PSG maintains lead in Ligue 1 with win over Brest

Soccer Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Brest, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PSG maintained its three-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 with a 1-0 win over Brest at the Stade Francis-Le Ble on Saturday.

It looked as if PSG would comfortably cruise to three points after Milan Bisevac scored in the sixth minute, but the league leaders were kept at bay for the remainder of the match as Brest ensured a respectable scoreline.

PSG has won three-straight Ligue 1 contests and is unbeaten in its last six league games. The Paris club sets the pace in the French top flight with 46 points on the year.

The win turned out to be a crucial one in the title race as second-place Montpellier also picked up a win Saturday, defeating Nice, 1-0, at the Stade Municipal du Ray. It remains three points adrift of first-place PSG.

Brest, which sits just outside the top-half of the table on 24 points, sees its five-match unbeaten in league play come to an end.

Both sides return to Ligue 1 action on Feb. 4 as PSG welcomes Evian to the Parc des Princes and Brest heads to the Stade de la Mosson for a tough encounter with Montpellier.

Nancy 3, Auxerre 1

Auxerre, France - Yohan Mollo bagged a brace with Daniel Niculae notching a goal in between to help Nancy claim a 3-1 win over Auxerre on Saturday.

Mollo scored his first in the 68th minute before Niculae quickly doubled the advantage with a goal a minute later. Mollo wrapped up the affair with his second goal of the game in the 78th minute. Edouard Cisse nabbed the only goal for Auxerre, netting in the 82nd minute.

The win brings Nancy (22 points) three points clear of the relegation zone, while Auxerre (19 points) remains one spot out of the drop zone on goal differential.

Lille 3, St. Etienne 0

Lille, France - Lille notched three second-half goals to cruise to a 3-0 defeat of St. Etienne at the Stade Lille-Metropole on Saturday.

Eden Hazard converted from the penalty spot in the 50th minute before Nolan Roux grabbed his first two goals of the Ligue 1 season in the 86th and 87th minutes to wrap up the win.

Lille, now with 39 points, moves back into third place after Lyon claimed a 3-1 win over Dijon earlier in the day. St. Etienne sits in eighth place with 33 points.

Montpellier 1, Nice 0

Nice, France - Montpellier edged Nice in dramatic fashion Saturday as Olivier Giroud scored at the death to see his club claim a 1-0 win to keep pace with PSG atop Ligue 1.

Giroud notched his league-leading 15th goal of the season in second-half stoppage time, helping Montpellier to 43 points on the season. It trails first-place PSG by three points.

Nice drops its second-straight league result to remain in the relegation zone on 18 points.

Lyon 3, Dijon 1

Lyon, France - Lyon left it late but still managed to snap a two-game losing skid in league play as it defeated Dijon, 3-1, at the Stade de Gerland on Saturday.

Jimmy Briand opened the scoring for Lyon in the eighth minute, but Dijon equalized through Younousse Sankhare in the 61st minute. Bafetimbi Gomis lifted the home side to the victory, putting Lyon back in front eight minutes from time before Alexandre Lacazette added a third in stoppage time.

Lyon improves to 38 points as it looks to sneak back into the title race, while Dijon remains on 22 points as it looks to avoid relegation.

Lorient 1, Sochaux 1

Lorient, France - Lorient and Sochaux traded second-half goals on Saturday as the two sides played to a 1-1 draw at the Stade du Moustoir.

Alaixys Romao put the home side in front with his strike in the 63rd minute, but Sochaux leveled 10 minutes from time through French forward Cedric Bakambu.

Lorient has drawn three-straight league games to climb to 26 points on the season, while Sochaux sees its four-game losing skid come to end an end as it improves to 19 points.

Toulouse 1, Caen 0

Toulouse, France - French striker Emmanuel Riviere scored the lone for Toulouse in a 1-0 home defeat of Caen at the Stadium Municipal de Toulouse on Saturday.

Riviere provided the break through in the 35th minute to see his side improve to 34 points on the season.

Caen, winless in its last eight league matches, sits three points clear of the relegation zone on 22 points.

Sandboc Soccer Betting News

<< AZ Alkmaar stumbles at Roda
Kerkrade, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AZ Alkmaar failed to regain the top spot in the Eredivisie on Saturday as the club slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Roda. PSV Eindhoven moved two points clear of AZ after a 3-1 victory against Vitess

<< Iowa State takes down No. 5 Kansas
Ames, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Royce White netted 18 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists as Iowa State pulled off a 72-64 upset of fifth- ranked Kansas on Saturday. Melvin Ejim finished with 15 points and eight r

<< Bears tab Emery as GM
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears announced on Saturday that they have hired Phil Emery as the team's fifth general manager in franchise history. Emery joins the Bears with 14 years of NFL experience un

<< No. 2 Missouri tops Texas Tech
Columbia, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kim English led all scorers with 22 points as No. 2 Missouri remained undefeated at home with a 63-50 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday. Marcus Denmon added 19 points and six boards and Michael Dixon ch

<< Florida defeats Mississippi State
Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bradley Beal scored 19 points, Erik Murphy netted 14 and 14th-ranked Florida ran away with the game in the second half to take a 69-57 decision over No. 18 Mississippi State on Saturday. Patric Young add

Matri brace preserves unbeaten season for Juventus >>
Turin, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alessandro Matri scored twice at Juventus Stadium on Saturday to help Juventus preserve its unbeaten start to the Serie A season with a 2-1 defeat of third-place Udinese. Matri put Juventus in front j

Stanley 5 clear at Torrey Pines >>
La Jolla, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Stanley posted a four-under 68 on Saturday and opened a comfortable five-shot lead after the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open. He finished 54 holes at 18-under 198 and matched the t

Jones helps Kentucky take down LSU >>
Baton Rouge, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Terrence Jones scored a season-high 27 points, as No. 1 Kentucky continued to roll Saturday with a 74-50 win over LSU. Anthony Davis had 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for the Wildcats

Bucks' Jackson suspended one game >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA announced Saturday that Milwaukee Bucks guard Stephen Jackson will be suspended one game for verbally abusing an official and failing to leave the court in a timely manner during Friday's loss to

Robinson and Pitt upset Georgetown >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nasir Robinson scored a season-high 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds as Pittsburgh remained perfect at home against top-10 teams with a 72-60 victory over ninth-ranked Georgetown. Lamar Patt

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.