Hoffenheim eyes top spot against Koln

Soccer Betting Lines

11/21/2008 - Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoffenheim's Jan Schindelmeiser admitted he never "would have thought it possible" the promoted club would be near the top of the Bundesliga, "just as no one here would have."

But Hoffe, promoted to the Bundesliga this season, has held the top spot a few weeks this season and has trailed Bayer Leverkusen only on goal differential in the last two weeks.

Saturday's trip to Koln, another promoted side, gives Hoffenheim a shot to move back to the top with Bayer also on the road against one-win Arminia Bielefeld.

Schindelmeiser, Hoffe's general manager, admitted no one at the club expected a start like this.

"It was not our intention this year to be in the top third of the league," said Schindelmeiser in an interview with the league's website. "We started into the season with the goal of establishing ourselves in the Bundesliga.

"We hoped to be far away from the spots in the table that create headaches, the positions where, with every loss, there would have been the potential to slide into the relegation zone."

Instead, Hoffenheim's creating headaches for Bayer Leverkusen, defending league champion Bayern Munich and the other title hopefuls.

Vedad Ibisevic leads the team - and the league - with 14 goals through just 13 matches. As a team, Hoffe leads the league with 34 goals.

Hoffenheim has been impressive in all but one of its games this season - a 5-2 loss to Bayer in the third week of the season. In its last seven matches, Hoffe has six wins and has at least three goals in its last five victories.

Koln hasn't been quite as impressive but with six wins through 13 weeks sits in 10th - good a promoted club - just overshadowed this season. Koln is just nine points off the pace, meaning a victory would put the team back in position for a top-half finish.

Even if Hoffenheim takes care of business, Leverkusen could easily keep the new challengers in second.

Bayer is unbeaten in six straight league games - including five victories - and has scored at least two goals in all of those matches.

Leverkusen's Patrick Helmes is second in the league with 10 goals, and Bayer is tied with Werder Bremen as the second-highest scoring offense.

Arminia Bielefeld is one of two teams - Bochum is the other - with just one win so far this season. The club's six ties is all that keeps it out of last place.

Speaking of last place, Bayern is in position to put the pressure on Hoffenheim and Bayer - if given the chance - when it hosts last-place Energie.

If not for the fact Bayern has blown three two-goal leads - including last week in a 2-2 draw at Monchengladbach - the defending champions would be in front.

Still, Bayern is undefeated in seven straight league matches - including five wins - and is unbeaten in 10 straight overall, including three Champions League games.

Bayern's biggest problem has been its defense. After setting a league record in 2007-08 by allowing just 21 goals, the club has already surrendered 20 before the midway point with basically the same players it had last season.

Energie, buried at the bottom of the league with just nine points, doesn't seem to present much of a challenge for Bayern this week. Energie has seven goals in 13 matches.

With a trip to Bayer up next for Bayern, then Hoffenheim visiting Allianz Arena the first week of December, the next three weeks will likely decide if coach Jurgen Klinsmann can get his team to the top of the league by the winter break.

On Friday, Mohamed Zidan in the 20th minute as Borussia Dortmund beat Karlsruhe 1-0. Borussia jumped up to fourth place and Karlsruhe became the first team to reach 10 losses.

Also Saturday, Wolfsburg hosts Stuttgart, Schalke hosts Monchengladbach, Bochum hosts Hertha Berlin and Eintracht hosts Hannover.

On Sunday, Hamburg hosts Werder Bremen with both clubs trying to move in on the leaders.

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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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