Ancelotti Half Host Wrap Against A

Soccer Betting Lines

Manchester United has lost two straight Premier League contests to help Tottenham climb back into the title race, entering the weekend tied with Spurs on 45 points apiece. United will aim to keep the pressure on City as the Red Devils host Bolton at Old Trafford on Saturday.

 

Chelsea has its hands full with a Saturday clash against Sunderland at Stamford Bridge. Under new manager Martin O'Neill, the Black Cats have won four of six Premier League games to improve to 24 points on the year. The Blues, meanwhile, have taken just six points from their last five games and are quickly fading away from the title picture.

 

And Sunday, Newcastle looks to build upon its stunning three-goal victory over Manchester United in its last outing as it hosts QPR, while Swansea City, unbeaten in its last three, welcomes Arsenal to the Liberty Stadium.

 

Wolfsburg is 12th in the Bundesliga, and opens the second half against Cologne on Jan. 21.

 

Although PSG, which spent more than $100 million on offseason transfers, is at the summit, that was not enough to save former coach Antoine Kombouare.

 

Ancelotti will make his Ligue 1 debut Saturday at the Parc des Princes against Toulouse, when a win - and a convincing one - will be expected. But Ancelotti, who has changed the team's formation, knows nothing will come easy.

 

PSG managed just a 2-1 win over Locmine last week in the French Cup, as it was able to squeeze into the last 32. Ancelotti switched the club to a 4-3-2-1 for that game, but "after three days of training it is difficult to make it work," he admitted.

 

Like Ancelotti, Javier Pastore will continue to shoulder a lot of pressure - only on the field. Pastore has six goals, but as the most expensive offseason addition at around $50 million, he has still disappeared at times.

 

PSG had already been eliminated from the Europa League, so the French Cup and Ligue 1 title are both targets for Ancelotti. The first step is a victory this week, or his tenure will be off to a rocky start.

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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.