Ghana kicks off Group D play against Serbia

Soccer Betting Lines

06/12/2010 - Pretoria, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin-Prince Boateng made headlines on the international level before ever playing for Ghana, and now the German- born midfielder is set to make more on the field at the World Cup.

Boateng, who played for Germany at the youth level, injured German captain Michael Ballack in the FA Cup final playing for Portsmouth against Chelsea. Ballack was ruled out of the World Cup. Boateng, despite being vilified, stepped up for Ghana.

The 23-year-old Boateng made his first appearance for Ghana on June 5, going into central midfield to replace the injured Sulley Muntari in a friendly against Latvia. Boateng teamed with Anthony Annan in the holding midfield roles.

With Muntari, who helped Inter Milan win the Champions League final, battling a thigh injury and Michael Essien already lost to injury, Boateng could start Sunday when his country plays Serbia in the teams' Group D opener at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

"It was his first game and he played in an unfamiliar role for him but he handled it quite well. It is the role I want to give him but for a first game with Ghana he did well," Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac said.

Although Essien was the big injury news for Ghana leading up to the World Cup, possibly playing without Muntari is another blow. Ghana will need Boateng and others to step up, or advancing past the group stage will be impossible.

"There are other young and hungry players who will be equally passionate to play," Rajevac said on Ghana's website.

Ghana advanced to the knockout stage in 2006 but lost to Brazil. Rajevac still has more World Cup veterans, including defenders John Pantsil, John Mensah and Eric Addo, and goalie Richard Kingson, to mix in with the young talent.

Serbia, one of the most underrated teams in the World Cup, will provide a huge challenge in the opener. The Serbians won Group 7 in European qualifying with one of their two losses at France and the other in a meaningless match against Lithuania when a World Cup berth was already secured.

Serbia has been impressive under manager Radomir Antic, but has never faced a three-game stretch like the one that awaits them in South Africa. But led by defenders Nemanja Vidic of Manchester United and Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic, the country - which makes up part of the former Yugoslavia, and Serbia and Montenegro - could surprise.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.