RSL, S.J. to battle in Friday fixture

Soccer Betting Lines

07/02/2009 - Sandy, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes travel to take on Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer action on Friday night as the two Western Conference rivals battle for position.

Both team are in the bottom half of the conference and will be aiming to earn the full points and move up.

San Jose (3-8-3) is currently in last place in the West, although it is coming off a 2-1 win over California rival the Los Angeles Galaxy in their last MLS fixture on June 20.

Pablo Campos had a goal and an assist in the L.A. game to lead San Jose to just its third win of the season, and first since the club beat RSL on May 30.

"I thought Pablo played very well against Los Angeles on April 18 [in a 1-1 tie], he had a great goal as well," S.J. coach Frank Yallop said. "We've been working on parts of [Campos'] game that are maybe a little unnatural. But he's trying to do the right things. [Vs. L.A.] Pablo came in with a stronger and renewed aggression and played very well."

RSL (5-6-4) is currently in fifth in the West, but is rounding into form after a 3-0 win over Toronto on Saturday extended the team's unbeaten run to four games.

Yura Movsisyan is the current hot hand on the RSL front line, scoring four goals this season, including three in the last four games. He tallied the game winner against Toronto this past weekend.

"I don't think I was forcing things earlier, I just wasn't getting lucky with some of the bounces," Movsisyan said. "I think I'm doing the same thing, but now I've got a lot more confidence. It's a game, sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don't."

The Toronto FC game started a stretch where RSL has five home games in its next seven, and coach Jason Kreis hopes his team can take advantage and jump back into the top half of the Western table.

"We put ourselves a little bit of a bad spot and now we got to take full advantage," Kreis said. "Every home game has to be three points from here on out."

RSL will have to earn the points without a number of key players. Forward Will Johnson, and midfielders Jean Alexandre and Kyle Beckerman will be absent on international duty. Also, midfielder Javier Morales is doubtful with an injury while forward Robbie Findley is questionable and forward Fabian Espndola is probable, all with injuries.

San Jose's lone absence will be defender Ryan Cochrane, who is out with an injury.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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