Almost four years ago in June of 2008, Interpol released a report, indicating that they had shutdown over 272 gambling rings in Asia and seized over $650 Million in revenue on a series of charges. Several of the charges against the Asian mafia, were suggested tampering with soccer games in the country, in order to assure that the mafia sportsbooks turned a profit, while their bettors lost a considerable amount of money. As it relates to illegal gambling, Interpol recently brought FIFA into the investigation, as they believed that some officials were involved in the self-labeled fixed matches. For this reason, several officials were let go, as their careers were tarnished by the allegations.

Nevertheless, despite the awful allegations, FIFA for an unexplainable reason, kept their chairman, who present day remains criticized for his efforts or lack thereof. In fact, another area of soccer often suggested to involve bribery, is the World Cup selections. Over the last 12 years, the World Cup has been held in small markets, in an attempt to raise the game’s popularity. Yet, similar to the 1919 MLB World Series, many people, believe that these small markets hosting the World Cup, have some how bribed the FIFA officials, into voting for them.

One of the main reasons why home field advantage is essential to the success of a team, is because of the unofficial 12^th man. In other words, some teams are great at home, because their fans aren’t just fans, they are fanatics. Fanatics differ from the average fan, because they take the game as seriously as the players, and in some cases more seriously then the players. For this reason, a team such as Real Madrid can go undefeated in 12 contests at home, but be awful on the road.

Now at first glance, bettors watching the NFL scores are probably wondering why a team such as Real Madrid can be wicked at home but awful on the road? In essence, as we noted earlier, some teams fans take the game more seriously then the players. With this in mind, there have been plenty of riots over the years, as visiting team fans get into fights with the home team fans. To avoid the riots, the soccer league organizers have banned certain fan bases from being allowed at road games. In turn, Real Madrid is awful on the road, because they do not have the support on the road that they would have at home.

Depending on which sportsbook you place your wagers with, you may have the opportunity to use a universal handicapping system, which acts as a predictor on what certain lines will be set at. For instance, in 2006, when Italy took on France in the World Cup, the total was set at one and a half goals. While this is considered low for both clubs, handicappers working with Pinnacle saw the line coming a mile away, because of the aforementioned universal handicapping system.

Commonly, the totals for soccer games are roughly around one point three goal, as the average soccer team scores a goal a game, sometimes more. Meaning to say, if a football club such as Barcelona takes on Manchester United, you may see the line closer to two point three as both teams have great offenses. However, if you took the under in any of their games, you also stood a chance at making a profit, as both Barcelona and Manchester United have excellent defenses. In other words, while they score a ton of goals, they do not concede that many.

Originally known as the European Cup, the UEFA Champions League started out in 1955 – 56 season in which 16 of the top league clubs across Europe were invited to compete for the award. The countries sending clubs were Italy, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, Poland, Scotland, Yugoslavia, Spain, West Germany, Saar, Switzerland, Portugal, France and Hungary.  The first known match of the tournament took place in September of 1955 featuring Sporting CP of Portugal taking on Partizan of Yugoslavia. The two sides ended the game in a three to three tie. Eventually, Spanish club Real Madrid ended up winning the tournament, which finished in May.

Annually, the tournament runs from September to May, with 16 teams broken into four groups of four with the NFL winner and second place of each division moving on to continue in the tournament. After the first round, the remaining teams face one another in a home and home knockout tournament. The winning team is actually the team with the most goals not necessarily the one that wins the game. For instance, if one team wins five to nothing and then loses the next leg one to nothing, they still advance, because they won the series five goals to one.

The most popular soccer events to wager upon are the World Cup, and the UEFA Champions League tournament. World Cup soccer is an international tournament, in which the best players from each nation join forces, to represent their nation to play against the other top players and their nations. On the other hand, the UEFA Champions League is similar to the World Cup, but it’s more or less a tournament to crown the best league teams in the world.

Similar to boxing and the UFC, soccer allows for fans to wager on a draw. In hockey, football, baseball and basketball, there must be a winner, so the draw is not an option on the money line. Here is how a soccer money line appears.

Queens Park Rangers +500

Manchester City – 400

Draw +600

In this example, the Queens Park Rangers are the underdog, as they have odds of 500 to one to win the game. For all intents and purposes, the bettors taking the Rangers have to risk $100 to get back $500 to win the wager. If you take Manchester City, you have to risk $400 to get back $100 because Manchester City is expected to win the game. However, similar to boxing and the UFC, if a draw takes place, fans taking the Rangers and Man City, lose their wagers. You can only win the game on a draw, if you bet on the draw.

The Pittsburgh Steelers welcome the Cleveland Browns in Thursday night action, in a pivotal AFC North matchup. Going into this game, the wild card leading Steelers have been on a roll of late, collecting wins in Cincinnati and Kansas City. In fact, heading into their clash with the Browns, the Steelers have covered the spread in eight of their last nine home games. This should happen again, as the Browns offense is not very good, and the Steelers offense is top three in the league. What’s more, as we noted, the Steelers are rolling this bookie software season, and should be able to do so again tonight.

