Real, Barca face road tests before El Clasico

Soccer Betting Lines

04/24/2009 - Seville, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Real Madrid is unbeaten in 16 straight games including an incredible 15 victories, since losing to Barcelona in December but still trails the once runaway leaders by six points with six matches left.

With goal differential also in Barca's favor, Real's deficit is actually seven, but this weekend could finally help the two-time defending champions close the gap even more in the Spanish La Liga title race.

Real Madrid visits third-place Sevilla on Sunday, when it will already know how Barcelona faired on Saturday at fourth-place Valencia. While Real and Barca are in a race for the top spot, Sevilla and Valencia are jockeying for third.

This weekend's results for Real and Barca are more significant with the teams clashing May 3 in the El Clasico. If Real can close the gap to three this week, it could pull level on points with a win over Barca at the Bernabeu.

Real put the pressure on Real earlier this week with a last-minute 3-2 win over Getafe, but Barca answered on Wednesday with a 4-0 win over Sevilla.

Now Real visits Sevilla without Pepe, who was ejected in the closing minutes of Tuesday's match for kicking a Getafe player, and injured Arjen Robben.

"They are important, but other players on the squad can take their place," Real left wingback Marcelo said. "We must be united and I believe we will do well in Seville."

Marcelo knows every team is always up to play Real, but with Sevilla trying to solidify its grip on third place, this week's game will be even tougher.

"Every team wants to defeat Real Madrid. Look at how Getafe played in Barcelona and how they did over here," Marcelo said. "I'm sure it will be no different against Sevilla.

"Real Madrid's badge means a lot and everyone wants to defeat us."

Madrid's surge can be linked to its defense. Real has 12 shutouts in its last 16 matches. The winter addition of defensive midfielder Lassana Diarra has made an impact defensively, while fellow winter signee Klaas-Jaan Huntelaar, a Dutch striker, has eight goals in 11 matches.

Real's problem has been Barca just hasn't dropped enough points. Barcelona is 15-2-1 since beating Real in December and, after an 0-2-1 slump in February and March, the club is 7-0 in La Liga without allowing a goal.

Barca star Lionel Messi (20 goals and 10 assists in La Liga) and company have also advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League, and are possibly the top team in Europe. Barca will have a busy week, though, with the first leg of the CL semifinals against Chelsea on Tuesday.

Real may have a little easier time this weekend based on Sevilla's home record, which is just 9-5-2, and its current form, which has seen the club lose three straight matches.

Valencia, which is riding a five-match win streak, is 10-3-3 at home. Valencia enters the weekend just two points behind Sevilla for third, meaning a win and a loss by Sevilla would move the club into third.

"I have always said the same thing," Barca coach Pep Guardiola said. "The next game is the most important. But maybe this one will be something more because it could give us a lift towards the title."

Valencia and Sevilla have to be careful about dropping points with Villarreal, Malaga, Atletico Madrid and Deportivo all within six points of Sevilla entering the weekend.

Also Saturday, Numancia will try to climb off the bottom when it visits Almeria in a clash of bottom-half teams, and surprise Malaga will try to move into the top-five when it hosts Deportivo.

Also Sunday, fifth-place Villarreal visits Getafe, Real Betis visits Espanyol, Mallorca visits Recreativo, Osasuna visits Valladolid, Racing visits Athletic Bilbao, and Sporting Gijon visits Atletico Madrid.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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