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Liverpool vs. Arsenal Match Prediction: Offensive Woes To Continue For Reds and Gunners: English Premier League action continues on Sunday for a tea time tussle at Anfield, and we are set to make our soccer tips and predictions for the clash on the pitch between Liverpool and Arsenal.

A quick look at the Premier League table shows that both of these teams are in sad shape at the outset of the year. The Gunners haven’t seen their first goal scored or their first goal conceded this year, thus have two points in two fixtures, while Liverpool has just a single point to show for its first two matches. Obviously, neither of these two teams has to be happy with the start to the season, but both are going to have better results as the year goes on. Still, the prospects of being stuck at the bottom of the table even 10% into the season has to be concerning for both teams.

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It wasn’t the greatest transfer season for the Reds, knowing that they lost out on just about every major signing that they were trying for. Even right up to the last moment, Liverpool had to think that it was going to be able to land Clint Dempsey, but instead, it was Tottenham Hotspur that ultimately landed the American striker. Andy Carroll was sent out on loan to West Ham United, and that was a move that really left the squad significantly thinner than it was before. Luis Suarez has been the most creative man, of the bunch for the Reds, accounting for 13 shots in two matches, but in the end, he has only found the back of the net once, and no one else has really showed that much creativity up front. Steven Gerrard is still the catalyst of the bunch in the midfield, and he has played well, but again, he hasn’t found the back of the net and just hasn’t really been all that much of a threat either.

The Gunners have had even less luck over the course of the first two matches of the Premier League season. They have yet to find the back of the net as a team, and they really haven’t had much to be happy about. Arsenal clearly hasn’t recovered from the loss of Robin van Persie, and Lukas Podolski really has to figure out how to be a force at the top of the lineup, or this is going to be a struggle of a season. The team had all of the chances against Stoke City in the second match of the year, but there wasn’t a conversion. The Gunners had a frustrating day at the transfer deadline as well, losing Nicklas Bendter to Juventes on loan and failing to snare Michael Essien from rivals, Chelsea at the end to Real Madrid. Keep an eye at the back for Arsenal. Laurent Koscielny should be back in the fold, but it is definitely up in in the air as to whether keeper Wojciech Szczeny will be in the Starting XI. If he misses out with his rib injury, it will be his second straight missed start.

Liverpool vs. Arsenal Match Preview & Analysis: This just doesn’t look all that promising for either one of these teams. What is lost in this mix is that both of these squads are very strong defensively, and that might cause both of these struggling offenses to have more problems. Sure, we see all of the great names in offense between these two teams, but we just don’t see even two goals coming from it, let alone the three required to push this one past the number.

Liverpool vs. Arsenal Punting Tip: Under 2.5 (-113) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Liverpool vs. Arsenal Score Prediction: Liverpool 1 – Arsenal 0

Arsenal vs. Sunderland Match Prediction: Black Cats To Steal Point At Emirates: The time is here for the 2012 English Premier League season, as the first match day of the season kicks off on Saturday afternoon with a great slate of fixtures. ESPN and ESPN3.com are going to start their broadcasts of the Premier League on TV this week with a great clash at the Emirates Stadium, as Arsenal dukes it out with Sunderland.

It could be a relatively frustrating season for both the Gunners and the Black Cats. Arsenal was able to finish third last year on the Premiership table, but it was nowhere near as good as the two teams from Manchester. With seemingly no hope of catching either Man U or Man City in the long run, Arsenal knows that it has to build towards another run at the Champions League in 2012. Sunderland knows that it doesn’t have all that much in the way of a future in European competition without a remarkable run, and for a team that has been mired in the middle of the table, that just isn’t likely to happen. This is a crucial match at the outset of the year for both teams, as it is one that Arsenal should be comfortably winning, while it is one that Sunderland would be thrilled to get a point out of to get its campaign off on the right foot.

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Of course, all eyes are going to be up front for Arsenal, where fans of the Gunners are no longer going to be seeing the great Robin van Persie. Van Persie spent part of last season out injured, and during that time, he assessed that the club wasn’t going in a direction that he was all that proud of. Now, he’s with Arsenal’s rivals in Manchester United, and there is a massive hole to be filled as a result. Lukas Podolski is going to be the man that has to take the lead and become one of the team’s best strikers, but the question is still there as to whether or not this is going to be a team that has the ability to compete at the top of the Premier League table this year. Longtime Manager Arsene Wenger knows that he has talent, but a lot of that talent is raw, and he has done as much as admit that this is going to be a season about building towards the future of the soccer program in London. Laurent Koscielny and Alex Oxalde-Chamberlain are both out of the fold for the Gunners as well.

