Palermo hopes to close out solid 2006 run with a win

Soccer Betting Lines

12/22/2006 - Siena, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After a strong 2006 campaign, Palermo looks to close out the year on Saturday against a Siena team that has not seen a win in eight Serie A games.

"We have to make the last effort in order to try to close this year in the best way ever although we know that it won't be easy in Siena," goalkeeper Alberto Fontana told the club's website.

The Palermo club has spent the majority of the last 30 years in lower divisions, but will travel to Siena standing third on the Serie A table, trailing leader Internazionale by 11, remaining the same amount of points clear of the relegation zone with 34 to its name.

The hosts have gone the opposite of Palermo as of late, starting out solidly in league play, but have not seen three points since October 29, including the club's latest defeat to Empoli on Wednesday of this week, while Palermo comes off a 4-0 demolition of Ascoli.

The visitors will be without striker Andrea Carraciolo due to a fractured toe suffered while slipping as he got out of the bath, sidelining the forward for up to three weeks, thankfully for Carraciolo this recovery time will be during the winter break.

Siena will welcome back Daniele Portanova from suspension, while Erjon Bogdani, Francesco Cozza and Alberto will all be available after overcoming injuries, as Roberto D'Aversa will be probable after not being able to train normally because of muscle issues.

In other Serie A fixtures this weekend, Ascoli looks for its first win of the campaign against a visiting Chievo Verona, while Livorno looks to rebound from its 4-1 whipping handed out by Sampdoria, who travels to Catania Calcio in a battle of four versus six.

Parma defender Fernando Couto takes on his former team on Saturday when Lazio travels to the Stadio Ennio Tardini, while Udinese welcomes in AC Milan to the Stadio Friuli and a pair of 15-point squads meet up when Messina travels to Fiorentina.

Reggina will continue its battle to stay out of the relegation zone when Empoli arrives at the Stadio Oreste Granillo, while unbeaten Inter looks to tie the Serie A record of 11-straight wins set by Roma last season when Atalanta comes for a visit and second-place Roma hosts Cagliari.

SERIE A WEEKEND FIXTURES

SATURDAY -------- Ascoli - Chievo Verona

Catania Calcio - Sampdoria

Fiorentina - Messina

Inter Milan - Atalanta

Livorno - Torino

Parma - Lazio

Reggina - Empoli

Roma - Cagliari

Siena - Palermo

Udinese - AC Milan

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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