05/09/2008 - Wolfsburg, Germany (Soccer Betting) - Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath described Saturday's Bundesliga match against Stuttgart as a "final."
Wolfsburg has climbed from 11th at the halfway point of the season to seventh - only Bayern Munich and Schalke have more points in the second half - and has two games left to try and qualify for the UEFA Cup.
Wolfsburg and Stuttgart are among five teams battling for the two spots in the UEFA Cup - Bayern, Werder Bremen and Schalke already have the Champions League berths secured.
Saturday's full schedule - eight of the nine matches will help decide either a European spot or relegation - is highlighted by Stuttgart's trip to Volkswagen Arena.
"We have a real final match here at home for the UEFA Cup against Stuttgart," Magath said. "Now that we're so close, we want to move into international football."
Wolfsburg is unbeaten in its last three, tying Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern and defeating Eintracht earlier this week. Wolfsburg is seventh but just three off Stuttgart and Hamburg - two teams with 51 points and in the final two European spots.
Stuttgart and Hamburg had opportunities to open six-point cushions this week, but both lost. Stuttgart, despite two goals from Mario Gomez, was defeated by Borussia Dortmund, 3-2.
"There are only two games left for us to play now. Before this game we planned to win the final three matches, but now we must win the last two," Gomez said.
"We just have to put that game behind us now and focus our attention on the final two matches," Stuttgart captain Pavel Pardo said.
In the other games involving UEFA Cup contenders, eighth-place Hannover plays at Werder Bremen, which is trying to secure second place in the league. Sixth- place Bayer Leverkusen visits Rostock, which is last in the league and needs a lot of help to avoid relegation. Hamburg visits Energie, which is two points clear of the drop zone.
Three other clubs in the relegation struggle - Arminia Bielefeld, Duisburg and Nurnberg - face different tasks this week. Arminia Bielefeld hosts Dortmund, which just clinched its survival, Duisburg hosts champions Bayern and Nurnberg visits Hertha Berlin.
Schalke, which has been the second-best team in the second half of the season, hosts Eintracht with an eye on second place. The second-place team goes right to the group stage of the Champions League and the third-place team has to go through qualifying.
The only meaningless match this week is Bochum at Karlsruher. Bochum is clear of the relegation zone and Karlsruher, the surprise of the league for most of the season, can no longer qualify for the UEFA Cup.
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Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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