Algeria, Slovenia both optimistic heading into opener

Soccer Betting Lines

06/12/2010 - Polokwane, South Africa (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Algeria and Slovenia open their World Cup Group C schedules on Sunday under a ton of pressure for a result.

Both clubs are underdogs to advance past England and the United States in the group, meaning getting off to a good start in the opener is imperative.

"In football you never know," Algeria midfielder Hassan Yebda told fifa.com. "We will do our best and play the first game against Slovenia and try to win. The first game is very, very important, if we can win it will be better for us. Slovenia though have a good team."

While Algeria is gearing up for just its third-ever World Cup, a familiar face is leading the way.

Coach Rabah Saadane, who also coached the team 24 years ago in its last World Cup appearance in Mexico, is at the helm again - for the fifth time - and it will take all his wisdom to get the Desert Foxes to the knockout stage.

On the field, midfielder Karim Ziani will be the key, not only against Slovenia on Sunday, but for the entire tournament. The playmaker plies his trade with German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, and he has the versatility to pull the strings in the middle of the field, or shift out wide in a more indirect attacking role.

Slovenia returns to the World Cup, eight years after its only other appearance, hoping it learned from that experience. Slovenia lost all three of its matches in the group stage in 2002 and was outscored 7-2.

But assistant coach Milan Miklavic is optimistic about this year's club.

"The team looks good, the team looks very good, as always," he told RTV Slovenia. "Can we expect a positive result? We are optimistic because the players in recent games have shown good results, so we need to be optimistic.

"For all the teams, the first game will be a very big opportunity. All teams are living in some uncertainty about what will happen, and that is the special charm of championships."

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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.

World Series odds

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.