Hammers continue quest for place in Europe

Soccer Betting Lines

04/24/2009 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Ham is one of five teams that can make a legitimate case for grabbing a spot in Europe by finishing in seventh place, and with such a close group of teams in the middle of the table, the final five games will determine who takes part in the Europa League next season.

West Ham currently sits in seventh place but Gianfranco Zola's men face a tough test on Saturday when they host third-placed Chelsea at Upton Park.

The Hammers are one point clear of London rivals Fulham and Tottenham entering the weekend, but they could be catching the Blues at a good time.

Chelsea will be looking ahead to its Champions League semifinal at Barcelona on Tuesday, and manager Guus Hiddink will likely rest a few players with an eye towards that match.

The Blues are also coming off of a 0-0 draw with Everton, which leaves them six points back of leaders Manchester United, who still have a game in hand.

"Mathematically it is not finished, but we have to be realistic and I can hardly see Manchester United dropping nine points for us to go in front and we can't forget we are a few points behind Liverpool, who are closer," said Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.

"If Man United slips and has a bad spell we are not the closest one to gain from that, so I think now with their one game in hand it is stretched too far in front of us."

If Chelsea has all but conceded their title aspirations, then Saturday's game could be an afterthought, but West Ham assistant Steve Clarke believes that the west London club will approach the match from a different standpoint.

"They're in the middle of a difficult run of matches with a lot of big games and I'm sure they'll think about resting one or two players against us," Clarke said.

"But it's only a great time to play them if you beat them. Before the game, I'm sure they'll approach it as it's an east and west London derby and they won't want to lose it so it will be a difficult game."

Chelsea has lost only once in 15 games in all competitions since Hiddink took charge of the club, but with the Champions League and an FA Cup final still to play, you couldn't blame the Blues for taking their eye off of West Ham on Saturday.

Zola's side has won just once in its last five league games, but they must turn their form around over the remainder of the season if they want to take part in European competition next season.

The team still must play Liverpool and Everton after the Chelsea match, so any points that West Ham can pick up from Saturday's game will be valuable.

Leaders Manchester United host Tottenham with an opportunity to move another step closer to the title, while second-placed Liverpool travels to struggling Hull City without injured captain Steven Gerrard.

Arsenal has been one of the hottest teams in England and they host a Middlesbrough side that is desperate to climb out of the bottom three, while Blackburn entertains Wigan with Rovers three points clear of the drop zone.

Aston Villa travels to Bolton, Everton plays host to Manchester City, Fulham squares off with Stoke City and last-placed West Bromwich hosts Sunderland in a match full of relegation implications.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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