Barca, Real title race goes down to the wire

Soccer Betting Lines

05/14/2010 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona has secured the La Liga title at Camp Nou in the final match of the season four times, but captain Carles Puyol warned that Sunday's match against Valladolid "will be no stroll."

Barca enters the finale with a one-point cushion on Real Madrid and a win over relegation-threatened Valladolid would clinch the club's 20th Spanish crown.

Real Madrid visits relegation-threatened Malaga on Sunday, but needs Barcelona to falter to have a chance. Barca will still claim the title with a defeat, if Real losses or draws.

Although Barcelona is unbeaten at home - 17 wins and one tie - Puyol was still cautious with Valladolid facing the drop, and his teammates feel the same way.

"It will be difficult playing against a team facing relegation," Puyol said on the club's website.

"They've got a lot at stake," Barca's Bojan Krkic said on the team's website. "We expect it to be a difficult match and we'll have to clinch it as soon as possible."

Other than its 1-1 draw against Villarreal, Barcelona has been nearly flawless at Camp Nou. In its 17 wins, Barca has scored 52 goals and allowed just 10.

Krkic felt it was important to get an early lead against Valladolid, which has earned 10 results on the road this season.

"In this kind of match you have to avoid getting stuck at 0-0 for too long. That's why it's important to start well and get the support of the fans right from the beginning," he said.

Barca coach Pep Guardiola should welcome back Andres Iniesta and Eric Abidal, but Xavi is out after picking up his fifth yellow card last week. He earned an automatic one-match suspension for accumulated cards, but Barcelona has appealed.

Valladolid, led by former Spain coach Javier Clemente, can still remain in the top flight with a loss, but will be counting on other results in a fight among five clubs.

Valladolid is one of four teams on 36 points - along with Malaga, Racing and Tenerife - and Xerez is three points back but still has hope.

Malaga faces a tough test against Real, which is trying to avoid finishing the season without a single title after its nearly $400 million makeover.

"We expect to win, but it will be a very difficult match because both teams have so much at stake," Real's Gago said on the club's website. "We will both play to the fullest. We need the points to have a chance of winning the title and Malaga need to win in order to avoid relegation.

"I hope it's Real Madrid that win. No team can ever be too confident because every match is like a final."

Tenerife also faces a top club Sunday when it visits Valencia, which has third and a Champions League spot secured.

Racing is in the best position of the relegation-threatened sides, as it hosts Sporting Gijon. Sporting is just above the drop zone. Xerez visits Osasuna but may not even survive with a win.

The last Champions League berth and two Europa League spots will be determined on Saturday.

Fourth-place Sevilla visits Almeria and fifth-place Mallorca hosts Espanyol in the battle for the Champions League spot. Sevilla would secure the spot with a win, while Mallorca needs a win and either a loss or draw by Sevilla. Fifth is still good enough for a Europa spot.

The other Europa spot will go to Getafe or Villarreal, who enter the final day level on points. Getafe holds the tiebreaker, so it will claim the berth if it matches Villarreal's result against Real Zaragoza when it visits newly-crowned Europa League champions Atletico Madrid.

Athletic Bilbao hosts Deportivo in the other match in La Liga on Saturday.

Vegaas Soccer Betting News

<< Union need result at home against FC Dallas
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Union coach Peter Nowak said following the expansion club's fourth consecutive defeat last weekend the team is making mistakes "that should not happen." Philadelphia has made mistakes in ever

<< In the FCS Huddle: ODU hopes to keep soaring in Year 2
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - His first-year program was about to make its initial road trip last season when Old Dominion head coach Bobby Wilder learned something, just days before the Monarchs' visit to Jacksonville University: Amo

<< Busch takes pole for Dover truck race
Dover, DE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch will start on the pole for Friday's Dover 200 Camping World Truck Series race after topping the charts in qualifying at Dover International Speedway. Busch posted a lap of 156.481 m.p.h.

<< Heart Attack claims life of Skip Away
Midway, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Horse of the Year Skip Away died from an apparent heart attack Friday morning in Kentucky. The 17-year-old stallion was living at Hopewell Farm. Skip Away was a four-time Eclipse Award winner ha

<< Stamps release Carpenter
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Stampeders have released linebacker Dwaine Carpenter, who spent the past three seasons with the club. Carpenter appeared in 50 games and recorded 119 tackles with two sacks, two interceptions, f

Woodson won't return to Hawks >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Woodson reportedly will not return as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks next season. Both the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and NBA.com reported that Woodson was not offered a new contract. The t

Another Staal joins the Hurricanes >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Carolina Hurricanes have signed right wing Jared Staal to a three-year, entry-level contract. Staal, the younger brother of Hurricanes captain Eric, was acquired by Carolina on Thursday from Phoe

Stanley Cup Playoff Preview - San Jose vs. Chicago >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Finally, the San Jose Sharks have turned in a postseason run that seems worthy of their regular-season success. But, just because the club has finally made it past the second round doesn't mean that the pressure is off the

Hillman not to blame in Kansas City >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It wasn't a complete shock that the Trey Hillman era ended in Kansas City on Thursday. The Royals had taken a step back last year following a promising 2008 that saw them out of the American League Central cellar for the f

Lille hopes to hold off Lyon for second place >>
Lorient, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Marseille having already clinched the Ligue 1 title, most of the attention in France turns to the race for Champions League places on the final day of the season. Lille is in position to grab second

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.