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09/14/2007 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham manager Martin Jol is on the hot seat as his club has won just one of its first five games, and things will not get any easier on Saturday when Spurs welcome London-rivals Arsenal to White Hart Lane.
Jol faces a lineup decision ahead of the match with captain Ledley King unavailable because he is still recovering from knee surgery. Young defender Younes Kaboul is likely to take his place, but the former Auxerre man will have a heavy challenge in front of him as he will have to cope with a strong Arsenal attack that features striker Robin Van Persie.
The Dutchman has done an admirable job filling the shoes of departed striker Thierry Henry, but he must continue his good form if the Gunners are to remain near the top of the standings.
Arsenal is coming off of a 3-1 win over Portsmouth last time out, and has shown the quality to stay in the title race over the course of the season.
Manager Arsene Wenger is facing a number of lineup choices, especially in goal. Starter Jens Lehmann allowed two terrible goals in the team's first two games, and has not played since because of an Achilles injury.
The German international has recovered from that problem and played for Germany this past week, but an elbow injury is now the reason that Manuel Almunia will remain in goal, sparing Wenger the difficult decision for another week.
"At the moment I have not really wondered," Wenger told the club's website. "I knew yesterday that Jens could not play so we go for continuity at the moment. We'll see what happens [when he comes back] but this is not the only difficult decision I have to make right now."
Almunia has been solid in Lehmann's absence, and it will be interesting to see if Wenger is willing to put the unsteady Lehmann back in the lineup if Almunia is playing well.
It remains to be seen how newly-signed Lassana Diarra will fit into this team, and with Mathieu Flamini playing well at right back, Wenger must decide if he wants to put Bacary Sagna back into that spot or keep going with the in-form Flamini.
Jol would like to have to make such decisions, but for now he will settle for a few positive results to get himself out of hot water.
Spurs carried lofty expectations into this season, but their terrible start has left Jol's future with the team in jeopardy.
If Tottenham drops Saturday's game to Arsenal, you can expect the clock to start ticking on Jol's time with the team. A turnaround is needed now, but it may have to wait a week with Arsenal coming to town.
In other action on Saturday, Manchester United will have Cristiano Ronaldo and possibly Wayne Rooney back in the lineup at Everton, league-leaders Liverpool visit bottom-half club Portsmouth, struggling sides Bolton and Birmingham tussle at St. Andrews Stadium and Reading takes on Sunderland. Middlesbrough travels to Upton Park to meet West Ham, Wigan entertains Fulham and Chelsea, coming off of a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa, hosts Blackburn.
Sunday's game features Aston Villa, coming off of that big win against Chelsea, taking on Manchester City, while Newcastle and Derby round out the weekend's action on Monday.
<< Hanescu ousts Starace in Bucharest
Bucharest, Romania (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hometown favorite Victor Hanescu
toppled third-seeded Italian Potito Starace in Friday's quarterfinal action at
the $400,000 Romanian Open.
The Bucharest native Hanescu, a wild card this week, s
<< Report: Ankiel meets with MLB investigators
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel
met with Major League Baseball officials earlier this week to answer questions
about human growth hormone he reportedly was prescribed by Signature Pharmacy
in 2004
<< Gonzalez wins; Baghdatis loses to Ljubicic in China
Beijing, China (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Australian Open runner-up Fernando
Gonzalez was among Friday's quarterfinal winners, while defending Beijing
champion Marcos Baghdatis bowed out against fourth-seeded Croatian Ivan
Ljubici
<< Around the CFL: Flutie returns for Hall of Fame induction
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's Hall of Fame weekend in the CFL, and for
Darren Flutie that means a homecoming of sorts.
Flutie, the younger brother of former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie, will be one
of five new members of the Canadia
Real Madrid aim to keep perfect record against Almeria >>
Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champions Real Madrid are the
only team in Spain to take a perfect 2-0 record into this weekend, and they
will try to extend that mark to three straight against promoted club Almeria
on Satu
Hearts hopes to turn it around vs. first-place Rangers >>
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Heading into the Scottish Premier
League season, many thought that if any team could compete with Celtic and
Rangers, it would be Hearts.
However, through five matches, it appears that Hearts
Looking for a quick buck? >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are two weeks in the NFL season
that gamblers can come out ahead of the game with ease. It also doesn't take
any research or number crunching. All one has to do is put his/her bets in and
sit back and
Rams Stand Between Niners, 2-0 Mark >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The rebirth of the San Francisco 49ers as a major player on
the NFL scene could take place Sunday in the Gateway City, as Mike Nolan's
club seeks to move to 2-0 with a win over the St. Louis Rams.
The 49ers have a chance t
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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