Well to get teams back to the right number of matches 4 teams will be in action Wednesday after seeing action on Saturday, both matches have teams looking to secure their playoff spots against teams with a whisper of a prayer left at the post season.
Philadelphia Union (7-12-6 27 points) at Colorado Rapids (10-7-8 38 points) 7:30pm MT Direct Kick
You may not believe it but I am going to pick the Union in this match, not because I dislike the Rapids but because Casey is suspended, Cummings is coming off an injury, and Kandji is struggling to fit in. Beyond the C&C connection there has been little scoring for the Rapids, and nobody beyond those two has found the back of the net even 3 times for the club this year. The Union also rely on two main players for their offense, Le Toux and Mwanga, but they found both Fred and Alejandro Moreno also contributing this weekend in their 3-0 win over Chivas.
These two teams played to a 1-1 draw when they faced off earlier this year, but I think without Casey and an injured Cummings that the Union might just be able to pull off a 2-1 upset special to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Chicago Fire (6-10-8 26 points) at San Jose Earthquakes (11-7-6 39 points) 9:00pm MT Direct Kick
I haven't thought the Fire were a playoff team for most of the season, and streak of 3 1-0 losses has all but eliminated them from the playoffs. The Fire haven't won a match since Aug. 18th and have lost 5 since then, sorry the hype around Ljungberg and Castillo getting this team to the playoffs just has been more smoke and mirrors of a team that has a new coach who hasn't really started the rebuilding process because they thought they could band-aid the team and make a playoff run. The Quakes on the other hand have 5 wins in their last 7 matches and are on their way to the post season as they have two matches in hand and are a point above the current cutoff spot for the playoffs.
That recent form for San Jose has been in large part to the scoring touch returning to Steve Wondolowski (6 goals in last 7 matches, and 12 on the year). If a team can find a way to shut down him, the scoring depth on the Quakes isn't deep, with just 2 players with multiple goals, but 9 others who have found the back of the net at least once. I thought the Fire would go as far as Macro Pappa took them, but when the team decided to go with Ljungberg and Castillo to provide their creative play, well it has lead to nothing good for them. This match ends up 2-0 for the Quakes as the Fire's playoff hopes are extinguished for this year.
OFF MY SOAPBOX