Game time: Novermber 14, 2010, 11:00 AM ET.

When Hercules take on Real Sociedad in the 11th round of the Spanish La Liga, there will be no goals drought.

Hercules: Over 3-2 L5 home games, 4-1 last 5 overall. Real Sociedad over is 4-1 in L5 road games.

Free soccer pick: Hercules, Real Sociedad Over 2.5 (+100)

Game time: November 8, 2010, 3:30 PM ET.

On Monday, Sevilla play host to Valencia in the 10th round of the Spanish La Liga fixtures at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium looking to take all three points at stake.

Sevilla at home

Sevilla’s 2-2-0 record at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium is far from being the best home record in La Liga, but they still present a stern test to visiting teams. Sevilla go into this round of La Liga fixtures as one of five teams yet to lose a home game. They have won two of their four home games this season with the other two ending in draws. On the whole, they have scored eight and conceded five, culminating in a decent goals difference (GD) of +3.

For a team as talented as Sevilla, a 50% home win rate could be regarded by many as a disappointment. A cursory look at their results, however, suggests they are headed in the right direction. Sevilla managed only one goal in their first two home games and both games ended all square. But that is now in the past. They have now posted wins in their last two home games, notching a whopping seven goals in the process. We also cannot afford to ignore Sevilla’s impressive scoring progression at home. After being shutout by Deportivo La Coruna in their home opener, their offensive unit has now come alive. They have now scored one, three, and four goals, respectively, in their last three home games. On the defensive end, they are not doing too badly as they have allowed one goal or less in three of their four home games.

Valencia on the road

Valencia’s current record may have surprised more than a few soccer fans as not much was expected of them following the departures of their talismanic striker, David Villa to Barcelona and the quick-footed David Silva to Manchester City. They have played themselves into the fifth spot in the standings. Valencia have been brilliant on the road where they have won three of four, only losing to Barcelona. On the highway, they are scoring at an impressive rate of two goals per game (GG) and conceding 1.33 GG.

But is Valencia really that good on the road? A careful examination of Valencia’s road record seems to suggest they have benefitted immensely from a rather soft road schedule. Their three road wins have all come against teams in the bottom half of the league. In fact, two of those wins were against the two worst teams in the league, Malaga and Zaragoza.

Prediction

Not only has the home team won seven of the last ten meetings, Sevilla hold a 4-1-0 edge against Valencia at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, notching nine in the process while conceding a grand total of one goal. If that is an indication of Sevilla’s home dominance over Valencia, then there is no doubt as to which team will snatch all three points at stake in this contest. When the final whistle brings this game to a close, Sevilla’ home record against Valencia should improve to 5-1-0. Given Sevilla’s offensive resurgence at home, I would call for a 3-1 Sevilla win here.

Free soccer pick: Sevilla +110.

[B]Guardiola may succeed Ferguson - report[/B]

27 October 2010

[IMG]http://www.soccerway.com/photo_dynamic/orig/250/relative/12427138670.jpg[/IMG] Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola has emerged as the favorite to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson when the Scot steps down at Manchester United.

(GSM) - Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola has emerged as the favorite to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson when the Scot steps down at Manchester United.
The Spanish media suggested Ferguson... More...

When Arsenal take on Newcastle in the fourth round of the English League Cup at St. James' Park, there will be goals aplenty.

Arsenal are averaging 2.6 goals per game (GG) while conceding 1 GG over their last five games. Not to be outdone, Newcastle are averaging exactly 2 GG while conceding the same amount over their last five games. Neither team appears to have any difficulty in scoring. Over their last five games, Arsenal's potent offense has only been shutout once and that took a huge defensive effort from Chelsea. On their part, Newcastle have not only scored in all their last five outings but have scored at least two goals in four of those outings. No wonder there has not been a shortage of goals in games involving either team. Expect more of the same when these teams meet in what is shaping up to be an exciting soccer game in one of today's League Cup fixtures.

