City tries to take another step towards CL

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02/19/2010 - Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester City can take another big step towards securing a top-four spot on Sunday when the club hosts fifth- placed Liverpool.

City enters the weekend one point up on the Reds with a game in hand, but they will be missing a few key players for the match at Eastlands.

Striker Carlos Tevez is still in Argentina dealing with a domestic matter, and is not expected to return until Monday, while midfielder Patrick Vieira will be serving the first of a three-game ban for a violent charge he received during Tuesday's draw against Stoke City for a challenge on Glenn Whelan.

Manager Roberto Mancini will also be without midfielder Martin Petrov, who is expected to be out for the next four weeks with a knee injury, but he will be hoping to include Craig Bellamy in the squad as the Welshman recovers from a knee problem of his own.

Despite his injury issues, Mancini is remaining positive ahead of the match and he feels that his team will make it difficult for Liverpool to move past them.

"We want to win and so do they, so it will be difficult but more so for them," Mancini said. "We are above them and they have to try to get past us. We have to be positive, if we can win, will go further ahead of them so that's what we must try to do."

Liverpool will still be without key contributors in Fernando Torres and Glen Johnson, but Mancini feels as though the rest of the Liverpool squad is more than capable of making up for the absence of Torres, especially captain Steven Gerrard.

"Yes, Torres and Gerrard are great players," the boss said, "but they have Carragher, Kuyt, Mascherano, Reina as well, that's not a bad squad to pick from. Gerrard is really respected throughout Europe, he has everything you would want in a player and we know we will have to work hard to deal with him."

Liverpool rebounded from a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal in the league by beating Unirea, 1-0, in the first leg of their Europa League Round of 32 match on Thursday, and they will go for a third win in four league matches on Sunday.

City, meanwhile, has won just once in its last three Premiership contests, and they will meet Chelsea and Tottenham in their next two games, which places extra importance on getting a result against Liverpool.

Chelsea enters the weekend with a one-point lead on second-placed Manchester United and the Blues will face Wolverhampton, while United has a tougher test when they travel to Everton.

Third-placed Arsenal lost 2-1 at FC Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday and they will host Sunderland, Tottenham visits Wigan and Aston Villa hosts a Burnley club that has lost five of its last six games.

Bottom-half sides West Ham and Hull City square off at Upton Park, Stoke City invades last-placed Portsmouth, relegation-battling Bolton faces Blackburn and Birmingham meets up with Fulham.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract

Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.

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After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."

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