6-14-14

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Ben Burns 10* Main Event


Miami

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No Limit Sports

World Cup Soccer

2* Draw (Ivory Coast vs Japan) +215

1* Colombia/Greece Over 2 (+104)

1* Costa Rica +1 (+104)

1* Draw (England vs Italy) +200

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World Cup Game of the Day: England vs. Italy

England vs. Italy (-108, +101, DRAW +207)

If the English soccer team hopes to end a 48-year World Cup title drought, it will need to be sharp right from the get-go as it faces off against Italy on Saturday in the tournament opener for both teams. England stumbled early in qualifying but pulled out victories over Montenegro and Poland to ease fans' concerns heading into the World Cup. The English side was pummelled 4-1 by Germany in the round of sixteen at the previous tournament.

Up first in Brazil is a sensational Italy side that will be seeking its fifth World Cup championship. The Italians have qualified for the tournament every four years since 1962, and had absolutely no trouble this time around with an undefeated showing in the qualifying round. Italy would love nothing more than to erase the memory of its dismal showing in 2010, when it was sent home early after drawing Paraguay and New Zealand and losing to Slovakia.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, ESPN

WORLD RANKINGS: England: No. 10; Italy: No. 9

INJURY REPORT: England: F Danny Walbeck is dealing with a thigh injury and is considered questionable for the match; F Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain injured his knee in Wednesday's friendly with Ecuador and is questionable for Saturday. Italy: D Mattia De Sciglio has a strained thigh and will miss the game against England; MF Riccardo Montolivo suffered a broken leg against Ireland earlier this month and will miss the tournament.

WHAT THE SHARPS SAY: "England come into this game as 2/1 underdogs against the Azzurri with the last two meetings between the sides ending in a draw, We expect a conservative approach from both teams tomorrow, the Tropical heat in Manaus will also play a key role." - Covers Experts' Footy Tipster

WHAT THE BOOKS SAY: "Always one of the favorites to win the World Cup at (+2,000) and (+160) to win Group D, Italy opens the tournament against a difficult opponent in England. We have seen solid two-way action leading up to this game and 98 percent of the action on the Over on the 1.5-goal total." - Michael Stewart, CarbonSports.ag.

ABOUT ENGLAND: Roy Hodgson's club faces unusually low expectations as veterans move out and a host of young players take over. With an eye toward future tournaments, the English hope their youthful core - led by Raheem Stirling and Daniel Sturrige of Liverpool and Ross Barkley of Everton - will gain some valuable experience against one of the toughest groups in the tournament. England will be looking to exact revenge after being knocked out of Euro 2012 by the Italians, though it did prevail 2-1 in a friendly back in August 2012.

ABOUT ITALY: One of the most experienced teams in the tournament, the Azzurri won't be intimidated by the grand international stage. Superstars Mario Balotelli, Andreqa Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon highlight a veteran squad that features several high-level club team pairings - creating a comfort level that should give Italy a decided advantage over other rosters. The Italians have yet to win in 2014, dropping a 1-0 decision to world No. 1 Spain before settling for draws with Ireland in May and Luxembourg earlier this month.

TRENDS:

* Italy and England last faced off at a World Cup in 1990, with the Italians prevailing 2-1 in the third-place game.
* The Italians own a slim 9-8-7 edge in the all-time series.
* The average age of the English side is 26, the lowest such total since 1958.

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World Cup: England vs Italy Saturday June 14,2014

Overview

The seventh match of the FIFA World Cup 2014 is going to be held between England and Italy. Already considered to the "group of death," Group D has these two giants who are former world champions. This is one of the most awaited matches in the group stage. View Full Image


REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
Italy's national soccer player Mario Balotelli (L) and his coach Cesare Prandelli look on during a training session ahead of the 2014 World Cup at the Portobello training center in Mangaratiba June 11, 2014.

Related Articles
FIFA World Cup 2014 Predictions: Match #1 Brazil vs. Croatia
FIFA World Cup 2014 Predictions: Match #2 Mexico vs. Cameroon
FIFA World Cup 2014 Predictions: Match #3 Spain vs. Netherlands

Teams

England: England it qualified for the World Cup 2014 without suffering a single defeat. While it maintained the no-loss record in the pre-world cup friendlies as well, it failed to secure victory against Ecuador (2-2) and a relatively much weaker team like Honduras (0-0). It is uncertain if striker Danny Welbeck will play this match as he suffered a thigh injury just before the crunch match. Wayne Rooney will score in this match.