Bookmakers have installed a total of 3 for this game with the betting odds on the ‘over' set at +105. That means this is one of the only two games in this round of the League Cup fixtures with a set total as high as 3. That in itself suggest bookmakers expect a high-scoring affair in this game and there are ample reasons to think so. Each of the last three meetings between these sides has yielded a total of at least three goals even though Newcastle was shutout in two of those meetings. The last meeting at St. James' Park was a four-goal affair in which Arsenal came out the better side with a 3-1 win. With both offenses currently clicking on all cylinders, we should expect to see a similar or even high goals output. Some may wish to argue that both teams have changed significantly since the last time they met in March 2009. But the personnel changes in both teams seems have only improved them offensively.

Besides, results from the other games in this round of the League Cup fixtures have been very kind to 'over' backers. Four of the five games played so far have hit goal totals of at least four. Furthermore, the the only other game with a set total of 3 - Manchester United/Wolverhampton - produced five goals. In all, a total of 25 goals were netted in the five games culminating in a high GG of 5.

Why the high number of goals in these games? Not many teams feature their regular first eleven in League Cup games. And if you observe carefully, lineup changes associated with these cup games tend to affect the defensive units than the offensive units of the teams involved. That implies that you have relatively potent offenses playing against compromised defenses. A look at the lineups for this game actually suggests both defenses will be more compromised than the offenses.

Finally, four of Arsenals' and Newcastle's last five games have yielded a total of three or more goals, respectively. That trend should continue here.

Free soccer pick: Newcastle, Arsenal Over 3 (+105)

Game time: Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 2:00 PM ET.

On Tuesday, Heracles play host to NAC Breda at the Polman Stadium where they have won four of the last five meetings. Given NAC Breda’s awful road form, a win for the hosts looks highly likely.

Heracles at home

Heracles may not have the best home record in the Eredivisie but they always present a stern test to visiting teams. Heracles go into this round of Eredivisie fixtures as one of six teams yet to lose a home game. They have won two of their four home games this season with the other two ending in draws. When you consider that one of the draws was against the defending champions, FC Twente, you realize they are actually better at home than their record would indicate. They have conceded only three goals while scoring seven, which gives them a healthy goals difference of +4 after four games. Conceding only three goals in a league where goals are scored aplenty is no mean feat. It underlines Heracles' stellar defensive capabilities at home. Their offense has been potent when playing in front of their fans. Only FC Twente have held them scoreless at home, which is no surprise as FC Twente has the league’s best road defense with only one goal conceded in five road games.

NAC Breda on the road

NAC Breda are yet without a road win, which is not surprising at all considering that they are Eredivisie’s third worst road team. Their best road result so far was a goalless draw at Vitesse Arnhem, which has one of the league’s most anemic offenses. One the highway, NAC Breda have been woeful on both ends of the pitch. Their defense has been like bread to opposing offenses. They have not only lost three of their four road games but have also conceded exactly three goals in each of those losses. In all, they have conceded a whopping nine goals while scoring only two goals, culminating in a dreadful goals difference of -7 in only four games on the highway or -1.75 goals per game.

Prediction

Not only has the home team won seven of the last ten meetings, Heracles hold a 4-0-1 edge against NAC Breda at the Polman Stadium. Heracles won the last two meetings at this venue by 3-0 and 4-0, respectively. If that is an indication of Heracle’s home dominance over NAC Breda, then there is no doubt as to which team will snatch all the three points at stake in this fixture. Heracles' home defense will be too tough for NAC Breda's tame road offense. Therefore, when the final whistle brings this game to a close, Heracles’ home record against NAC Breda will improve to 5-0-1. Given that Heracles are outscoring visiting teams by an average of +1 and NAC Breda is being outscored on the road by an average of 1.75, one would expect Heracles to win this game by a 2-goal margin. A 3-1 or 2-0 home win looks feasible here.

Free soccer pick: Heracles +100.

