Struggling Stuttgart, Nurnberg need a win

Soccer Betting Lines

11/02/2007 - Nuremberg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending Bundesliga champion Stuttgart and reigning league cup champion Nurnberg - which have combined to lose nearly as many games this season as the clubs did all of last year - play Saturday in a key league match for both clubs.

Stuttgart is the most disappointing club in the league this season, losing six of its first 11 matches to sit 12th in the standings with just 13 points.

Nurnberg, which finished sixth in the league last season, has also dropped six games through 11 matches, but is even worse shape with just nine points and is 15th in the league.

The teams lost just 13 matches combined all of last season.

Stuttgart (4-6-1) visits Nurnberg (2-6-3) on Saturday in a match featuring two clubs in desperate need of a victory.

"After their cup success," Stuttgart coach Armin Veh said, "Nuremberg have had similar problems to us in the league."

Stuttgart did gain a little momentum with a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen last week, snapping a three-game losing streak where it was outscored 8-2. But then VfB needed an overtime winner from Mario Gomez to edge Paderborn in the league cup on Wednesday.

"Of course a win like that (against Bayer) boosts a sides confidence, but in saying that, we thought the same thing when we beat Frankfurt 5-1," Nurnberg manager Hans Meyer said.

Nurnberg followed that impressive win with a 3-1 loss to Wolfsburg last week, a match Meyer said "we deserved to lose." Nurnberg added a loss to Carl Zeiss Jena in penalty kicks on Thursday in the league cup.

Although Stuttgart may have a little more momentum, it has yet to win (0-5) on the road this season in league play. It's a stat Meyer is aware of, but isn't very concerned with.

"Lets imagine all these statistics have absolutely no baring on the game. If we win, I'll tell you that it was clear to me that VfB would lose, if we are beaten then I'll have something to worry about ...," Meyer said.

Stuttgart will also not have Mexican defenders Pavel Pardo and Ricardo Osorio, who were given time off by Veh.

"Both have played over two years straight through without a break," Veh said, "so I've given them three days off."

Stuttgart is also without Roberto Hilbert, who tore a ligament in his ankle in last weekend's win over Bayer. He's expected to miss two-to-three weeks.

Nurnberg is also decimated by injuries and will not have Robert Vittek, Javier Pinola and Angelos Charisteas this weekend.

Nurnberg has gotten the better of Stuttgart recently, winning both matches in league play last season and a third meeting the league cup final. Nurnberg won those three games by a combined score of 10-3, including 3-0 and 4-1 victories during league play.

Of the two clubs, Nurnberg is more in need of a victory or it could be in one of the three relegation spots by the end of the weekend. Bochum and Duisburg each have nine points as well, but Nurnberg currently holds the tiebreaker.

Also on Saturday, first-place Bayern Munich hosts Eintracht, Werder Bremen hosts Rostock, Bayer Leverkusen hosts Arminia Bielefeld, Hamburg hosts Hertha Berlin, Bochum hosts Wolfsburg and Hannover hosts Borussia Dortmund.

On Sunday, Karlsruher hosts Duisburg and Bochum hosts Wolfsburg.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.