Italy: Italy finished only second at the previous occasion of the UEFA European Championship. However, it failed to win against Republic of Ireland (0-0) and Luxembourg (1-1) in the pre-world cup friendlies. Although this version of Italy is far from the best it can offer, it has some players who can be lethal for the opposition. Mario Balotelli will be a key factor, so will Andrea Pirlo.

Head to Head

These two arch-rivals played against each other 24 times before. England won 8, Italy 9 and 7 matches ended in a draw. There were 57 goals scored. England scores 30 of them and Italy 27. The record shows the high scoring capabilities of these two teams against each other.

Key Players

England: Wayne Rooney, Jack Wilshere & Daniel Sturridge

Italy: Mario Balotelli, Giuseppe Rossi & Andrea Pirlo

Date, Time & Venue

Brazil's time zone is UTC/GMT -3. The match starts at 6 pm (local time) on June 14, which means it is 8 am on June 15 in New South Wales, Australia. The match will be held at Arena Amazonia in Manaus.

Prediction

This game may well be one of the most violent matches in the tournament. With both teams having several players famous for their volatile temperament, expect a lot of booking. While it is extremely difficult to separate the two, it is Mario Balotelli who will make all the difference. Predicting a 3-2 result for the crucial match, I put Italy inches forward in the game

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SPORTS WAGERS

Greece +440 over Columbia

An exciting showdown between the #8 ranked Colombians and 12th ranked Greece. Colombia came to the FIFA World Cup by way of exceptional play in their CONMEBOL qualification leg. Los Cafeteros have been able to force draws with Argentina and defeat Uruguay and Ecuador. Most recently, in an international friendly, the Colombians were able to procure an impressive 2-0 victory over highly touted Belgium. It is clearly indicative that Colombia can contend against top flight squads but they are overpriced here against this outstanding defensive opponent.

What is shocking is the disparity between Colombia and Greece by the oddsmakers. This is rather overwhelming considering Greece comes from the pedigree of UEFA qualification, accumulating twenty-five points on their way to qualification. Greece attained a berth to the 2014 World Cup by virtue of a play-off with Romania, where Greece emerged victorious in the aggregate. The thorn in the Greek side was an underrated Bosnia and Herzegovnia club. The Greeks allowed just four goals in their 10 group-stage games, three of which came in a single match against group winner, Bosnia. In typical Greek style, they won six qualifiers 1-0. Expect the Greeks to be as stingy as ever and give them a legit shot of pulling this upset.

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ANTHONY MICHAEL

#960 St. Louis Cardinals with Miller moneyline +110 (7:15 edt)

Strasburg has been pitching well recently but he is in a bad spot here since the Cardinals have gone 6-2 at home against the Nationals and they are excellent on Saturday games. The Cards are 7-2 over the past few years as a small home underdog as well. Washington is terrible on Saturday and Miller goes for St. Louis who has been outstanding against Washington in the past.

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HONDO

Hondo followed up his three-way wipeout Thursday with a Friday night double-flusher with the Indians and Nationals that sent the deficit skyrocketing to 1,345 kubeks.

Saturday night: Mr. Aitch will try to overcome his World Cup fever and bring home a winner with the Yankees — 10 units on Kuroda to do the Hiroki-pokey in Oakland.

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Saturday's World Cup Tips
By Toby Maxtone-Smith
VegasInsider


England vs. Italy


England face Italy in what is surely the game of the day in Group D of the World Cup on Saturday. These two sides have five World Cups between them and have two of the world’s most famous and history national leagues. However neither national team is among the front-runners to win the World Cup, with England at 28/1 and Italy quoted at 20/1, both with Sportsbook.ag.


This group, with Uruguay and Costa Rica the other two teams represented, looks very likely to be a ‘two from three’ scenario, with few expecting Costa Rica to challenge the ‘big three’. This game will be played in the steamy heat of Manaus, albeit at nighttime when the heat will be less oppressive. The pitch does not look the best, and this could have an effect, particularly on Italy who are more comfortable on the ball than England.


