MLS Week 7 Predictions and Preview
| Predictions |
Actual |
| Fire vs. DC United (2-1) |
Fire (2-0) |
| Colorado vs. Dynamo (1-1) |
Dynamo 2-1 |
| FC Dallas vs. RSL (1-2) |
RSL 2-1 |
| Crew vs. Earthquakes (3-1) |
Crew 3-2 |
| Red Bulls vs. Galaxy (2-2) |
Red Bulls 2-1 |
| Revolution vs. Chivas (3-1) |
Revolution 2-1 |
| |
|
Dynamo still winless
Listen the problem with the Dynamo is easy to see they are not scoring, the only team in MLS with fewer goals than Houston’s 5 is expansion side San Jose (2). You can get ties without scoring, but you can’t get wins, in fact all 5 of the Dynamo goals come in ties (3-3 with Dallas, and 2-2 with the Galaxy) and when Houston holds a team scoreless, they don’t get the win, both of those games are ties as well (0-0 against Chivas & KC).
The Rapids have other issues but have scored in all but one of their six matches this season, they were shut out at home by San Jose. Colorado ended their two game losing streak last weekend beating Eastern Conference DC United 2-0, but they still have a number of injuries that are impacting their performance. Petke, Hughes, DiRaimondo, Casey, and Colaluca all are either out or nursing injuries, but despite the injuries, and earlier in the season they had even more injuries than this, Colorado sit at the top of the Western Conference with 9 points and a 3-3 record.
Well this one is tough to pick, but I can’t believe that Houston will lose at home this weekend, and Colorado has been very solid, so I am going to take the easy way out on this one, 1-1 draw. Game Guide
The Crew Rules
Well so far this season no team has been better than the Columbus Crew (who would have thought it?), and now they get to come to the west coast to face off with expansion side San Jose. San Jose has had moments this year when they looked less like an expansion team and more like a contender, they looked good against FC Dallas last weekend in their 0-0 draw, and they beat the west leading Rapids in Denver. But then again last week they played their LHUSOC qualifying match and got drubbed 4-0 by RSL in Salt Lake City. The Crew are just too solid this season, so this one is easy to pick 3-1 Crew. Game Guide
Red Bulls vs. Golden Balls
So will this game live up to the hype of last seasons match in New York? It was last August that fans really got their first look at Golden Balls in the 5-4 that say both Jozy and Juan Pablo get two goals each, and Beck’s got two assists in a match played before 65,000 plus fans. Well this year Jozy has 2 goals in the four matches he has played in, Juan Pablo has yet to score and has only one assist in three matches, and New York is 2-1-2 with 8 points in five matches, their strength is simple, it is defense the Red Bulls have only given up 4 goals in their five matches this season.
The other side of this match up is the high scoring (13 goals) LA Galaxy with Golden Balls Beckham (3 goals, 4 assists) and Golden Boot leader Landon Donovan (8 goals, 3 assists), this high scoring offense has not however lead to a stellar season so far for LA, they are 2-2-2 with 8 points in their six matches. Last week they let in two early goals (their defense has given up as many goals 13, as their offense has scored), but Beckham was able to score twice to get a 2-2 draw in a controversial match in Salt Lake City against RSL. But no Kevin Scott to officiate their match this weekend, so I think the Red Bulls defense will play tough, but give up a couple goals. I also think that Juan Pablo Angel will get his first goal of the season, these two teams go into the match with the same number of points, and I think they will leave the same way, a 2-2 draw. Game Guide
Two teams looking for an identity
New England has a 3-3-1 record with a ton of injuries (Twellman, Parkhurst, Albright, Ralston, Larentowics, Nyassi) all have been out or injured for a majority of the season, the only consistent thing with the Revolution is nothing, they open their season beating the Dynamo 3-0, they then lose to the Fire 4-0, then they beat KC 3-1, then they lose to the Rapids 1-0, tie against NY, beat Dallas 1-0, and then lose again to Chicago 3-0. So one would expect them to either win or tie this weekend.
Chivas has been an interesting story as well, last years Western Conference winner has only five points in six matches this year, in part due to a defense that has given up 13 goals in 6 matches (tied for worst in the MLS with their Home Depot Center roommates LA Galaxy). Last weekend was the first time Guzan got a clean sheet, in a 0-0 draw against the cellar dwelling Dynamo. Can the goat’s find their form at home against the Revolution? I doubt it, Revolution 3 – Chivas 1. Game Guide (coming soon)
F*C* Dallas vs. Real Salt Lake
I am picking RSL 2-1 over the Hoop’s, my preview coming later today.
Fire take 1st for now
In a match that was very one sided, DC United never really figured out how to slow down or stop the Chicago Fire. The first half saw United try but the Fire defense was up to the task, DC had a number of chances but failed to get many of them to pose a real threat only two of their 10 shots were on goal. The achilles heel of DC United this season has been their defense, and in the 38th minute a crossed ball was headed down in the box to a wide open Justin Mapp, he had no problem putting it into the back of the net. The second half DC United played with little energy and after they went down 2-0 on a Blanco goal (yup another one of those super goals-watch the highlights), they seemed to simply stop caring and, because their bench is thin, bringing in players like Doe, Strafford, and Kirk had little impact on the overall play. The final score was 2-0.
Video Highlights
OFF MY SOAPBOX
This entry was posted on May 9, 2008 at 9:09 am and is filed under MLS Predictions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.