September 22nd, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)Another day, another losing pick in the evening. I started out with a win going for FC Midtylland in Danish soccer then picked up a second win when Dallas Clark went for 80 yards and tied the Monday Night Football record for quickest touchdown (12 seconds). Instead of being satisfied with two wins I went for another and lost as Joe Saunders showed the Yankees why they won't make it to the World Series this year. So on to a new day of picks then, yeah?

Picks
1) Liverpool @ Leeds United - Leeds United win, draw, or lose by 1 goal
2) Blackburn Rovers @ Nottingham Forest - Blackburn Rovers
3) Joe Blanton vs. Josh Johnson - Blanton pitches more or equal innings
4) Durham Bulls vs. Memphis Redbirds - Durham
5) How Many Runs Will Be Scored Before The 5^th Inning (Cubs @ Brewers): 4 Or Fewer vs. 5 Or More - 4 runs or fewer
6) Philadelphia Phillies @ Florida Marlins - Philadelphia
7) Boston Red Sox @ Kansas City Royals - Kansas City
8) New York Yankees @ Los Angeles Angels - Los Angeles

Previews

Leeds United will face off against a shadow squad from Liverpool.

1) Liverpool should easily defeat Leeds United and by more than two goals if they were to play Leeds like they would a team from the Premiership. Liverpool will be more focused on Champions League matches and winning the Premier League than they are on the Carling Cup, however. The preview on ESPN's site can be found here and suggests Liverpool will likely be playing a squad of reserves with their key players such as Torres and Gerrard on the bench to come in only if Liverpool finds themselves losing or tied. SkySports report the same here. They also report Leeds will also have their minds on a match against MK Dons as they attempt to promote themselves to the Championship from League One (3^rd tier). With both sides focused more on their league matches than this Cup match I think we might see some dreary play with a 2-1 scoreline in favor of Liverpool - Beckford likely scores for Leeds. Click here for a bevy of news articles regarding this match.

2) Another match between a top-flight side, Blackburn Rovers, at a lower division side, Nottingham Forest of the 2^nd tier Championship. Blackburn will be playing quite a few second teamers hoping for a spot against Wigan Athletic this weekend so it won't be a massacre here. SkyBet has odds for this match with Nottingham Forest at 2/1 (+200) and Blackburn Rovers at 11/8 (+135) and a draw (after 90 minutes) at +225 so we could very well see this match go into extra time and possibly penalties. I would take Blackburn in those situations as they are a bigger club with more depth.