Eredivisie powers Ajax, Feyenoord clash

Soccer Betting Lines

11/09/2007 - Rotterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ajax and Feyenoord clash Sunday as the top two teams in the Eredivisie for the first time in 13 years, adding a little more fire to an already heated rivalry.

Ajax is the lone unbeaten after 10 league matches, but Feyenoord has one more win, equal points and is second only on goal differential.

On the field is not the only concern for each side as a turbulent history has surrounded the rivalry for many years, most notably the death of two Ajax fans in 1997.

With a history of derogatory chants and other violence, both clubs have warned that banning visiting fans may be the only solution if problems continue.

All the clubs want to worry about Sunday is deciding which side will sit atop the league headed into an international break for EURO 2008 qualifiers.

Feyenoord (8-2-0) needs a victory to take over the top spot, but although it's a huge rivalry, manager Bert van Marwijk cautioned it's just one match.

"It's a special match of course, but on the other hand we can only get three points like every other week," he said. "If we then won all our games we'd be champions after all."

Feyenoord has relied on its defense this season, posting seven shutouts so far after allowing 66 goals in 34 games last season. The defense faces its biggest test against Ajax, which has scored a league-high 31 goals.

Ajax has been led by striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who has 11 goals in 10 games this season. Luis Suarez has chipped in seven goals.

"Ajax is very strong in attack," van Marwijk said.

Roy Makaay leads Feyenoord with six goals.

Feyenoord could welcome back Andwele Slory, who has been out since the first match of the season, and Chun-Soo Lee and Kevin Hofland may also play larger roles.

Feyenoord has just one victory in its last five home games against Ajax, and just two wins in the last 10 games in the series.

Ajax has continued to play well under coach Ardie Koster, who was forced into the managing role when Henk ten Cate left to join Chelsea earlier this season.

Koster, who only joined the club in 2006, knows playing at Feyenoord is a big challenge.

"Feyenoord are a solid team, a good collective," Koster said. "At home they have not conceded a goal yet. But we always create opportunities. We have to prevent that Feyenoord lull us to sleep, after which their forwards strike.

"I am really looking forward to it."

On Friday, Jhonny van Beukering, Jeremain Lens and Muslu Nalbantoglu scored as NEC defeated Heracles, 3-0.

On Saturday, Twente hosts NAC, Graafschap hosts Excelsior, Venlo hosts Sparta and Willem II hosts Utrecht.

Also on Sunday, PSV hosts AZ, Vitesse hosts Heerenveen and Roda hosts Groningen.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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