Hercules vs. Villareal

[COLOR=Blue]Hercules +165
Villareal +140
Draw +215[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Hercules PK -105
Villareal PK -135
[/COLOR]
Stats:
W-D-L record: 2-1-3 vs 5-0-1
Goals scored: 6 vs 12
Goals conceded: 6 vs 4

The stats above easily point to a Villareal win. But will it be that easy? Let's look at the records of Villareal on the road and Hercules at home:

On the road, Villareal won at Malaga and Levante and lost at Real Sociedad. Overall, they've scored 5 and conceded 4.

At home, Hercules have only one win (against Sevilla) and have lost to Valencia and Atletico Bilbao. Overall, they've scored 3 and conceded 3.

Analysis:
1) Two road wins at Malaga and Levante... More...

England: [COLOR=Blue]Sunderland +450[/COLOR] (to surprise the impeccable Arsenal)

Germany:
1) [COLOR=Blue]Koln +1050[/COLOR] (to hand Bayern their first home loss of the season)
2) [COLOR=Blue]Bayern Munich/Koln draw +525[/COLOR] (or Koln to stifle Bayern)

Italy: [COLOR=Blue]AC Milan/Catania draw +425[/COLOR] (Catania to deny Milan a home win)

Netherlands: [COLOR=Blue]Heracles +400[/COLOR] (to teach Twente a lesson)

Spain: [COLOR=Blue]Hercules +220[/COLOR] (to bring down the "high-flying" Valencia)


I have reasons why I think a profitable number of the above picks could cash this weekend. But I want to know what the soccer forum thinks about those picks.

Let me just briefly shed some light on the Bayern/Koln confrontation. [COLOR=Blue][COLOR=Black]At home, Bayern are 1-3-1...[/COLOR][/COLOR] More...

[url]http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/07/19/russia.octopus.bid/index.html?iref=NS1#fbid=Z9i-uSzAAp1[/url]

[B]Russian bookmakers offer 100,000 euros for Paul the octopus[/B]

By [B]the CNN Wire Staff[/B]
July 19, 2010 -- Updated 1655 GMT (0055 HKT)

[IMG]http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/WORLD/europe/07/19/russia.octopus.bid/story.octopus.gi.jpg[/IMG]
Sea Life staff have announced Paul is retiring from the predictions game.


[B]STORY HIGHLIGHTS[/B]

[LIST]
[*]Company says 100,000 euros is its starting price
[*]The co-owner says the bid has been received and is being studied
[*]The firm representing the Sea Life Center in Germany says offer was declined
[*]Paul correctly predicted Spain's win in the World Cup
[/LIST]


...[/*][/*][/*][/*] More...

[B]Astros/Reds [/B]
Rodriquez (2-6, 4.33 ERA) opposes LeCure (no record).
The Astros will have the pleasure of facing a Triple A pitcher with an ERA of 2.55 in the minors. When "Major" bats face a "Minor" pitcher, you'd expect some bombardment. Add that to the Red's offensive form and you have an "easy" Over! Eh? No wonder 92% of early action is on the Over. But before you make your Over bet, you may wish to note that Rodriquez does pitch excellently against the Reds with an ERA of only 1.83. LeCure may also be able to "cure" the Astro bats given... More...

[B]Dbacks/Rockies[/B]
Haren (5-5, 4.79 ERA) opposes Hammels (1-5, 7.52 ERA).
The numbers say Haren is the better SP. Plus Dbacks are supposed to fight hard to avoid the sweep. All that have made the books install Dbacks as favorite. Will they win? No!


[B]Dodgers/Cubs[/B]
Ely (3-1, 3.41 ERA) opposes Lilly (1-4, 4.30 ERA).
On current form, the visitors have the better SP. Add that to the Dodger's 7-3 record in the L10 and there's a ton of value on the Dodgers at +110. The majority of early action (60%) is on the Dodgers. Deservedly, you'd think. Will they get the W? Very unlikely.

[B]Nationals/Giants
[/B]Stammen (1-2, 5.96... More...