Major League Soccer - Week 2 Previews

Well week one saw some stoppage time goals be the deciding factors, of the 7 matches I picked I got 4 of them correct, not a great percentage, and I only got the final score right in one of them. So week two will give us a full schedule of 9 matches, with the Columbus Crew getting the bye week.

Chicago Fire at Montreal Impact - Noon MT - Direct Kick & MLS Live

This will be a huge match for the Impact as they open their home season at the Olympic Stadium in front of an crowd of over 50,000 people, for the Chicago Fire this will be their first match of the 2012 MLS season and their chance to make a statement of their own. For the Fire they will be missing Sean Johnson who has been called into the US U23 team, but other than that they are fairly healthy. So despite some hype Montreal is a very typical expansion team and while there will be a boost of energy from playing in front of a huge crowd, and playing at home for the first time in MLS, there is also a lot of pressure that comes with that. I am going to pick this one to be a 1-1 draw.

Houston Dynamo at San Jose Earthquakes - 3pm MT - Direct Kick & MLS Live

While many of the faces have changed since the old Quakes moved to Houston and re-branded themselves as the Dynamo, the bad feeling are still there for many on the pitch and in the stands, that makes this a very heated rivalry. The two sides have faced off 9 times since the new edition Quakes joined MLS and they are very evenly matched, each side has 4 wins, there has been one draw and each side has scored 13 goals. Last year each side won their home match, but since this is the only match up between these rivals due to our new schedule, well it is all about this match. I have a feeling that this one might end up a 1-1 draw but I am going to pick the home side to pull out the win 2-1.

the rest of the weekend's matches after the jump:

Portland Timbers at FC Dallas - 6:30pm MT - Direct Kick & MLS Live

Both of these sides had big wins on week one and now they will get to test themselves in a match with early Western conference implications. These teams each hold a victory over the other from last year, Dallas got a 4-0 win at home and Portland held on to a 3-2 win last year at home. Portland showed some bite in their opener after going down a goal by answering with 3 of their own, while FC Dallas got a 2 goal lead and then protected it as New York tried to get back into the match. This should be an entertaining match, it will miss Brek Shea, and for that reason I think this one ends up a 2-2 draw.

New England Revolution at Sporting Kansas City - 6:30pm MT - Direct Kick & MLS Live

Well this will be a clash of teams that finished at opposite ends of the Eastern conference in 2011 and already are at opposite ends in 2012, I was surprised that it took Sporting until stoppage time to find the back of the net against DC United, and am willing to bet it won't take that long against New England. I am hoping that New England will unleash their teen sensation Diego Fagundez, who could really provide their offense with a spark. Still this one will probably end up 2 or 3-1 with Sporting KC coming out on top, even without Teal Bunbury who with the US U23 team.

Toronto FC at Seattle Sounders - 8:00pm MT - Direct Kick & MLS Live

So while these teams will be getting their first MLS action of the season, they both were active in Champions League and while TFC found themselves advancing past the LA Galaxy, the Sounders suffered a crushing loss on the road to Santos. So now both of them need to refocus their energy on MLS action, the expectations are high for both of these teams, Drew Carey (part owner of the Sounders) says it is time for the team to win MLS Cup. In Toronto, making the playoffs has to be the goal of this year and with the new format schedule and playoffs they have their best shot ever. I think that the Sounders are going to be hungry to put the CCL behind them and they come out with a 2-1 win over TFC.

New York Red Bulls at Real Salt Lake - 8:00pm MT - Direct Kick & MLS Live

You can check out my full match preview of this one here.

Vancouver Whitecaps at Chivas USA - 8:30pm MT - Direct Kick & MLS Live

Well the Whitecaps walked over expansion side Montreal in week 1 and there is no doubt that they have a very lethal lineup of offensive weapons, the question is can someone test their defense? Chivas didn't show much offensive life against Houston in their season opener, in fact they took just 7 shots with only 2 on goal but their defense did hold up for 92 minutes without giving up a goal. Maybe the week one loss will get Chivas focused but I think the Whitecaps might have too much punch to withstand, this one ends up 2-1 for the boys from Canada.

Colorado Rapids at Philadelphia Union - Sunday 2pm MT - NBC Sports

The Union didn't look good in their opening day match against Portland, and now they will be missing Freddy Adu and Amobi Okugo who are with the US U23 team, for Colorado they are getting healthy but they will still be missing Conor Casey, Anthony Wallace, and Jamie Smith. The Rapids looked good in beating the Crew last weekend, but a tough road match will probably be more of a test. I am not sure this will be a very good soccer match, but at least the crowd in Philly should provide NBC with some entertainment value. I am going with a 1-1 draw in this match.

D.C. United at Los Angeles Galaxy - Sunday 5:00pm MT - Galavision

I know it is only week 2 of the MLS season but is there a team in more desperate need of a win than the LA Galaxy? You have to believe that fans, players and staff are all looking towards Sunday with eager eyes to extract some revenge for the last couple of weeks from the flesh of DC United. DC on the other hand will be without their keeper Bill Hamid, without Perry Kitchen, both of them are with the US U23 team, they will have Andy Najar who will leave to join the Honduran U23's after the match. I have a bad feeling for Ben Olsen and his team as I think LA is going to do a lot of venting, this one ends up 4-1 LA Galaxy.

So there you have my look at this weekend's MLS action, there are some exciting matches on the schedule and a great week for fans to catch a lot of action.

OFF MY SOAPBOX