In spite of the fact that Sunderland only scored 19 goals for the whole season on the road, there is still some confidence that this could be another year of survival. The Black Cats might be on the path to relegation this year if they don’t get some great contributions from newcomer Louis Saha up front. Sunderland had plenty of scoring potential last season, but in the end, just 45 goals didn’t cut it, especially when compared to the 46 or the relegated Bolton Wanderers and the 38 of the relegated Blackburn Rovers. Phil Bardsley will miss his first of what could be a number of Premier League matches, but James McClean is going to be out there in hopes of getting a great second season in for the Black Cats.

Arsenal vs. Sunderland Match Preview & Analysis: We really don’t have a heck of a lot of confidence in Sunderland’s ability to compete in this match, but the problem that we have with the Gunners is that we don’t think all that much of them either. We’ll take the goal on our side for now and hope that somehow, the Black Cats can find the back of the net. If they do, they should be golden, as we don’t really know if Arsenal has the ability to get more than one in the back of the net against a team that allowed just a shade over a goal per game last season, especially with van Persie now donning Manchester United colors.

Arsenal vs. Sunderland Punting Tip: Sunderland +1 (+120) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Arsenal vs. Sunderland Score Prediction: Arsenal 1 – Sunderland 1

Newcastle vs. Tottenham Picks: A Point Per Side Coming At Sports Direct Arena: A great slate of matches on the English Premier League schedule are set to get started on Saturday, and the match that we are going to be looking at is the primetime clash at Sports Direct Arena featuring our Newcastle vs. Tottenham Hotspur picks. These two teams both had great seasons last year, finishing fifth and fourth on the Premier League table, though both fell short of the Europa League thanks to Chelsea’s successes in the Champions League. Both are going to hope to get off to a great start to the 2012-13 Premiership schedule this year as well, and the two should be in for a great battle on the Premier League odds.

The Toffies are used to this type of success, as they have been challenging for a spot in the Top 5 in the Premier League standings for years and years without all that much threat of relegation. Newcastle United though, is only a few years removed from relegation down to English Championship. Since that point though, the Magpies have been amongst the best of the middling teams in England, and they hope to continue their rise back to a regular in European competition this year.

The hosts know that they were overachievers last year, and duplicating a Top 5 finish and a year ahead of both powers, Liverpool and Chelsea isn’t all that likely once again. Injuries are all over the place to start off the campaign for Newcastle United, knowing that Hatem Ben Arfa is already ruled out of the fold and several others likely are to sit or be limited to substitution roles as well. Papiss Demba Cisse knows that he is going to have to be a force in the middle of the Newcastle offense in this one, just as he was last year when he was able to strike 13 goals in 14 fixtures. However, he is facing a fitness test as well and could be a late entry into or out of the lineup. The newest member of the club, Vernon Anita, is going to be dressed with the Magpies for the first time on Saturday, and if he were to actually take part in the fixture, it would be a real question mark. Anita only joined the club on Thursday and clearly needs some time to gel with his newest teammates.

Harry Redknapp is out after all these years at White Hart Lane, and that paves the way for Andre Villas-Boas. AVB was never loved in his first stint in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea got rid of him before even just one season was completed. It almost seems remarkable to think that Villas-Boas was able to get back on his feet this quickly with yet another relatively top flight English Premier League club, but one can bet that failed efforts here with the Toffies will see him sent packing once again very quickly. This time around, Gareth Bale and Jermain Defoe are going to be anchoring the center of the offense, and these two are going to have to be good in front of a midfield that is certainly facing a bunch of questions. Rafael van der Vaart is going to be a force to watch, as well as Gylfi Sigurdsson, who was signed to a long term deal after being on loan to Tottenham Hotspur last year.