Both teams have had dodgy pre-tournament qualifiers, with Italy’s 1-1 draw with Luxembourg particularly embarrassing, but it is dubious how important these matches are, and I would not advise paying too much attention to them. The World Cup is about who can perform on the big stage, and warm-up matches where players’ main concern is avoiding injury are certainly not that big stage.


Bookmakers have this down as a real low-scorer. However in the four games so far, we have seen an incredible 15 goals - the traditional slow start to the tournament has not happened at all with every team going for it. What a breath of fresh air. Italy are the slight favourites at 147/100, with England at 9/5 and the draw as short as 197/100.


It’s very short indeed, but I fancy the draw here. The two sides played out a 0-0 in the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 (Italy went through on penalties), and there seems to be a lack of real magic in the final third from either team, particularly if Mario Balotelli has one of his off-days. In the end, this group may come down to who beats Costa Rica by the most goals, and a draw would be a decent result for both sides. Under 1.5 goals is as short as 13/10, illustrating how cagey the match is expected to be.


In the goalscorer markets, Mario Balotelli is at 6/1, but the leader in the market is Andrea Pirlo. Although he does take set-pieces and penalties, he is unlikely to threaten much from open play and this price seems based more on reputation that facts.


For England, Daniel Sturridge leads the line and is a 7/1 shot, but his finishing was poor in the warm-up games, despite a clinical season at Liverpool. Wayne Rooney is a continual underperformer at major tournaments and should be avoided at 9/1.


Top Bet: Draw at 197/100


Uruguay vs. Costa Rica


The other game in this group sees Uruguay, the winners the last time Brazil hosted the World Cup, in 1950, face group outsiders Costa Rica. Uruguay will see this game as a great chance to take the initiative in this group with both or one of their main rivals set to slip up. Three years ago, they were undoubtedly South America’s best team after they won the 2011 Copa America, but since then it has gone downhill for them and they needed a play-off victory against Jordan to secure a place in Brazil.


They are as short as 19/50 to win this game. Costa Rica are not the worst side at the tournament, but they stand very little chance of winning any of their games, and their main aim will be to frustrate. A draw is at 7/2 with a Costa Rica win an 11/2 chance.


The two bets I like here are a 2-0 Uruguay win - they rarely thrash teams but have great tournament know-how and will put in a professional performance. This is 9/2. The other one is for Joel Campbell, Costa Rica’s lightning-quick forward, to score. The Arsenal loanee is Costa Rica’s star player and has the quality to get in behind a slow Uruguay defence. If anyone will score for Costa Rica, it will be him. At 4/1 it’s worth a punt.


Top Bets: Uruguay to win 2-0 at 9/2, Joel Campbell to score anytime at 4/1


Greece vs. Colombia


The first game of the day sees Colombia take on Greece at the Estadio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte. Colombia are the South American equivalent of Belgium - a team that hasn’t qualified for the World Cup for a long time, but has suddenly found themselves blessed with a golden generation of players, particularly in attacking positions. Greece, meanwhile, will be what they always are: stubborn, defensive, and able to cause a shock.


Colombia are the big 71/100 favourites, but I think the 13/5 draw makes great appeal. Greece only conceded four goals in ten matches of qualifying, and Colombia’s ability to stick the ball in the back of the net will be greatly diminished with Falcao’s injury, even though it means Colombia will play five in midfield which suits their players better.


Greece are devoid of any real creativity, but in Kostas Manolas and (breathe in) Sokratis Papastathopoulos they have two fine centre-backs. They will rely on Colombia committing too many men forward and breaking into space. Over 2.5 goals is 8/5, with the under option quoted at 1/2.


Top Bet: Draw at 13/5


Japan vs. Ivory Coast


The last game of the day sees Ivory Coast and Japan meet in Recife at the Arena Pernambuco. Both teams have been among the best in their continent for several years now. Japan have one of the most underrated midfields in the World Cup, with Shinji Kagawa, Yasuhito Endo and Keisuke Honda all capable of dominating the midfield. In Shinji Okazaki the Japanese have finally found a regular goalscorer.


