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04/27/2009 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It is no secret that Barcelona possesses one of the deadliest offensive attacks in the world.
And as Chelsea prepares to meet this offensive juggernaut at the Nou Camp on Tuesday in the first leg of its Champions League semifinal, manager Guus Hiddink has acknowledged that not many teams have had success in slowing Barca down.
"I think a lot of teams have shown it is very difficult to stop them, they are able to score," Hiddink said. "The front line is world class, Thierry Henry has class, experience, [Samuel] Eto'o I had as a young player at Real Madrid when he was 17, and at that time he was already impressive and of course he has won titles and has experience."
The Dutchman is not even mentioning the dangerous midfield duo of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, but along with defender Dani Alves, who has a propensity for getting forward, this is a team that is loaded with quality offensive players.
However, much of Chelsea's success defensively will be tied to how well they deal with Lionel Messi.
The dynamic young Argentine has scored eight goals in Champions League play this season, and he has spearheaded a Barca attack that has piled up 94 goals in 33 La Liga matches this season.
Hiddink would appear to be in good shape with the experienced Ashley Cole at left back, but the problem is that the England international will miss the first leg through suspension, leaving a hole opposite Messi.
"I could start crying about not having Cole in that position and also look for excuses," the boss said.
"I am not like that, I like to put the full energy and the confidence to (the player) who is substituting him in that position."
The player who appears set to replace Cole is Jose Bosingwa, the team's regular starter at right back.
The Portuguese international was moved to the left side for Chelsea's 1-0 win over West Ham on Saturday, and Hiddink seems content to hand the job to him.
"We have some more options, but if Bosingwa is doing well he can do the job," Hiddink said.
"If you go to a double man [marking system], then we fail somewhere, another player with the quality to cause the damage. If you focus too much on that you forget there are other big players that can do the damage."
Plenty of players did damage in Barca's 4-0 pounding of Bayern Munich in the first leg of their quarterfinal win, and even though Chelsea's defense has looked shaky at times, they promise to put up a stiffer resistance than the German champions.
Chelsea booked its place in the semifinals by beating old rivals Liverpool, and even though they looked impressive in scoring seven goals over the two legs, Barca midfielder Seidou Keita believes that his manager, Pep Guardiola, will have the team well prepared.
"The coach is very thorough when it comes to preparing for games," Keita said. "We watch a lot of their games and analyze their weak spots and threats.
"Chelsea is an opponent we know well, as they're a great side and we always look out for their scores. We have seen their games in the Premier League and in the Champions League. They are a tough side with some physically strong players who can make a difference."
The Catalan side does enter the match on the heels of a 2-2 draw with Valencia over the weekend that cut their lead over second-placed Real Madrid to just four points.
And with the two Spanish giants set to meet up at the Bernabeu on Saturday, there is a chance that Chelsea is catching Barca at a good time.
However, Keita has said that his team is in a good frame of mind, and that they are only worried about themselves.
"The team is calm because we're working well," the midfielder said. "We're just thinking of ourselves. We don t need to worry about what Real Madrid are doing. If things go right, we won't need to worry."
The other semifinal features a pair of familiar foes as English sides Manchester United and Arsenal square off at Old Trafford in the first leg on Wednesday.
The teams have only met once this season, a 2-1 Arsenal win at the Emirates Stadium, but they will meet up three times in less than three weeks, and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that his team must attack United on Wednesday despite playing on the road.
"At this level you have to be audacious away," Wenger said. "The weight of the away goal in European football could be discussed I feel. It may be a little bit too heavy.
"We have spoken about it, maybe making it a Carling Cup rule where it only comes in at extra time. At the moment you are encouraged to be very cautious at home but very audacious away from home."
Both sides are very good in attack, but Arsenal defender Kolo Toure believes that defense will decide who advances to the final in Rome.
"They are a really good team going forward but at the back they have conceded a few goals, like us," Toure said. "We have the same type of team - we both like to play but sometimes you can be caught out at the back. I think the team that will win will be the one that defends the best."
<< Kirilenko drops Fes opener
Fes, Morocco (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko was one
of two first-round losers Monday at the $220,000 Moroccan Grand Prix.
Poland's Marta Domachowska upended Kirilenko in 6-4, 6-4 fashion on the red
clay at Fes R
<< Kelly moves to No. 78 in world rankings
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jerry Kelly ended his seven-year winless
drought with a victory Sunday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, earning
the 42-year-old a 63-place bump to No. 78 in this week's world rankings.
Ahead of K
<< Flames D Phaneuf out for Game 6
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf will
miss Game 6 of his club's Western Conference quarterfinal series with the
Chicago Blackhawks Monday with an upper-body injury.
Phaneuf left in the third peri
<< Brown, Esche lead Americans in rout of Austria at Worlds
Bern, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dustin Brown posted a goal and two
assists, while Robert Esche stopped 25-of-26 shots as Team USA throttled
Austria, 6-1, in Group C play at the 2009 World Championships.
Patrick O'Sullivan,
Ochoa solidifies No. 1 ranking >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lorena Ochoa claimed her second win of the
season Sunday at the Corona Championship and strengthened her hold on the No.
1 ranking in women's golf.
Ochoa went from 13.72 average points to 14.47 in this w
Bulls G Gordon has injured hamstring, may miss Game 5 >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls announced Monday that guard
Ben Gordon suffered a strained left hamstring in Sunday's double-overtime win
against Boston and is day-to-day.
Gordon left Sunday's 121-118 triumph in Game 4 of
Boise State RB Johnson among 14 signed by Vikings >>
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Vikings agreed to
terms with 14 rookie free agents on Monday with former Boise State running
back Ian Johnson among them.
Johnson rushed for 766 yards and 13 touchdowns as
Wawrinka rolls; Blake falls in rainy Rome >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tenth-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka was a
first-round winner, while 14th-seeded American James Blake came up a loser
Monday at the $3.645 million Italian Masters tennis event.
The 2008 Rome runner-up
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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