Newcastle vs. Tottenham Match Preview & Analysis: There is a heck of a lot of animosity that has built between these two teams thanks to the end of last season when Tottenham thrashed Newcastle 5-0 at White Hart Lane. The Magpies are going to be out looking for blood, and they might be able to find it relatively early against what appears like it could be a somewhat relatively leaky Hotspur defense. That being said, we just can’t pick a winner in this one, as a 1-1 Newcastle vs. Tottenham score seems just about right to kick off the campaign.

Newcastle vs. Tottenham Punting Tip: Draw (+230) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Newcastle vs. Tottenham Score Prediction: Newcastle 1 – Tottenham 1

Money Behind Huddersfield Worth Backing Against Cardiff City Football: The 2012 English Football season gets started on Friday, August 17th, as Cardiff City and Huddersfield will both begin their conquests in the 2012-13 League Championship season. Join us at Total Soccer Source, as we take a look at the Cardiff City vs. Huddersfield match odds and make our predictions and tips for what should be a great match to start the season with.

This probably isn’t the start to the season that Huddersfield Town really hoped to draw. The newcomers from League 1 haven’t been in the second tier of English football since 2000-01, and that year, it was straight back down to Division 2. The same was true in 1995-96, a one-year stop for the Terriers. Meanwhile, Cardiff City has hopes this year of being able to earn promotion to the Premier League for the first time since 1957. Cardiff nearly got into the playoff last year, but thanks to the fact that West Ham United finished 10 points clear of fourth place Birmingham City, there was no need for the playoff.

It is quite clear that Cardiff is here to make some noise in 2012. The team has switched from its traditional blue and white kits to red, and the club’s motto is now “Fire & Passion.” The previously injured Stephen McPhail figures to be in the midfield for the Bluebirds, and they are going to hope to use a bunch of injury returnees to produce a great result to start off the season. Captain Mark Hudson is ready to go, and that’s perhaps the biggest addition to the team once again. David Marshall is going to be back in the pipes, just as he was for 47 of Cardiff’s 48 matches last year in the Championship. Leading scorer Peter Whittingham is still back to man the midfield as well, and that’s no shock for the only man to play in all 48 fixtures last year for Cardiff. Also note that this is the first League Championship fixture for summer signing Craig Bellamy, which is as big of a signing as the Bluebirds have had in years.

Huddersfield has a heck of a lot of momentum coming from last year’s fourth place finish. It is true that it took a miracle just to be able to force a playoff for the League One promotion to League Championship. It made the most out of it, getting up to the second division of English football. Now, there is some money behind the team, and there could be a heck of a jump to bring this team all the way up to the Premier League level as well. Jordan Rhodes looks to bring the team to the next level after scoring a goal midweek for his native Scotland in international competition, and he is going to be joined by a slew of summer signings, all of which are used to playing at this type of a level. Remember that Huddersfield is only a few years removed from playing in League 2, and getting all the way up here with a chance to challenge for a spot in the Premier League is largely unheard of.

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Cardiff City vs. Huddersfield Town Match Preview & Analysis: This could be a match that surprises many at the outset of the season. Huddersfield isn’t as raw as most teams that are making the jump from one level to the next right away, and the end result could be a lot of victories that most just don’t see coming. We know that Cardiff is the type of team that really could challenge for a spot in the Premier League next year, but we still think that this match reeks of a draw when push comes to shove.

Cardiff City vs. Huddersfield Town Punting Tip: Huddersfield Town +0.5 (+112) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Cardiff City vs. Huddersfield Score Prediction: Cardiff City 1 – Huddersfield Town 1

Olympics Men’s Soccer South Korea vs. Brazil: No More Neymar For Brazil: One of the upstarts of the Olympics Soccer Tournament, South Korea, will be taking to the pitch at Old Trafford on Tuesday night in what should be one of the best matches on the docket in this entire tournament. Don’t miss our live South Korea vs. Brazil picks and predictions for what should be a remarkable outing between two different teams with vastly different styles of playing the beautiful game.

No team has had a more interesting road to the semifinals than this South Korean team, which has had just about everything thrown at it imaginable. The squad has played from behind and played from ahead, and now, it has survived a dreaded penalty shootout against Great Britain, the host nation. Meanwhile, the Brazilians just continue to steamroll anything in their way, notching three goals against all of its opponents thus far in this tournament, though we do have to point out that the level of competition really hasn’t been all that great, and the level of organization that they have faced hasn’t been nearly as strong as it is going to be on Tuesday night.

