Thursday’s Europa League Betting

Despite taking extremely long coach journeys to last week’s first leg ties, both Fulham and Liverpool are not in bad shape for their second leg matches on home soil. Fulham managed to come away from Hamburg with a 0-0 draw while Liverpool went down 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, will we see an all-English final? BetRepublic.com previews both Semi Final second leg games here:

Fulham v Hamburg (0-0):

According to PaddyPower.com Soccer Betting Tips Fulham have the advantage in this game and are the favourites to win at 6/5, while both the draw and a Hamburg victory are available at 23/10. The London side have won eight of their last eleven home matches in all competitions, drawing two and losing just once. They have scored just under an average of two goals a game in that run with twenty-one scored in the eleven matches and seven goals conceded with five clean sheets. They rested eight players at the weekend in the match at Everton and they will be fired up for this game.

Rafael Nadal Vs Philipp Kohlschreiber Rome Masters Title

Rafael Nadal opens his Rome Masters title defence against Philipp Kohlschreiber. Rafael Nadal will be wary of dangerous German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round.

Watch Rafael Nadal v Philipp Kohlschreiber free live streaming. Tournament: Rome Masters – Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Season 2010. Date: 28 April 2010

Match scheduled:

28-04-2010 from 14:20(ET)

Day 3 - Main Draw :: ATP World Tour 1000 - Internazionali BNL D'Italia :: Rome, Italy

Nadal is a four-time champion in Rome and has been a consistent force at the tournament since 2005. His only blip came two years ago when he suffered an early loss to Juan Carlos Ferrero, albeit while struggling with a foot injury at the time.

Kohlschreiber is in very good form at the moment having demolished Andy Murray two weeks ago in Monte-Carlo during a run to the quarter-finals.

Los Angeles Lakers pull ahead 3-2 in series with Thunder

Pau Gasol had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Andrew Bynum added 21 points and the Los Angeles Lakers vigorously rebounded from back-to-back losses with a 111-87 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, taking a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Kobe Bryant had 13 points and seven assists in three quarters of work as the defending NBA champions coolly shook off the eighth-seeded Thunder’s series-tying blowout win in Game 4 with a comprehensive thrashing of the post-season newcomers.

With their offence purring and their defence throttling Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the Lakers led by 21 points at halftime and went ahead by 32 late in the third quarter of their third home victory in the series.

Lyon V Bayern Munich Tuesday’s Champions League Betting

This evening Lyon host Bayern Munich in the second leg match of their Champions League Semi Final tie at Stade de Gerland. Bayern hold the advantage after dominating the last week’s game, but Lyon only trail by a single goal. Who will progress and play in the Champions League Final in Madrid? BetRepublic.com Soccer Betting Tip previews the match here.

Lyon v Bayern Munich Soccer Betting Tip (0-1):

In the first leg of this tie Lyon travelled to Germany with the intention of giving themselves something to play for in the second leg match. They were unadventurous and were completely outplayed by Bayern for the ninety minutes. However, they only lost 1-0 and gave themselves an excellent chance of becoming the first French side to reach a Champions League final.

Sources say 76s waiting for Brown

According to multiple sources, the 76ers will almost certainly contact coach Larry Brown after the Charlotte Bobcats are eliminated from the playoffs.

The Sixers will likely discuss their coaching vacancy with Brown, who this season led the Bobcats to their first-ever playoff appearance, but it's possible that the Sixers also could discuss a front-office position, according to the same sources.

Although Ed Stefanski is still serving as the Sixers' president and general manager, his position is not secure.

The Bobcats host the Orlando Magic in Game 4 of their first-round series on Monday night. Charlotte trails the best-of-seven series by three games to none.

Spurs NBA Team Playing Just Like Old Times

The Spurs are suddenly the team to beat. With the No. 1 Lakers struggling to keep up with Oklahoma City, and with No. 4 Denver endangered by the heavily-injured No. 5 Jazz, the No. 7 Spurs have suddenly and firmly reclaimed their long-standing role as conference favorites. No team in the West plays with a more dynamic blend of team defense, offensive firepower, versatility and passion. San Antonio won on a night when its Big Three (a combined 9-of-34 for 31 points) were almost outscored by second-year guard George Hill (29 points on 16 shots). Similar was the outcome of Game 3, won by the Spurs even though they missed all seven of their threes. Take away their right hand and they'll club you with the left. "If you told me before the game that we would hold the Big Three to the numbers they had, I would have said we win the game,'' said a despondent Dirk Nowitzki. After he was held to 17 points on 10 attempts, it was easy to see who had lost.

Weekend Football Betting Previews

Weekend Football Betting Previews

The race for the Premier League title was blown wide open last weekend as Tottenham Hotspur defeated Chelsea in impressive fashion. This weekend sees two massive games for the teams looking to overthrow Chelsea at the top of the table, but they won’t have it easy as both Manchester United and Arsenal take on the sides battling for the fourth Champions League spot in Spurs and Manchester City.

2010 NFL Draft Odds

If you haven’t drawn up a mock draft board for the 75th NFL Draft which begins Thursday at 7:30 pm ET, don’t worry, there are already thousands of them littering the internet with details on exactly how the picks won’t go.

Betting on how the picks will play out offers a much better return on your investment and here ate www.BetRepublic.com we’re here to help you make a profit before training camp even begins.

Sam Bradford from Oklahoma and Jimmy Clausen out of Notre Dame are the top two quarterbacks available and the St. Louis Rams will pick first. Bradford seems like a lock for the No. 1 pick but anyone that’s been involved with sports betting for more than a season usually learns to avoid the ‘L-Word’ like the plague.

Bayern Munich V Lyon Champions League Semi Final

The biggest sporting event happening in Europe today is the first leg match of the second Champions League Semi Final between Bayern Munich and Lyon at the Allianz Arena. Who will hold advantage going into next week’s second leg tie in France? BetRepublic.com previews tonight’s match here and offers some excellent value markets for you to bet upon.

Bayern Munich v Lyon:

Both of these sides will be filled with confidence going into this match, with Bayern having won twelve of their last thirteen home games in all competitions and Lyon have history on their side, having won four of five matches played in Germany against German opposition in the Champions League. Soccer Betting Tips have priced up their markets on the basis of the German sides excellent recent home form and have made them favourites to win the game at 8/11. Lyon are available at 4/1, while the draw can be backed at 13/5.

French Open Finalist Soderling Opens 2010 Barcelona bid on Tuesday

Robin Soderling makes his season debut on clay Tuesday evening, scheduled to face Juan Ignacio Chela. The players are set to battle for a round of 16 berth at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

French Open finalist Robin Soderling took over as the highest seed in the Barcelona draw on Monday, replacing five-time defending champion Rafael Nadal. The 25-year-old Swede will contest his first clay-court contest of the season, ready to take on 2010 US Men’s Clay Court Championship title-winner Juan Ignacio Chela.

Soderling holds a 4-1 edge over Chela, having won their last meeting on the clay at the 2007 World Team Championship, 6-1, 6-4. The World No. 8 carries a 2-1 series advantage on the dirt, which includes a 2004 quarterfinal-round victory in Bastad. The veteran Argentine claimed his lone win at the 2005 Masters Series Hamburg, where he defeated the Swede in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.