Inter remains the team to beat in Serie A

Soccer Betting Lines

08/27/2010 - Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Inter Milan has dominated Serie A over the past four seasons, and after a summer transfer period that has been extremely uneventful, the Nerazzurri will enter the season as favorites to retain their title.

Inter returns almost the same team that captured the treble last season, minus talented but troubled striker Mario Balotelli, while the biggest loss could be felt on the bench, as former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez replaces the departed Jose Mourinho, who left for Real Madrid.

Benitez failed to capture the UEFA Super Cup on Friday in a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid, meaning that Inter's Serie A campaign will not get underway until Monday, when the club travels to Bologna.

Roma has been the chief opposition to Inter over the past few years, finishing as runners-up in both the league and Coppa Italia last season. But outside of adding Brazilian striker Adriano over the summer, the club failed to make any other significant additions, which leaves them a little short on talent when compared to Inter.

Claudio Ranieri's side opens its season at home against promoted club Cesena, while AC Milan will host Lecce.

Milan also failed to make any big moves over the summer, but they are hopeful that they can reach a deal with Barcelona for striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic before the close of the transfer window next week.

The former Inter sniper would be a welcome addition to a Milan attack that sorely needs some freshening up.

Juventus endured a horrible campaign last season, finishing seventh in Serie A. The club is now hoping a number of new signings, most notably Italy international Fabio Quagliarella, can help to reverse its fortunes, and the Old Lady will begin its season on the road at Bari.

Genoa visits Udinese on Saturday with both teams entertaining hopes of a spot in Europe, while Napoli made one of the biggest moves of the summer with the capture of Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani from Palermo.

Napoli finished last season in sixth place and the team will be looking to push into the top four this season, which starts with an away match at Fiorentina.

The Viola ended last season in a disappointing 11th place, and they will also be without one of their top players, Stevan Jovetic, for the first half of the season after he ruptured his cruciate ligament in early August.

In other action on the opening weekend of Serie A, Catania visits Chievo, Palermo hosts Cagliari, Brescia hits the road to meet Parma and Sampdoria tangles with Lazio.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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