What an amazing match the South Koreans played to dismiss the hosts of this tournament! They ended up losing Jung Sungryong in the 62nd minute to a shoulder injury and had to suddenly rely on Lee Bumyoung to be able to come in to shut the door against one of the top offensive sides in this tournament. Kim Changsoo also had to leave early with an injury to boot. Four yellow cards and two penalties against, both of which had to be considered relatively suspect in nature, weren’t enough to keep the Koreans down, though. The goal by Ji Dongwon got the job done to take the lead, and though a goal on one of those PKs was later conceded, in the end, organization kept the back of the net relatively clean. In the penalty shootout, there wasn’t much in the way of fancy play, as the young South Korea team stepped up and produced five straight goals on five efforts. Even though South Korea only had 42 percent of the possession, it rarely felt like the team was in danger of allowing all that many goals in the match, something that has become a staple in this tournament.

Brazil has a number of players – six to be exact – that are going to have to be careful to avoid picking up a caution in this match. If any of the six do, they will be forced to sit out either the Gold Medal match or the Bronze Medal match, depending upon the outcome of this one. Though the Brazilians have scored 12 goals in three matches, we definitely have our cause for concern. Belarus was able to jump out to the early lead against them, and Egypt nearly completed a comeback from down 3-0 in the second half. Honduras has one of the up and coming teams in the world, but the truth of the matter is that the talent level was never comparable. The likes of Neymar, Thiago Silva, Hulk, Oscar, Danilo… The list goes on and on of the players that could be stars on the senior team as well as this de facto U-23 squad. Still, Honduras was able to go up 1-0 and took a 2-1 lead, and the latter came with just 10 men on the pitch. Frustration spilled over in the form of eight yellow cards, and that’s probably what kept the Hondurans from ultimately having a chance to win the match, but it definitely should have served as a warning shot to the only South American side left in this tournament.

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South Korea vs. Brazil Match Preview & Analysis: Be careful, Brazil. Be very, very careful. If the Brazilians end up falling behind to the Koreans early, it could be a long road back to get level. This is a team that plays tremendous defense night in and night out, and that could, and should mean that goals will be at a premium. In the end, we are willing to take a shot that South Korea ends up advancing into the finale this weekend, shocking the rest of soccer world.

South Korea vs. Brazil Punting Tip: South Korea Advances (+350) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

South Korea vs. Brazil Score Prediction: South Korea 2 – Brazil 1 (ET)

Soccer Betting Tips for Olympics: Japanese Defense To Frustrate El Tri: Japan and Mexico aren’t countries that meet all that often in soccer, but here in the Olympics, virtually anything can happen. These two proud nations are going to collide at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday afternoon in what should be a remarkable clash on the Olympics soccer odds with the right to go to the Gold Medal Game on the line.

Mexico hasn’t exactly had the most difficult trip in the world to reach this point in the Olympics soccer tournament. The team hasn’t faced a team ranked this high in the World FIFA Rankings, knowing that No. 21 ranked Switzerland was the most recent halfway decent competition. Needless to say, this game against Japan, one of the more organized sides in this tournament, will be a much different challenge than even the 4-2 victory AET over Senegal here in the quarterfinals. Japan started this tournament off with a real noise maker, taking down Spain 1-0, and since that point, it hasn’t looked back. Its 3-0 win against Egypt to get here to the quarterfinals really sent a message to the rest of the teams in this tournament that perhaps the Japanese should not be messed with.

The argument could be made that Mexico is the weakest of the four teams left standing here in the Olympics. The Mexicans do typically have a good training program for its younger players, and they have taken the utmost advantage of that here in England. Giovani dos Santos has really had the best go of it of all of the players on El Tri thus far in this tourney, coming up with three goals on four shots on goal. His front line mate, Oribe Peralta has played well as well and has a goal to show for his efforts here in Great Britain, too. Defensively, there have been some gaps that need to be worked out, and those gaps really showed against Senegal when a 2-0 lead in the 62nd minute disappeared in just seven minutes. The depth just isn’t there at the back for Mexico to choose from, and that was seen by the fact that all of the substitutes that were used were for front line types of players. In fact, the Mexicans have only been using two players on their bench as midfielders. Do note that one of the team’s top subs, Hector Herrera, who scored in the 102nd minute to put the match away in the quarters, has been suspended for this match because of yellow card accumulation.

