Tottenham faces uphill battle against Arsenal

Soccer Betting Lines

09/14/2007 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham manager Martin Jol is on the hot seat as his club has won just one of its first five games, and things will not get any easier on Saturday when Spurs welcome London-rivals Arsenal to White Hart Lane.

Jol faces a lineup decision ahead of the match with captain Ledley King unavailable because he is still recovering from knee surgery. Young defender Younes Kaboul is likely to take his place, but the former Auxerre man will have a heavy challenge in front of him as he will have to cope with a strong Arsenal attack that features striker Robin Van Persie.

The Dutchman has done an admirable job filling the shoes of departed striker Thierry Henry, but he must continue his good form if the Gunners are to remain near the top of the standings.

Arsenal is coming off of a 3-1 win over Portsmouth last time out, and has shown the quality to stay in the title race over the course of the season.

Manager Arsene Wenger is facing a number of lineup choices, especially in goal. Starter Jens Lehmann allowed two terrible goals in the team's first two games, and has not played since because of an Achilles injury.

The German international has recovered from that problem and played for Germany this past week, but an elbow injury is now the reason that Manuel Almunia will remain in goal, sparing Wenger the difficult decision for another week.

"At the moment I have not really wondered," Wenger told the club's website. "I knew yesterday that Jens could not play so we go for continuity at the moment. We'll see what happens [when he comes back] but this is not the only difficult decision I have to make right now."

Almunia has been solid in Lehmann's absence, and it will be interesting to see if Wenger is willing to put the unsteady Lehmann back in the lineup if Almunia is playing well.

It remains to be seen how newly-signed Lassana Diarra will fit into this team, and with Mathieu Flamini playing well at right back, Wenger must decide if he wants to put Bacary Sagna back into that spot or keep going with the in-form Flamini.

Jol would like to have to make such decisions, but for now he will settle for a few positive results to get himself out of hot water.

Spurs carried lofty expectations into this season, but their terrible start has left Jol's future with the team in jeopardy.

If Tottenham drops Saturday's game to Arsenal, you can expect the clock to start ticking on Jol's time with the team. A turnaround is needed now, but it may have to wait a week with Arsenal coming to town.

In other action on Saturday, Manchester United will have Cristiano Ronaldo and possibly Wayne Rooney back in the lineup at Everton, league-leaders Liverpool visit bottom-half club Portsmouth, struggling sides Bolton and Birmingham tussle at St. Andrews Stadium and Reading takes on Sunderland. Middlesbrough travels to Upton Park to meet West Ham, Wigan entertains Fulham and Chelsea, coming off of a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa, hosts Blackburn.

Sunday's game features Aston Villa, coming off of that big win against Chelsea, taking on Manchester City, while Newcastle and Derby round out the weekend's action on Monday.

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Football Betting Lines

The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.

Bet NFL Sports Lines

Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.

Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.

A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.

Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.

Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.

And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.

2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win

Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1

Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1

Donald Brown (IND) 5/1

Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1

Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1

Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1

Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1

Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1

Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1

Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1

Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1

Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1

Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1

Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1

Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1

Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1

Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1

LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1

Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1

Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1

Jason Smith (STL) 40/1

Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1

Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1

Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1

Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2

Pat White (MIA) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 9/1

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