English Premier League Betting Odds Preview 2008-2009: Last season Manchester United had a great season (38 P, 27 W, 6 D, 5 L, 87 PTS), led by the League’s top scorer and arguably the best player on the planet, striker Cristiano Ronaldo (31 goals). After much speculation –during the off season and the European Championship 2008– regarding Ronaldo’s departure to Real Madrid, Sir Alex Ferguson has now slammed the door on those rumors. At BodogLife.com Manchester United are the (7 - 5) betting odds favorites to win the English Premier League title in the 2008-2009 season.

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently recuperating from ankle surgery, and is scheduled to visit with a specialist in Amsterdam to determine his progress thus far.

Cristiano is expected to miss United’s first 5 fixtures, and should be back on the field by the end of September.

The team with the second best betting odds to win the 2008-2009 English Premier League title is Chelsea (7 - 4). Last season, Chelsea finished second to Man U for the second consecutive season, with a mark of 38 P, 25 W, 10 D, 3 L, and 85 PTS. The last time that the Blues won an English Premier League title came in 2005.

Here are other noticeable teams and their respective Betting Odds to win English Premier League 2008-2009:

Arsenal: 9 - 2

Liverpool: 6 - 1

Tottenham Hotspur: 50 - 1

Aston Villa: 125 - 1    

Everton: 150 - 1   

Newcastle United: 175 - 1 

Manchester City: 200 - 1

The 2008 MLS All-Star game on Thursday in Toronto matches up the best of the MLS against West Ham United from the Soccer Betting  The MLS All-Stars have had great success against foreign teams, winning against Celtic of the Scottish League last year, Chelsea in 2006 and Fulham in 2005.  The MLS All-Stars also defeated Chivas de Guadalajara in 2003. Premier League.

MLS Betting Preview
West Ham United at MLS All-Stars
Thursday, 7:00 pm Eastern – ESPN 

Thursday’s game could be a high scoring game, unlike the previous two that ended 2-0 and 1-0 in favor of the MLS All-Stars.  West Ham has already defeated Columbus 3-1 in a friendly as part of their preseason schedule.  The All-Star game is the third of seven preseason friendlies for West Ham as they prepare for their Premier League opener against Wigan on August 16th.

"I think it's going to be a tough game," said West Ham striker Dean Ashton. "To bring all of the best MLS players together for a game is going to be very tough, they've got some great players. It's going to be a big test for us in the preseason. I think it'll be an exciting game as well. I think it's more excitement [than pressure.] It's a chance to show what West Ham football club is all about ... and hopefully promote the English Premier League and the MLS at the same time."

Check out the current line for this game at SBG Global. 

The MLS All-Stars will be favored in the game but West Ham is not taking the game lightly. "When we took the game we knew what we were doing. It's a big game for us -- we want to promote West Ham. We feel we're a major club in England, in the Premier League and we're looking forward to a good season this year." West Ham manager Alan Curbishley said. 

The top players for the MLS All-Stars in Thursday’s game are expected to be Los Angeles Galaxy stars David Beckham and Landon Donovan.  It is Donovan that leads the MLS in goal scoring with 12 tallies.  New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol will be leading the MLS All-Stars and will have the team ready. "There's some guys traveling and other things going on," Nicol said. "But we'll get everybody here [Wednesday] and get a good day here and make sure everybody starts focusing tomorrow and get ready for the game."

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Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo Ankle Surgery a Success: After the disappointing early disqualification of Portugal from this year’s Euro 2008 cup, international superstar Cristiano Ronaldo underwent successful right ankle surgery Monday. BodogLife.com has betting odds for Manchester United first Premier League match, which will be August 16th, 2008 against Newcastle United.     

The Manchester United winger, will allow his operated ankle to heal, and will have a better idea as for his return, in a month or so. Even without Ronaldo, Manchester United is a -400 betting odds favorite to win against Newcastle United (+900).

The Premier League team released a statement regarding Ronaldo’s health status: “The initial indications are that the procedure was successful… Cristiano will begin his convalescence under the direction of club medical staff and an estimation of his return to full fitness will be possible following review by the specialist in one month.” In Manchester United vs. Newcastle United the odds of a draw are +400.

A spokesperson for Academic Medical Center (the hospital where Ronaldo’s procedure was done) told the Associated Press that Ronaldo is expected to leave the hospital on Tuesday July 8th, 2008.

Manchester United is also contemplating the possibility that their superstar player might not be ready in time for the start of the Premier League season, which kicks off next month.

The 23-year-old Portuguese revealed that he had been playing in pain for quite some time now, including the duration of the Euro 2008 tournament. Portugal was disqualified in the quarterfinals of the Euro 2008; as Spain went on to win the European Championship.

SBG Global reports that early Soccer Betting has the public taking Dynamo on the Road.

MLS Betting Preview
Houston at Real Salt Lake
Thursday, 10:00 pm Eastern – ESPN 2

SBG Global Opening Line: Real Salt Lake  - ½ EV ,  Total  2.5 Over -120 

Real Salt Lake had their unbeaten streak snapped at five in their last game when they lost to Kansas City 1-0. "It's hard for us to feel satisfied," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "This is another game where you have to feel like you dropped a point. If we're a little more focused for the last couple of minutes, we pick up a point. That's happened too often to us this year."

Houston is coming off a 1-1 draw against Dallas last week. "The game is a sour point for us. I thought we had more than enough chances in the first few minutes to possibly put the game out of reach. We were in good situations and had good chances. To get a tie out of it, we are not happy," head coach Dominic Kinnear said. "The guys are disappointed, as we should be. At the halfway point [of the season], I don't think we are getting as many points as we want or need."  One of the problems for Houston has been their defense.  They have allowed 19 goals already this season after allowing only 23 all of last year. "You look at our team and what has made us successful the past couple of years. It's defense," Brian Ching said. "We have been one of the best defensive, if not the best, defensive team in the league. But now we've got guys letting in mistakes. They are making big mistakes and costing us games. It's the same guys costing us 3-4 games, so it's disappointing."

SBG Global Current Line: Real Salt Lake  - ½  -105 ,  Total  2.5 Over -125 

Houston will not play for almost three weeks following Thursday’s game.

They did not advance in the U.S. Open Cup as they lost Tuesday to the USL-1 Charleston Battery on penalties. 

Here are the Soccer Betting stats for Thursday’s game.  The two teams have met 7 times in history.  Houston has four wins, Real Salt Lake has two wins and the other match ended in a draw.  At home, Real Salt Lake is 2-1-1 against Houston.   Houston won the season series last year and split the two games in Salt Lake City.  Houston has scored one goal or less in nine of their 15 matches overall this season.

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