Portugal should expect battle from North Korea

Soccer Betting Lines

06/20/2010 - Cape Town, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portugal may be the third-ranked team in the world according to FIFA, but it should expect to get a battle from North Korea on Monday at Green Point Stadium in its second Group G contest.

Portugal settled for a 0-0 tie against the Ivory Coast in its opener, and with a game against mighty Brazil still to play, three points are a must for Carlos Queiroz's team if they want to have a real chance at advancing in the World Cup.

"We'll have to play higher up the pitch against the North Koreans and take more risks because we need a victory," Queiroz said. "Obviously we can't afford to play the way we did in our last match. We got a point against a very strong team and now we'll approach the next game with a clear goal: to win."

In order for Portugal to look better in attack, the play of Cristiano Ronaldo must improve after a string of disappointing efforts for the national team.

Ronaldo failed to score in any of the seven World Cup qualifiers he played in for his team, and although he created the best chance of the match with a brilliant long-range effort that crashed off the post, he must find his form for Portugal to have success.

He won't get any help from veteran midfielder Deco, who will miss the match with a hip injury, which could open the door for Atletico Madrid midfielder Simao Sabrosa to find his way into the starting lineup after he was surprisingly left on the bench to start the last match.

However, a win is anything but a sure thing for Portugal after the North Koreans gave Brazil all it could handle in its opening match. Brazil edged the North Koreans 2-1.

The match was scoreless through halftime until Brazil found a pair of goals in the second half, with a late consolation strike from Ji Yun Nam making the final score look good.

The Asian side is very disciplined in defense and they may be able to frustrate the Portuguese into making mistakes, which could allow them to grab the point they need to stay in contention.

Brazil sits atop the group with six points after its 3-1 win over the Ivory Coast on Sunday, meaning that Portugal can take over the second spot in the group and put itself in a good position to advance if it can get past the stubborn North Koreans.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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