In the NHL, there are a couple of very interesting streaks on the line tonight. On the one hand, the Minnesota Wild, owners of the best record in the West, has been on a roll of late. Minnesota has won five straight, despite having one of the worst GF/GA ratios. The Wild have scored 39 GF/ given up 32 GA during the aforementioned five game win streak. Minnesota is also on their third goalie, as starter Nicklas Backstrom and backup Josh Harding have sustained injuries. As a result, Matt Hackett will be between the pipes for his second career start. Hackett, looked amazing in his first game as a member of the Wild, and could provide a stable net presence for the team.

On the other hand, despite no longer have Sidney Crosby for the next couple of games, the Pittsburgh Penguins enter their game with Philadelphia, having won the last seven matchups. The Penguins have shown, that without Crosby, they are just as good with him, as they lead the NHL.

Olympiacos v Arsenal – In the second round of the Champions League tournament, Olympiacos opens against Arsenal. At first glance, Olympiacos supporters were probably hoping for this matchup, as Arsenal’s defense has struggled greatly over the last couple of seasons. However, over the last month and a half of EPL play, the Gunners offense has basically picked up the slack for the defense. What this means when betting on the game, is that you should take the Gunners, since they have a ton of momentum right now.

Barcelona v Bate – Another game fans and handicappers alike will be watching with a close eye, will be Barcelona v Bate. Barcelona is the defending champion of the tournament, and has lived up to their end of the bargain, by dominating their competition. Barcelona won all four games in the group stage of the tournament and appears to be destined for another shot at the UEFA Champions League Cup. When you have a roster with seven of a possible 11 franchise stars, it is hard to imagine that they could lose to any other team. Look for Barcelona to turn this game into an NFL game, by winning seven to nothing.

Chelsea v Valencia – This game should be the most intriguing one of the December 6, card, as Chelsea is reeling after a loss last night too Bayern Leverkusen on November 23, two to one. Chelsea must put in a better performance, in order to come close to a Championship berth.

In their last five games, Man U has won four and dropped one, while Benefica has drawn twice, but finds themselves on a three game winning streak. United lost their last EPL matchup to inter city rivals Man City, by a score of six to one. Benefica, on the contrary, has scored five goals in their three game winning streak.

Looking at the Champions League group stage standings, the two squads are tied atop the standings, having each won two games and drawn two games. The winner of this game will win the division and receive a weaker opponent in the next round. On paper, it seems as though Man United is struggling with its identity. In essence, bookie software enthusiasts have never seen a team this young at Old Trafford.

Meaning to say, when United was destroyed by Man City last weekend, bookies and fans alike weren’t sure if this was a sign of things to come or if it was a fluke. Benefica is also in an interesting position heading into their rematch with United. Riding a three game winning streak, Benefica could see their stock rise dramatically internationally, if they can pull off the victory against the Red Devils. With transfer season only a couple of months away, a victory over Manchester United would intrigue a lot of potential free agents to sign with the club.

Chelsea FC v Genk – Genk has struggled early and often in the group stage of the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League. This week, they welcome the Chelsea Blues, who have been a team on a bounce back campaign, after struggling significantly during the 2010/11 season. With a team that includes Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard, and Didier Drogba, it is hard to imagine that Genk stands a chance in the game. For that reason, look for Chelsea to come out flying and cruise to a five to one victory over Genk.

Barcelona V Pizen – Pizen are the sacrificial lamb being preyed upon by the world’s greatest football team, Barcelona. Comparable to Genk, Pizen finds themselves in a predicament, where simply put, they hope to contain the damage. Similar to Chelsea, we see Barcelona taking this game rather easily, by a score of six or seven to nothing. When you have a midfield that includes Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas, it seems rather unlikely that the opposition will get past midfield all game.

Olympiacos v Borussia Dortmund – This game is actually considered by many of our colleagues to be the game of this week of UEFA action. In essence, both teams have combined to put up only a single point thus far through the first two games of the group stage. If they draw again, the team with more goals entering the game, should advance to the next round.

Marseille is a heavy favorite in Wednesday’s action, as they enter the game, having already defeated fellow group F members Dortmund and Olympiacos. Meanwhile, also having played the same opponents, Arsenal only has two points, as they tied both Dortmund and Olympiacos. However, with that being said, NFL soccer handicappers are chomping at the bit to see one of England’s most storied franchises, battle French juggernaut Marseille.

For the Arsenal Gunners, they have a lot riding on the game, as not only do they wish to qualify for a future round, but they have also never lost to a French squad on the road. Meaning to say, with the way that Marseille is playing, Arsenal may be better served hoping that Dortmund and Olympiacos tie in their game.

In both UEFA and EPL action, the Gunners Achilles heel, has been their offense. Arsenal has had trouble connecting on brilliant passes, between Robin Van Persie and Theo Walcott. As well, the defense, which is slowly getting better, has actually been keeping the Gunners in games this season. Meaning to say, if the offense connects, and the defense holds tight, the Gunners could pull an upset.

For fans counting Marseille out despite early success in the group stage, consider that they are a team that has posed many issues for other powerhouse teams in England. Since the 2009 – 10 season Marseille has a victory over Chelsea and a tie with Manchester United.