The Japanese still haven’t allowed a goal in this tournament to date, and they are hoping that that continues here at Wembley against Mexico. You’re not going to find many teams that are more organized at the back than Japan. This is a disciplined team that stays in its lanes defensively, and it keeps its calm as well. The whole team only has two yellow cards through four matches, which is absolutely remarkable considering the fact that Honduras had 16 cards, and Senegal and Spain both had 11. Honduras had eight against Brazil alone! These aren’t slacking teams that the Japanese have played against either. The win over Spain was as notable of a victory as the country has ever had in soccer, and the Egyptian team that it blasted 3-0 and dominated from start to finish is one of the more experienced sides in U-23 competition.

Mexico vs. Japan Match Preview & Analysis: Is Mexico, which had just three goals in the group stage going to be able to score against Japan? If it does, it will only be once for sure. Remember that a very similar South Korean team held the Mexicans to a scoreless draw to start this tournament. The difference though, is that the Japanese attack really is a bit more organized, and as a result, we are going to count on a goal around the midway point of the game, and that’s it. That’s generally all that Japan needs to be able to win matches like this one, and this should be no exception.

Mexico vs. Japan Punting Tip: Japan Advances (-120) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Mexico vs. Japan Score Prediction: Mexico 0 – Japan 1

Canada vs. United States Match Analysis: Abby Wambach To Score Again, Put US In Finals: There are just four teams that are left in the women’s soccer tournament at the Olympics, and two of those teams are going to battle it out for a spot in the Gold Medal Soccer match, when the US Women’s Soccer Team takes on Canada at Old Trafford. The winner will go on to play for the gold on Thursday, while the loser will play for the bronze medal in the third place game earlier that day. Keep on reading for our Canada vs. United States picks and predictions.

The Canadians really had a poor start to this tournament, losing their first match against Japan, but since that point, they really just continue to improve. Their best match was their most recent one, a 2-0 win over Great Britain, the host nation at the Olympics. The US fell behind 2-0 in its first match against France, but since that point, only good things have happened for it. Hope Solo hasn’t allowed a goal since that point, and she and her American team have outscored their four foes 10-0.

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Team Canada knows that it can beat any team in the world, but it hasn’t had all that much success against the Americans in their history. In fact, it has been beaten a whopping 43 times in 51 matches against them. The Canadians have scored eight goals in this tournament, and seven of those have come from two sources. Melissa Tancredi is a big time defender, and she is tied for the tournament lead with four goals in three matches. Right behind her though, is the woman who is clearly the biggest legend in the history of Canadian soccer, Christine Sinclair. Sinclair played an absolutely remarkable game against the Brits, as she took over in the final third of the field, scoring once in the first half. From that point forward though, the defense did the rest. Remember that no one had scored against Great Britain in the first round of this tournament, so that makes the accomplishment all the more notable.

And then there’s the US National Soccer Team, which just continues to storm through the rest of the world. It certainly looks like this team, that came up just shy in the World Cup Final last year, is en route to something special here in the Olympics, and perhaps that means a third straight set of Gold Medals for the nation. Abby Wambach is inching closer to the record for the most goals in the history of women’s soccer, and the argument could be made that when she retires, she is going to be the most accomplished player that this sport has ever seen. She has four goals in this tournament, one goal for each game that the US has played. Carli Lloyd has a pair of goals, and Alex Morgan does as well. Morgan also has set up her share of goals in this tournament as well, and she and Wambach have a remarkable bond with one another up front in the American attack.

Canada vs. United States Match Preview & Analysis: With 43 losses already to the Americans in their history, we just don’t see how the Canadians are going to be able to at least force this match to extra time. The United States is simply the best team in the world at this point, and though the win against New Zealand wasn’t the most impressive match ever, it was still a match that was won by two goals. That’s about the same result that we think we are going to be seeing this time around as well.

Canada vs. United States Punting Tip: United States -1 (-115) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Canada vs. United States Score Prediction: Canada 0 – United States 2

Great Britain vs. South Korea Match Analysis: Craig Bellamy, England To Fall To South Korea: The entire country of England is going to be rallying behind the 2012 Great Britain men’s football team, as it tries to move on to the semifinals of the Olympics soccer tournament on Saturday night. The Brits are going to take on South Korea, a very disciplined team that is hoping to find the most success on the soccer pitches that it has found since it hosted the World Cup 10 years ago.

