Fabregas helps Arsenal double up on Boro

Soccer Betting Lines

04/26/2009 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cesc Fabregas scored a goal in each half as Arsenal stretched its unbeaten record in league play to 20 games with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The win has all but assured the Gunners a place in the top four, while they trail third-placed Chelsea by six points.

Boro remains in the bottom three with the loss and they trail 17th-placed Hull City by three.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger rested a few players ahead of Wednesday's Champions League semifinal with Manchester United, but his young captain remained in the side and rewarded his manager's decision.

The visitors defended well in the first 25 minutes, allowing Arsenal little space in the final third.

However, Fabregas started a break in the 26th minute that led to the opening goal as he released Andrei Arshavin down the left wing.

The Russian then got into the box and returned the ball to Fabregas, who slammed it into the far corner of the net.

Boro showed a bit of life before halftime when Stewart Downing fired a strong shot from 20 yards that forced a save from goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, who was also called upon shortly after the restart to make a stop on former Arsenal man Jeremie Aliadiere.

Marlon King was next to test Almunia with a volley that the keeper was able to hold, but the hosts responded with a second goal to regain control of the game.

Arshavin and Emmanuel Eboue teamed up to put Fabregas through on goal, and after he rounded goalkeeper Brad Jones, the Spaniard rolled the ball into the empty net and Arsenal killed off the final 20 minutes to pick up the win.

Blackburn's relegation fears were eased on Sunday as Rovers picked up a 2-0 win against Wigan to move six points clear of the bottom three.

Benedict McCarthy scored right before halftime and Ryan Nelsen tallied his first goal of the season on the hour mark to deal Wigan's European hopes a major blow.

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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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