Midweek Major League Soccer action and Canadian Championship- Previews and Picks

Well for Major League Soccer the next few weeks are busy with a lot of midweek matches, and for teams in Canada they will be dealing with the Canadian Championship series to determine which team will get into the 2012/13 version of the CONCACAF Champions League. For fans it is a fun time to catch some MLS action on Wednesday, all the matches are scheduled to be on MLS Live, so let's take a look at the matches:

Colorado Rapids at New England Revolution - 6pm MT

Well New England need to prove that they are better than their record and Colorado needs to prove that their big win over Chivas wasn't just a fluke of a win. The Rapids showed signs of life like they had early in the year, not sure if it was the return of Conor Casey, or something else but they found a way to make a good defensive team Chivas look silly. The Revolution are still adapting to the leadership of Jay Heaps and the many changes to their roster and playing style since he took over, should be an interesting match up between a team that really needs a good result and one that is coming off one of their best of the season. I am going for a 2-1 Rapids win on the road.

Toronto FC at Montreal Impact - Canadian Championship - 6pm MT

Well after a disappointing result at RSL, Aron Winter has been fairly clear about his thoughts that TFC is a better team than the Impact, we will get a chance to find out as the teams will battle in the first match of the Canadian Championship. Montreal has been playing well enough to get results at home and Toronto shows signs of life but fail to be able to actually claim any results yet. Both teams have league matches on the weekend so it will be interesting to see what type of lineups each team will play and who might put more emphasis on this match than their weekend league match. As much as I want to pick TFC, the home turf advantage for Montreal should be enough to keep this one even, I see a 1-1 draw.

The rest of the midweek action after the jump:

Los Angeles Galaxy at Seattle Sounders - 8pm MT

So I thought I would quickly check what is on ESPN2 and NBC Sports that would prevent them from jumping on this match, ESPN2 is showing a replay of Sports Nation followed by replays of 2011 World's Strongest man competition, while NBCS it is Stanley Cup playoff hockey. So you will be left to catch this one on MLS Live, and I would normally think it could be a huge match for both teams but when LA leaves David Beckham and Robbie Keane (neither on Tuesday's Injury report) at home, well it leaves me a bit puzzled. For the Sounders this could be the match when Maruo Rosales returns to action that would be a big boost for their offense. I think the Sounders are going to pick up the win at home 2-1.

Vancouver Whitecaps at FC Edmonton - Canadian Championship - 8pm MT

Well the Whitecaps have put together back to back wins, but there are still a lot of question on why an offense with Eric Hassli, Sebastian LeToux, and others have only scored 7 goals so far this year. Facing NASL side Edmonton who haven't gotten a win yet in the early goings of their season, might be just what the Whitecaps need for their offense to get something going. I will be honest I looked at the roster for FC Edmonton and didn't see a single name I recognize, which is rather surprising. I am going with the Whitecaps in this one 2-0.

D.C. United at San Jose Earthquakes - 8:30pm MT

Well there are only two teams in Major League Soccer who haven't lost in their last 5 matches and the two will do battle on Wednesday night, with the exception of Sporting KC these are the two hottest teams in MLS. DC United have figured out how to get the best from Maicon Santos and then a cast of supporting characters on offense and lately they have been playing much better on the defensive side of the ball as well. Just wait until Dwayne DeRosario starts scoring goals, DC could really do some damage in the East. San Jose have simply found ways to win, sometimes controversial, sometimes not but they have finally found someone to support the work of Chris Wondolowski on the offense. Their defense has been solid all year allowing just 6 goals so far this year, a lot of that thanks to some great saves of Jon Busch, this could be one of the more exciting matches of the night, I think these two might actually battle to a 2-2 draw.

So a bit of action to keep you busy on Wednesday night.

OFF MY SOAPBOX