Well it isn't the busiest weekend of MLS action but there is plenty to keep fans excited about, and with CONCACAF Champions League just around the corner and the playoffs getting closer every result matters. So if you look at the tables you see that the Western Conference has been doing much better than the teams from the East, this weekend will be an interesting one as five matches will feature teams from the West on the road facing Eastern Conference foes.
These will be a bit shorter than usual and you may notice fewer posts than usual this weekend, I will be attending the 1st Annual (I hope it is annual) SB Nation blogger conference in Las Vegas. Should be a fun time for all who can make it, now on to the action:
Chivas USA at Seattle Sounders - 2pm MT - Direct Kick
Well this is a 6 point Western Conference show down, and while Chivas trail Seattle by 13 points in the table, they are battling for a playoff spot. For Seattle they will be trying to close the gap with the idle LA Galaxy by getting what would be their 4th win in 5 matches.
As much progress as Chivas has made in recent weeks, playing at Seattle is no easy task and right now the Sounders are as hot as any team in MLS. I am going with a 2-1 Sounders win.
Real Salt Lake at Toronto FC - 5pm MT - Direct Kick
RSL bounced back from a couple losses to beat New York last weekend, TFC couldn't win at DC despite having a man advantage for 83 minutes. It used to be that BMO field was one of the toughest spots to play in MLS, but this year the Red's have just 3 home wins and with their ever changing roster it might be tough for them if RSL can play even half as well as they did against New York. Got to go with RSL in a 2-0 road win.
the rest of the weekends matches after the jump:
Chicago Fire at New York Red Bulls - 5:30pm MT - Direct Kick
Well neither of these teams has looked good lately but you have to belive that at home the talent of the Red Bulls should be enough to get them back to winning after their 3-0 loss at Salt Lake last weekend, while the Fire fell to the expansion side Whitecaps in Vancouver 4-2 on Sunday,
LIsten there simply is no way I can pick the Fire in this match, the Red Bulls should get a comfortable 2-0 win, but you just never know this could end up a 0-0 draw just as easily.
Vancouver Whitecaps at DC United -5:30pm MT - Direct Kick
The Whitecaps haven't gotten a win on the road yet this year, but DC United has been bad at home this year with just two wins, so it is likely one of those will change on Saturday. DC will have to deal with the red card suspension of Bill Hamid their starting keeper, but hopefully this week they won't have to play a man down for 80 plus minutes.
I am going out on a limb on this one and picking a 2-2 draw as both of these teams can score goals but neither is that good on defense.
New England Revolution at Columbus Crew -5:30pm MT - Direct Kick
In what might be the most boring match of the weekend the grind out results of the Crew will face the no clue what directiton they are going in Revolution. I do think the Crew are a solid team and will recover from their loss at Colorado with a convincing home win, this one ends up 2-0.
FC Dallas at Philadelphia Union -6:00pm MT - Direct Kick
This would be my pick for the match of the week, FC Dallas will be looking to get a result after their tough loss at LA last weekend and wanting to keep pace with the Galaxy who are off this week. The Union will be looking to try and take back first place in the Eastern Conference, they trail the Crew by a point, could new signing Freddy Adu see action on Saturday for Philly?
This is a tough one to call, Philly is tough at home and FC Dallas are just tough, I am going with a 1-1 draw for this one but it should be an exciting match to watch.
Colorado Rapids at San Jose Earthquakes - 8:30pm MT - Direct Kick
A rematch of the Eastern Confernce final from last year, but lately the Quakes have really struggled and they are 0-2-3 in their last 5 matches, while the Rapids have refound their form and are 3-1-1 in their last 5 matches and now find themseleves solidly in a playoff spot. The Quakes may get Simon Dawkins back, which would be a big boost to their offense, but I have a lot of doubts if we will see a late season surge to the playoffs from them this year unless something changes.
I am going to give the Quakes some credit and think they will get a hard fought 1-1 draw, but as inconsistent as these two sides are you just never know.
Portland Timbers at Houston Dynamo - Sunday 7:00pm MT - Galavision
Portland recently got their first road win since joining MLS but Houston is always a tough road match for teams, not only do the Dynamo play well at home but when you have a record heat wave and high humidity it makes playing there tough for the fittest of players. The Timbers did get a draw on the road last weekend at San Jose, while the Dynamo got a road draw against Philly.
Since both teams got 1-1 draws last weekend, I am going to pick that as the result again this week.
OFF MY SOAPBOX