This is the last chance for the Ivory Coast team of Didier Drogba and Yaya Touré to really make a splash at the World Cup after group stage exits in 2006 and 2010. However their team is a collection of individuals with little cohesion between the players, while the defence is old and creaking. While Yaya Touré had a great season at club level, for the national team he is often played out of position


The bookies have got the prices a bit wrong here, for me. I’m all over Japan at 7/4 - they have a great team ethic to go with their individual quality, and I think they could be one of the real surprise packages in Brazil. Ivory Coast are far too short to touch at 29/20 with the draw at 53/25.


Top Bet: Japan at 7/4

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Uruguay v Costa Rica: World Cup 2014 match preview

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Uruguay v Costa Rica
Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza
Kick-off: 20.00 BST.
TV: ITV.

Uruguay (Possible, 4-4-2): Muslera; Pereira, Lugano, Godin, Caceres; Rios, Lodeiro, Stuani, Rodriguez; Forlan, Cavani.
Test: Suárez (knee).

Costa Rica (Possible, 5-4-1): Navas; Gamboa, Umana, Gonzalez, Acosta, Diaz; Bolanos, Borges, Tejeda; Campbell, Ruiz.

Referee: Felix Brych (Germany).


Betting: Uruguay 4-9, Costa Rica 15-2, Draw 3-1.

Team News
The chances of Liverpool’s Footballer of the Year Luis Suárez starting for Uruguay against Costa Rica are slim, so Diego Forlan – provided he has recovered from a stomach upset – and Edison Cavani are likely to start in attack.

Costa Rica will include Arsenal striker Joel Campbell as the spearhead to their attack, though few Gunners’ fans know much about him as work permit problems mean he has been plying his trade most recently with Olympiakos, in Greece.

Match Notes
If Uruguay require inspiration, they can turn to the history books: this will be Uruguay's first World Cup match on Brazilian soil since their famous 2-1 victory over the hosts in the final of the 1950 tournament.

Stat of the game: Costa Rica have never beaten Uruguay in eight attempts in all competitions.

Stat of the game: In eight previous meetings, Costa Rica have never won, losing six and drawing two.

John Ley's prediction: Uruguay 2 Costa Rica 1.

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Colombia v Greece: World Cup 2014 match preview

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Colombia v Greece
Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte
Kick-off: 17.00 BST.
TV: BBC.

Colombia (Possible, 4-4-2): Ospina; Zuniga, Yepes, Zapata, Armero; Cuadrado, Aguilar, Rodriguez, Sanchez; Gutierez, Martinez.

Greece (Possible, 4-4-2): Karnezis; Torosidis, Papasthathopoulos, Manolas, Holebas; Salpingidis, Katsouranis, Maniatis, Kone; Samaras, Mitroglou.

Referee: Mark Geiger (USA).


Betting: Colombia 8-11, Greece 9-2, Draw 9-4.

Team News
Colombia are sure to miss striker Radamel Falcao, whose knee injury suffered in January, ruled him out of contention for a place in the squad.

In the absence of Falcao, Teofilo Gutierrez, who plays for River Plate in Argentina, is expected to carry his team's goal-scoring burden against the Greeks.

Greece should start with Kostas Mitroglou, whose £12 million move to Fulham has so far been little short of a nightmare.

But the player called 'Pistolero' by his adoring Greek fans has eight international goals and has a knack of scoring at the right time.

Match Notes
Colombia are ranked eighth in the world at present and are on familiar territory as well, so they will be confident of a good start.

Despite Falcao’s absence they have sufficient resources to overcome a Greek side that reached the quarter-finals at Euro 2012 but had to qualify for the finals via the Play-offs and a 4-2 aggregate victory over Romania.

Stat of the game: Greece have won just one out of six games in two previous World Cup finals appearances. That was against Nigeria in South Africa four years ago.

John Ley's prediction: Colombia 2 Greece 0.

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Cappers Access


Phillies -120
Brewers -135

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Gamblers Data

Free Plays Saturday

TBay/Houston under 8

Dodgers/Dbacks over 7.5

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Free Selection from Arthur Ralph Sports


Free Play Sat TampaBay -115

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Today's MLB Picks

Washington at St. Louis

The Cardinals continue their series tonight against Washington and come into the contest with a 9-1 record in their last 10 games as a home underdog. St. Louis is the pick (+110) according to Dunkel, which has the Cardinals favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (+110). Here are all of today's picks.

