City out to prove itself against Chelsea

Soccer Betting Lines

10/26/2007 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has made quite a splash in his first year as manager at the club, leading the team to seven wins in their first 10 games and a third-place position in the league table.

However, Eriksson has made it known that he doesn't expect City to finish among the top four, which means that a dip in the team's results at some point is inevitable.

While Eriksson has gotten the most out of his team so far, he knows that Chelsea is clearly the more talented team and that many around England are still questioning how good this City team really is.

Manchester City was not expected to turn things around so quickly after finishing in the bottom half of the table last season, but Eriksson has gotten good efforts from players like Blumer Elano and Martin Petrov to carry the team.

While City is not a dazzling side to watch, they are quite effective in what they do. The club is solid defensively and has a way of getting timely goals when they matter most.

Elano especially has risen to the occasion recently, scoring four goals in the team's last three games, including two game-winners.

The 26-year-old midfielder was signed from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in August, and he has proven to be one of many good signings by the new Swedish manager.

Chelsea enters the match four points behind City and is looking to build momentum for a run at the top teams. The Blues are currently seventh in the Premiership table, but their talent is top notch.

Eriksson knows all about striker Didier Drogba in particular, who has scored three goals in City's last two trips to London, but Eriksson also knows that Chelsea is not just about Drogba's brilliance.

"We don't have a special approach for Drogba but we have trained on certain things (this week) and talked about it," Eriksson said. "We'll carry on talking about Chelsea up until the game itself. We won't mark Drogba man-for- man, we won't change many things but you have to be aware that he's strong, has great technique and he's quick. If you are in the wrong position against him, it's goodnight."

Drogba has yet to find his top form this season, scoring just twice in six games for a Chelsea team that has struggled to find goals all year.

The team is among the worst in goals scored this year, but with the likes of Drogba, Frank Lampard, Salomon Kalou and Michael Essien, that can all change very quickly.

In other action in England on Saturday, bottom-half clubs Birmingham and Wigan get together at St Andrews Stadium, Manchester United tries for its eighth consecutive EPL win against Middlesbrough, Newcastle has put together two straight wins and will try for a third when the club visits Reading, Fulham and Sunderland look like teams that will struggle to avoid relegation this season and they meet up at the Stadium of Light and West Ham travels to Fratton Park for a contest against Portsmouth.

On Sunday, Liverpool hosts Arsenal in a big clash near the top with both sides unbeaten but Arsenal having won eight of its nine games while Liverpool has claimed just five victories. Bolton sits at the bottom of the table and hosts Aston Villa, Everton has lost its last two games and visits Derby and Tottenham, with just one win in 10 games, entertains Blackburn.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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