TFC tries to keep unblemished home record against Rapids

Soccer Betting Lines

07/09/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Toronto FC puts its home unbeaten streak on the line on Saturday when they welcome the Colorado Rapids to BMO Field.

TFC has yet to taste defeat at home this season after Dan Gargan rescued a point for the Reds last time out with an 84th-minute equalizer to help them claim a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo.

The result was the third successive draw for Toronto, but it also extended the teams unbeaten streak to seven games, leaving them in third place in the Eastern Conference table.

The game was an ill-tempered affair that featured two TFC players, Julian de Guzman and Amadou Sanyang, both being sent off, meaning that both will miss out on Saturday's game along with defender Emmanuel Gomez, who is out with a knee injury.

One player who could be available to head coach Preki is striker Maicon Santos, who was signed on Friday after being released by Chivas USA earlier this past week.

"We are delighted to welcome Maicon on board," said manager and director of soccer Mo Johnston. "Preki knows this player inside and out, and speaks very highly of him both on and off the field. He's a target man, strong, and packs a very good shot."

TFC will hope that Santos can aid a struggling attack that has produced just one goal in its last three games.

The Rapids are unbeaten in their last six games, but they have drawn their last three, including a 1-1 deadlock with Red Bull New York last time out.

Colorado is currently third in the Western Conference table, but defender Scott Palguta voiced his frustration after last week's result, which came at home.

"When we are at home, that's not a point gained; it's two points lost," he told mlssoccer.com. "We were obviously very dominant and hopefully we can keep that going and maybe next week [against Toronto] make it into a win somehow."

Midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy will be kept home because of immigration problems, leaving head coach Gary Smith with a tough decision to make on who will fill the shoes left by Ballouchy, who has scored two goals and assisted on three others in 12 games this season.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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