Aberdeen, Rangers battle for second place
Soccer Betting Lines
12/22/2006 - Aberdeen, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With league-leaders Celtic a whopping 14 points clear of the rest of the pack, it is time to start playing for second place for the rest of the Scottish Premier League.
On Saturday, second-place Aberdeen, maybe the hottest team in the SPL, host third-place Rangers, just two points behind their hosts.
Aberdeen are looking to secure their first spot in European competition since 2002, and will be in a great position to do so with a win over Rangers. The Dons have continued to push their way towards the top, starting the season in the middle of pack and jumping teams week after week. Aberdeen have won five of their last six league contests, including their last five matches on home soil.
Rangers have struggled recently at Pittodrie, leaving town empty-handed in their last two trips. Paul Le Guen's men are coming off of a 1-1 draw with Glasgow rivals Celtic last time out, and are looking to build on that result with a run of positive play to take them back into second. Rangers have been plagued by bouts of inconsistency this season. Every time they put together a string of wins, they seem to suffer a deflating loss.
The club will be without 21-year-old defender Steven Smith, who is suffering from a groin injury. The team also will be missing Kris Boyd, Chris Burke and Ian Murray, who have all missed extensive time this season with long-term injuries.
The first week in April is a long time away, and there are many matches to be played between then and now, but a win by Aberdeen on Saturday would push their edge over Rangers to five points, which is a big margin considering the high-flying Dons recent form. The maximum points for Rangers would move them up by a point and give the team momentum for a push towards a strong second- half finish.
In Saturday's other action in Scotland, table-toppers Celtic host Falkirk, a resurgent Dundee United entertain Hearts, Inverness visits bottom-feeders Dunfermline, St Mirren is just one point from clearing relegation and travels to Hibernian and fourth-place Kilmarnock hosts Motherwell, who is just one spot from the bottom.
WEEKEND SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
SATURDAY
Celtic - Falkirk
Aberdeen - Rangers
Kilmarnock - Motherwell
Hibernian - St Mirren
Dunfermline - Inverness
Dundee United - Hearts
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Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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