Aberdeen, Rangers battle for second place

Soccer Betting Lines

12/22/2006 - Aberdeen, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With league-leaders Celtic a whopping 14 points clear of the rest of the pack, it is time to start playing for second place for the rest of the Scottish Premier League.

On Saturday, second-place Aberdeen, maybe the hottest team in the SPL, host third-place Rangers, just two points behind their hosts.

Aberdeen are looking to secure their first spot in European competition since 2002, and will be in a great position to do so with a win over Rangers. The Dons have continued to push their way towards the top, starting the season in the middle of pack and jumping teams week after week. Aberdeen have won five of their last six league contests, including their last five matches on home soil.

Rangers have struggled recently at Pittodrie, leaving town empty-handed in their last two trips. Paul Le Guen's men are coming off of a 1-1 draw with Glasgow rivals Celtic last time out, and are looking to build on that result with a run of positive play to take them back into second. Rangers have been plagued by bouts of inconsistency this season. Every time they put together a string of wins, they seem to suffer a deflating loss.

The club will be without 21-year-old defender Steven Smith, who is suffering from a groin injury. The team also will be missing Kris Boyd, Chris Burke and Ian Murray, who have all missed extensive time this season with long-term injuries.

The first week in April is a long time away, and there are many matches to be played between then and now, but a win by Aberdeen on Saturday would push their edge over Rangers to five points, which is a big margin considering the high-flying Dons recent form. The maximum points for Rangers would move them up by a point and give the team momentum for a push towards a strong second- half finish.

In Saturday's other action in Scotland, table-toppers Celtic host Falkirk, a resurgent Dundee United entertain Hearts, Inverness visits bottom-feeders Dunfermline, St Mirren is just one point from clearing relegation and travels to Hibernian and fourth-place Kilmarnock hosts Motherwell, who is just one spot from the bottom.

WEEKEND SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

SATURDAY

Celtic - Falkirk

Aberdeen - Rangers

Kilmarnock - Motherwell

Hibernian - St Mirren

Dunfermline - Inverness

Dundee United - Hearts

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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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