Midweek MLS Action
Battle of perennial powers
Well the MLS calendar may say it is week 11, but for Houston (3-3-5 14pts) and DC United (3-7-1 10pts) it will be their 12th match and both will play their 13th match this weekend. It is a clear attempt by MLS to massage the schedules, so teams are not overwhelmed with the upcoming SuperLiga tournament, which will kick off later this summer. But who would expect two of the best teams in recent MLS history to be struggling, Houston was the last team in MLS to pick up a victory this season, and United has fewer than 1 point per game so far this season. Houston has recently started playing better and are 3-1-1 in their last 5 matches, while United continue to look for a direction and are 1-3-1 in their last 5 matches.
DC United has really struggled without Christian Gomez (traded in the off season), and Ben Olsen (still out with an ankle injury), they simply have looked lost at times, and their million dollar man Marcelo Gallardo has had moments of brilliance, but for the most part has to be considered a bust so far this season. DC is better at home where they are 3-2-0 and have a +4 goal differential. Can they find a way to beat the two time defending MLS Champions?
Houston has recently started to click, and their 3 wins in their last 5 matches are as good as anyone in MLS, but they have struggled on the road and are just 1-3-3 with a -4 goal differential. While Barrett is doubtful due to injury, Eddie Robinson is out serving a red card suspension, the rest of the roster including both DeRo and Onstad are back from their time with Team Canada. Houston has scored at least one goal in each of their last 5 matches, and in three of those matches they were able to put two goals up on the scoreboard. Tonight will be no exception as Houston gets a road win over a still struggling DC United, 2-1 Houston.
GAME GUIDE
Which will prevail goats or bulls?
Chivas has regained their form and have won three straight matches and are 3-1-1 in their last 5 matches, while the Red Bulls are suffering like DC United with very inconsistent efforts so far this MLS season and are 1-2-2 in their last 5 matches.
Chivas was my preseason pick to win it all, they looked great last year and if they had avoided a couple of injuries they may have given everyone a run for their money in the playoffs. This year nine different players have scored for them, and ten players have assists, but the goat’s will be without their leading goal scorer from last year as Galindo is out with an injury. RSL cast off’s Carey Talley and Atiba Harris both will be in the starting line ups on Thursday evening, and Atiba was a one man wrecking crew a couple weeks ago when Chivas beat down DC United, he did not score he was the cornerstone of all three of their goals.
The Red Bulls on paper should be one of the very best teams in the league, Juan Pablo Angel and Renya fill their two DP slots, but neither of them have hit the 500 minute mark so far this season. The rumors of Jozy heading to Europe have impacted his performance, but he still has managed to score 3 goals so far this season, but 7 of New York’s 10 goals this season have come from 3 players, and Juan Pablo isn’t one of them. For the Red Bulls to have any chance this season at making a real impact on MLS, they will need Juan Pablo to return to his form of last season, and either send Jozy on his way, or get him focused on the task at hand. If this match were being played at the Home Depot Center, it would be easy to pick Chivas, but since this is being played in New York I am going to have to pick this one as a 2-2 draw.
GAME GUIDE
This entry was posted on June 4, 2008 at 5:24 pm and is filed under MLS Predictions, The soapbox. 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.