The other Wednesday match in Major League Soccer - LA Galaxy at Toronto FC

OK, there are another midweek mach (not as fun as the Rocky Mountain Cup) but I thought I would offer up my thoughts on it as well.

Los Angeles Galaxy at Toronto FC - 6pm MT - Direct Kick

You would think this would be an open and shut case, but clearly that isn't the case as demonstrated by the fact that these teams battled to two 0-0 draws last year.   Factor in that the two biggest names that people associated with this match when it was scheduled, likely won't be there.  Dwayne De Rosario is gone, but his replacement is Maicon Santos, who had been playing up top for TFC but is now in the center of their midfield as the creative force, and playing fairly well.  LA has Landon Donovan listed as questionable for the match, if he plays then it is likely that LA can get a result on the road but if he is out then it becomes a much tougher task for the Galaxy.

more after the jump:

I think there are a couple of players who may actually make the DeRo less Red's fun to watch this year, the move of Santos to the midfield, and newcomer Alen Stevanovic .  Stevanovic is on loan from Torino FC, who co-own his rights with Inter Milan, he is a 20 year old has shown a lot of promise in the two matches I have seen him play.  It will take a lot for TFC to rebuild, they have lost 3 of their top 4 goal scorers from last year (only Santos who had 4 remains), and finding 24 goals with a very inexperienced MLS lineup isn't easy.  I do think their new personnel and staff will have them playing a much more exciting style of footy, but it will take on pitch results and some huge work from their front office to win back the disgruntled fans.

For LA it is clear that they are putting all their eggs in the 2011 basket, Juan Pablo Angel, Landon Donovan, Donovan Ricketts, and David Beckham are all big names with big expectations on them.  The Galaxy do have a few younger players like,  Sean Franklin, Mike Magee, Omar Gonzalez, Leonardo,  and Juninho, but it is the big names expected to do a lot of the heavy lifting for this team.  The loss of Edson Buddle forced the team to make some bold moves, Juan Pablo Angel, Chad Barrett, and getting Miguel Lopez on loan prove that the team knows they will need several players to step up in the goal scoring area this year.  Nobody has really stepped up huge yet for them up top, Juan Pablo and Mike Magee both have a single goal, and LA hasn't gotten more than 1 goal in any of their 5 matches so far.

I think this one is going to be interesting, TFC impressed me last week in San Jose and if they can play like that at home then they will get back to establishing BMO Field as a tough place to play.  I think this one ends up a 1-1 draw if Landon doesn't play and a 2-1 LA win if he does.

OFF MY SOAPBOX