Real Madrid avoids Zaragoza scare to extend lead atop La Liga

Soccer Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Madrid, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid surrendered an early lead but battled back to avoid an embarrassing defeat to last-place Real Zaragoza as the Galacticos earned a 3-1 win at the Bernabeu on Saturday.

With Villarreal holding Barcelona to a scoreless draw Saturday, Real Madrid's fifth-straight league win sees its lead atop the Spanish top flight extend to seven points.

Angel Lafita put Zaragoza in front after 11 minutes, but Madrid responded through Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Mesut Ozil to claim a vital home victory.

The Bernabeu faithful were left stunned early on when Lafita redirected a square pass into the back of the net to give Zaragoza the lead.

Madrid applied pressure throughout the rest of the first half, but the equalizer did not come until the 32nd minute when Kaka latched onto a through ball before slotting a curling shot just inside the far post.

Ronaldo grabbed his league-leading 24th goal of the season just four minutes into the second half, narrowly beating the offside trap to stuff a square pass from Ozil into the back of the net.

Ozil then wrapped up the scoring seven minutes later, threading the needle on the left side of the box with a powerful shot to the near post.

Real Madrid improves to 52 points on the year while Real Zaragoza remains bottom with just 12 points.

Villarreal 0, Barcelona 0

Villarreal, Spain - Villarreal held the reigning European champions scoreless at El Madrigal on Saturday as it played to a 0-0 draw with Barcelona.

The Catalans now sit seven points adrift of La Liga leaders Real Madrid after its 3-1 win over Real Zaragoza earlier on Saturday. Barcelona's sixth draw of the season brings its point total to 45 through 20 games.

Villarreal improves to 20 points on the year, but remains in a tight battle against relegation as it sits just one point above the drop zone.

Athletic Bilbao 3, Rayo Vallecano 2

Madrid, Spain - Fernando Llorente scored a hat trick to help Athletic Bilbao claim a 3-2 win over Rayo Vallecano at the Teresa Rivero on Saturday.

Michu put Rayo Vallecano in front in the 10th minute, but Llorente quickly overturned the deficit with goals in the 17th and 23rd minutes. Alejandro Arribas equalized for the home side in the 27th minute to ensure the two teams went into halftime deadlocked on two goals apiece, but Llorente grabbed the game-winner in the 68th minute to give Bilbao all three points.

Bilbao improves to 29 points on the year, while Rayo Vallecano suffers its second-straight defeat to remain on 22 points.

Espanyol 1, Mallorca 0

Barcelona, Spain - Vladimir Weiss scored in the 19th minute to help Espanyol defeat 10-man Mallorca, 1-0, at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat on Saturday.

Mallorca goalkeeper Dudu Aouate was sent off in the 46th minute for bringing down Rui Fonte just outside the area. Mallorca failed to rebound from the sending off, as the match ended in favor of Espanyol with Weiss's strike holding up as the winner.

Espanyol, unbeaten in its last six league games, sits fifth in the table on 31 points, while Mallorca sits three points above the relegation zone with 22 points.

Wagersport Soccer Betting News

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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