Dortmund downs Nurnberg to take Bundesliga lead

Soccer Betting Lines

02/03/2012 - Nurnberg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sebastian Kehl and Lucas Barrio scored in the second half as Borussia Dortmund downed Nurnberg, 2-0, on Friday to return to top of the Bundesliga.

Defending champion Dortmund broke a three-way tie on points with Bayern Munich and Schalke as it grabbed sole possession of the top spot ahead of the weekend matches.

Bayern entered the week with the top spot based on goal differential, and will return to the summit with a win Saturday at Hamburg.

Dortmund survived a couple scares early as Shinji Kagawa cleared Timmy Simons' cross off the line in the 11th minute, and then Tomas Pekhart launched an open chance well high from the edge of the 6-yard box in the 19th.

Robert Lewandowski had Dortmund's first opportunity in the 21st, but Nurnberg goalie Raphael Schafer made the first of four saves.

Kevin Grosskreutz wasted a second chance for Dortmund in the 26th, and Schafer made another fine save on Lewandowski in the 34th, before stopping a weak shot from Kagawa in the 36th.

Dortmund's breakthrough came early in the second half in frigid Nurnberg, as a final pass from Lukasz Piszczek was deposited by Kehl to the bottom left.

Nurnberg rarely threatened, and Dortmund poked a second past Schafer with just 8 minutes remaining as Barrios latched onto a rebound to score his first goal.

Dortmund's fifth straight win put pressure on Bayern as it heads to Hamburg on Saturday with concerns defensively.

Daniel van Buyten was lost to injury last month and Rafinha is banned, so Jupp Heynckes will likely be forced to move Luiz Gustavo or Anatoliy Tymoshchuk for cover in the backline, either at center back or right back.

"It's very irritating," Bayern's Jerome Boateng said, "to be without both Van Buyten and Rafinha."

Hamburg has been revived under Thorsten Fink, a former Bayern player. Hamburg was unbeaten in his first eight matches in charge, and the club has climbed to mid-table in 11th after a horrible start.

Although matches are being threatened through Europe due to extreme cold, five more fixtures are also slated for Saturday: Bayer Leverkusen hosts Stuttgart, Hertha Berlin hosts Hannover, Hoffenheim hosts Augsburg, Schalke hosts Mainz, and Wolfsburg hosts Monchengladbach.

On Sunday, Freiburg hosts Werder Bremen and Kaiserslautern hosts Cologne.

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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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