SATURDAY, JUNE 14 Time Posted: 7:30 a.m. EST

Game 951-952: Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia (3:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Cubs (Jackson) 13.569; Philadelphia (Buchanan) 15.225 Dunkel Line: Philadelphia by 1 1/2; 8 Vegas Line: Philadelphia (-120); 8 1/2 Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (-120); Under

Game 953-954: Colorado at San Francisco (4:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (Bergman) 15.330; San Francisco (Vogelsong) 14.428 Dunkel Line: Colorado by 1; 9 Vegas Line: San Francisco (-165); 7 1/2 Dunkel Pick: Colorado (+145); Over

Game 955-956: Pittsburgh at Miami (4:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Pittsburgh (Morton) 14.068; Miami (Wolf) 15.718 Dunkel Line: Miami by 1 1/2; 7 Vegas Line: Miami (-110); 8 Dunkel Pick: Miami (-110); Under

Game 957-958: San Diego at NY Mets (7:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: San Diego (Hahn) 15.469; NY Mets (Wheeler) 14.553 Dunkel Line: San Diego by 1; 9 Vegas Line: No Line Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 959-960: Washington at St. Louis (7:15 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Washington (Strasburg) 15.003; St. Louis (Miller) 16.213 Dunkel Line: St. Louis by 1; 7 Vegas Line: Washington (-130); 6 1/2 Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (+110); Over

Game 961-962: Cincinnati at Milwaukee (7:15 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Cincinnati (Latos) 16.094; Milwaukee (Gallardo) 15.119 Dunkel Line: Cincinnati by 1; 7 Vegas Line: Milwaukee (-135); 7 1/2 Dunkel Pick: Cincinnati (+115); Under

Game 963-964: Arizona at LA Dodgers (10:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Collmenter) 16.512; LA Dodgers (Haren) 14.225 Dunkel Line: Arizona by 2 1/2; 9 Vegas Line: LA Dodgers (-145); 7 1/2 Dunkel Pick: Arizona (+125); Over

Game 965-966: Kansas City at Chicago White Sox (2:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Kansas City (Duffy) 15.067; White Sox (Noesi) 16.646 Dunkel Line: Chicago White Sox by 1 1/2; 8 Vegas Line: Chicago White Sox (-110); 8 1/2 Dunkel Pick: Chicago White Sox (-110); Under

Game 967-968: Cleveland at Boston (4:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (House) 16.688; Boston (Peavy) 15.582 Dunkel Line: Cleveland by 1; 10 Vegas Line: Boston (-145); 9 Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (+125); Over

Game 969-970: Toronto at Baltimore (7:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Toronto (Dickey) 17.623; Baltimore (Norris) 16.233 Dunkel Line: Toronto by 1 1/2; 8 Vegas Line: Toronto (-120); 9 Dunkel Pick: Toronto (-120); Under

Game 971-972: Minnesota at Detroit (4:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota (Deduno) 17.312; Detroit (Sanchez) 16.233 Dunkel Line: Minnesota by 1; 9 Vegas Line: Detroit (-180); 8 1/2 Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (+160); Over

Game 973-974: Tampa Bay at Houston (4:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay (Archer) 15.103; Houston (Cosart) 13.641 Dunkel Line: Tampa Bay by 1 1/2; 7 Vegas Line: Tampa Bay (-120); 8 Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (-120); Under

Game 975-976: NY Yankees at Oakland (10:05 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: NY Yankees (Kuroda) 16.727; Oakland (Kazmir) 15.682 Dunkel Line: NY Yankees by 1; 8 Vegas Line: Oakland (-170); 7 Dunkel Pick: NY Yankees (+150); Over

Game 977-978: Texas at Seattle (10:10 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: Texas (Saunders) 14.620; Seattle (Ramirez) 15.951 Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1 1/2; 7 Vegas Line: Seattle (-125); 8 Dunkel Pick: Seattle (-125); Under

Game 979-980: LA Angels at Atlanta (7:15 p.m. EST) Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Richards) 17.014; Atlanta (Floyd) 15.834 Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 1; 8 Vegas Line: Atlanta (-110); 7 1/2 Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (-110); Over