There was never really a doubt this year that the Great Britain side was going to be in the knockout rounds of this tournament. The men flying under the Union Jack really never had all that much to worry about, though it did have to be concerning to get just a point from the team’s opening game against Senegal. Aside from that though, there really weren’t any problems to win Group A. For South Korea though, the task was much harder. It took two scoreless draws and a narrow escape from Switzerland to be the runners up in Group B, though at least right now, the path looks at least possible to get into the Olympics Final next week.

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Coming into the Olympics, the Brits knew that their de facto England team was going to need to show some spunk in matches like this one. The Three Lions have a history of choking in major matches, and this might be no exception at the younger level as well. Leaders like Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy, players that have been in these types of fixtures before know what it is like to be here, but there is a big difference between playing and winning. So far, life really is good for the Brits though, especially Bellamy and Giggs, both of which have found the back of the net. Daniel Sturridge is one of the many players on this team that looks to have an impact on the senior squad in the coming years, and he has been a real offensive force, coming up with nine shots, seven of which have come on target and two of which have scored. Finding some consistency on both ends of the pitch is the key though, as this is a squad that has looked oh so good at times, and oh so bad at others.

Don’t let that No. 28 mark on the Men’s FIFA Soccer Rankings fool you. This South Korea team can play. Even at the youngest levels of soccer, a lot of these Asian countries really preach the fundamentals of the game, and at this level, that generally means fantastic defense. Needless to say, we haven’t been disappointed. Only Switzerland figured out how to get one past keeper Sungryong Jung, and even that came in a fixture that was won for the Koreans. Sure, there are just two goals to speak of, on by Bokyung Kim and one by Chuyoung Park, but the fact of the matter is that the team is committing very few fouls and is taking advantage of its limited opportunities. We saw a very similar style on the women’s side lead to a win for Japan Over Brazil on Friday, and if the bunker style of playing defense and going on counterattacks proves to be worthwhile, this could be the second straight day that we see a team from Great Britain bounced out of the soccer portion of this competition.

Great Britain vs. South Korea Match Preview & Analysis: A team from England has all of the pressure in the world on it in an international match against a team that just figures out how to play disciplined ball? This just doesn’t look good from the way that we’re looking at it for the Brits. We don’t know when and how the Koreans are going to get the job done, but the job done they will do, and that will truly disappoint all of the British fans that are going to be in attendance at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

Great Britain vs. South Korea Punting Tip: South Korea To Advance (+160) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Great Britain vs. South Korea Score Prediction: Great Britain 0 – South Korea 1

Soccer Betting Tips for Olympics: Neymar, Brazil Should Blow Away Hondurans: The odds to win the Olympics soccer tournament are clearly slanted in favor of the Brazilians, who are the odds on favorites right now to claim gold medals. They’ll at least ensure themselves of a chance to claim some sort of a medal on Saturday night at St. James Park when they battle it out on the Olympics betting lines with Honduras.

It really isn’t all that much of a surprise that an insanely talented Brazilian team stormed through Group C to make it to the second phase of this tournament with maximum points. There was very little pressure coming against any of the other teams, though we do have to note that three straight goals were scored by the competition between the end of the match against Egypt and the start of the one against Belarus. Honduras knew that it needed some help to get into the quarterfinals, and it got just that in the form of a miserable effort by Spain in the second match day in Group D. At least the Hondurans have to have the confidence that they were able to eliminate the Spaniards, but they only mustered draws against Japan and Morocco in the group stage.

There is a heck of a reason that Brazil is the favorite on the odds to win the Olympics right now. They have had seven different men score for them over the course of the first three matches of this tournament. No other team has scored more than six goals in total. The well balanced effort from top to bottom is something that you just don’t see on any other team in the world at the U-23 stage at this point, and it is going to take a heck of an effort for anyone to dispose of this team. This has been yet another great stage for Neymar to strut his stuff. The youngster is sure to be playing massive club soccer in Europe soon, but for now, he is tearing apart the Olympics and has a pair of goals to show for his work on a very impressive 16 total efforts at net. Keep in mind that one of the scorers hasn’t been Hulk, who is expected to be able to contribute in a big time way to this very inexperienced team.

