're just thinking of ourselves. We don t need to worry about what Real Madrid are doing. If things go right, we won't need to worry."
The other semifinal features a pair of familiar foes as English sides Manchester United and Arsenal square off at Old Trafford in the first leg on Wednesday.
The teams have only met once this season, a 2-1 Arsenal win at the Emirates Stadium, but they will meet up three times in less than three weeks, and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that his team must attack United on Wednesday despite playing on the road.
"At this level you have to be audacious away," Wenger said. "The weight of the away goal in European football could be discussed I feel. It may be a little bit too heavy.
"We have spoken about it, maybe making it a Carling Cup rule where it only comes in at extra time. At the moment you are encouraged to be very cautious at home but very audacious away from home."
Both sides are very good in attack, but Arsenal defender Kolo Toure believes that defense will decide who advances to the final in Rome.
"They are a really good team going forward but at the back they have conceded a few goals, like us," Toure said. "We have the same type of team - we both like to play but sometimes you can be caught out at the back. I think the team that will win will be the one that defends the best."
<< Kirilenko drops Fes opener
Fes, Morocco (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko was one
of two first-round losers Monday at the $220,000 Moroccan Grand Prix.
Poland's Marta Domachowska upended Kirilenko in 6-4, 6-4 fashion on the red
clay at Fes R
<< Kelly moves to No. 78 in world rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jerry Kelly ended his seven-year winless
drought with a victory Sunday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, earning
the 42-year-old a 63-place bump to No. 78 in this week's world rankings.
Ahead of K
<< Flames D Phaneuf out for Game 6
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf will
miss Game 6 of his club's Western Conference quarterfinal series with the
Chicago Blackhawks Monday with an upper-body injury.
Phaneuf left in the third peri
<< Brown, Esche lead Americans in rout of Austria at Worlds
Bern, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Brown posted a goal and two
assists, while Robert Esche stopped 25-of-26 shots as Team USA throttled
Austria, 6-1, in Group C play at the 2009 World Championships.
Patrick O'Sullivan,
Ochoa solidifies No. 1 ranking >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lorena Ochoa claimed her second win of the
season Sunday at the Corona Championship and strengthened her hold on the No.
1 ranking in women's golf.
Ochoa went from 13.72 average points to 14.47 in this w
Bulls G Gordon has injured hamstring, may miss Game 5 >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls announced Monday that guard
Ben Gordon suffered a strained left hamstring in Sunday's double-overtime win
against Boston and is day-to-day.
Gordon left Sunday's 121-118 triumph in Game 4 of
Boise State RB Johnson among 14 signed by Vikings >>
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Vikings agreed to
terms with 14 rookie free agents on Monday with former Boise State running
back Ian Johnson among them.
Johnson rushed for 766 yards and 13 touchdowns as
Wawrinka rolls; Blake falls in rainy Rome >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tenth-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka was a
first-round winner, while 14th-seeded American James Blake came up a loser
Monday at the $3.645 million Italian Masters tennis event.
The 2008 Rome runner-up
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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