There hasn’t been a heck of a lot for Honduras to be proud of here in at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The Olympics medal count shows that they have yet to log a single piece of hardware that is coming back home, and the soccer team would love to be able to change that. This is one of the most important matches in the history of Honduras soccer at any level, and it definitely isn’t something to overlook. The problem is that the talent just isn’t there quite yet to compete with a team like this. Yes, Honduras got the job done against Spain, but as we saw, La Roja just never really came to play here in England, while Brazil clearly has. If there is a man that can pull off the upset, Jerry Bengtson is the man. He has three goals from the first round of the tournament, making him one of the three that has at least a trio of strikes thus far at the Olympics.

Brazil vs. Honduras Match Preview & Analysis: Still, we just don’t trust the development of Honduran soccer at this level. Brazil is clearly a refined team, and though this is a squad that features mostly a U-23 bunch, this team could clearly compete with the mass majority of senior squads in the world. Even with a great effort and some magic by Bengston, the truth of the matter is that Honduras only uses that one man at the top of the offense, and that isn’t going to cut it. Eventually, the 10 men back behind the ball for Honduras will prove to crack, and as we have seen thus far in England, the Brazilians have a tendency of scoring goals in big time bunches.

Brazil vs. Honduras Punting Tip: Brazil -2 (-112) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Brazil vs. Honduras Score Prediction: Brazil 4 – Honduras 1

Mexico vs. Senegal Picks: Moussa Konate To Lead Way For Senegal: There are still two teams from CONCACAF and two from Africa that are still competing in the Olympics football fixtures, and one from each will be meeting in the quarterfinals of this great event on Saturday morning at historic Wembley Stadium. Join us for our Mexico vs. Senegal predictions and all of our great analysis for this match.

The Mexicans have seemingly gotten better and better as the Olympics have gone on. They started with a rather drab scoreless draw against South Korea and improved with two very impressive wins against Gabon and Switzerland in back to back matches to claim the Group B crown. Meanwhile over in the wacky Group A, Senegal was the team that ended up sneaking out as the second qualifier. A draw against the United Arab Emirates sealed the deal just three days ago, and that really leaves this team carrying the hope for Olympics gold medals for Africa on its back.

The Mexican national soccer team has really shown some signs of slowing down over the course of the last several years. The United States is clearly starting to catch up, and the level of domination in CONCACAF is clearly disappeared. That being said, this U-23 team is definitely one of the better sides in this tournament, and it could be the team to beat in this half of the draw. The defense has been stunning in front of Jose Corona, one of the three men on the team that are over-aged for this competition. The Mexicans haven’t allowed a goal yet in the Olympics, but this is their biggest challenge yet in all likelihood after getting through a relatively weak Group A. Keep a very close eye on Giovani dos Santos, who is the team’s leader offensively right now with a pair of goals.

Matters are going to be tough for Senegal for sure. This is a team that has offense on the mind, knowing that it has come up with 52 shots and 17 shots on target in the tourney. The end result has only been four goals, but there is definitely something to be said about the fact that it hasn’t been shutout in a match either at this competitive stage. Moussa Konate has been the star of the show and the clear MVP of the first round. Konate is the leader going into Saturday in total goals in the tournament with four, and he also has 10 shots, six of which have been on target. Both stats lead the Senegalese squad thus far in the Olympics. One thing that Senegal definitely has to be careful of in this match is fouling too much. The team is averaging 15.3 fouls per game against just 10.7 fouls per game suffered, and all of those extra free kicks could definitely come back to bite it, especially knowing just how dangerous the Mexicans can be on set pieces.

Mexico vs. Senegal Match Preview & Analysis: Still, it feels like Senegal is the team to back here. We just don’t have all that much confidence that El Tri is all that special in these Olympics, and all of those points out of the first round might be a product of an easy group and not tremendous form. In the end, we’ll back the African side to make it to the semifinals to give some more hope for the future of soccer, not just in this country, but for this entire continent as well.

Mexico vs. Senegal Punting Tip: Senegal Advances (+115) @ BetOnline Sportsbook

Mexico vs. Senegal Score Prediction: Mexico 0 – Senegal 2