Friday, August 26, 2005

MLS Week 22 Predictions

KC Wizards vs. Columbus Crew
Friday - 8pm EST
TV: Direct Kick

The Wizards are doing what great teams need to do at this point in the season; they're bringing everything together. They are on a four-game MLS winning streak that has seen them blow past their opposition with a combined score of 12 to 5. Scott Sealy is making a good name for himself in KC. For the Crew the situation is simple, either win or say goodbye to any playoff dreams. Too bad that no one is really coming alive for the team. Their win last week against Dallas had more to do with the sorry state of FCD then with any Crew miracle. All that said, the strangest thing of all as nothing to do with things on the pitch, it’s the number of people watching the pitch. KC, a team that is in domination mode (even with their defeat in the Open Cup) can only draw 7500 or so, while Columbus usually has 12-13,000 cheering them on. This has nothing to do with the outcome of this game, but it is a little on the odd side.

KC 3 - Crew 1

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New England Revolution vs. DC United
Saturday - 7:30pm EST
TV: Direct Kick

Both teams are coming off loses that they should have won, so it will be interesting to see how they each respond. New England will have Steve Ralston, Taylor Twellman and Avery John back from their time with the national team, but they will be without goalie Matt Reis due to his oh so stupid body tackle of Colorado's Jay Heaps during their last match. Doug Warren will get to start in goal for the Rev. DC has lost something in the last week. They fell to LA at home and then were shown the door in the Open Cup by Dallas. If Freddy Adu or Ben Olsen doesn’t make something happen on the offensive side of things, it will be a long night for new signing Facundo Erpen on the defensive side.

New England 2 - DC 1

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FC Dallas vs. Chivas USA
Saturday - 8:30pm
TV: Direct Kick, Fox Soccer Channel

FCD got to drink from the cup of victory on Wednesday night, but it was not a very strong showing and they still find themselves on a seven game MLS winless streak. What they need to do is get Eddie Johnson and Carlos Ruiz firing on goal early. Then they need to have their backline not fall apart in the final 30 minutes. Luckily for Dallas, Chivas is still not a complete team. They are better, but if FCD can shut down Juan Francisco Palencia, the goats will not stand a chance.

FCD 3 - Chivas 2

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San Jose Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy
Saturday - 11pm EST
TV: ESPN2

These two last played each other in San Jose on Wednesday night. LA looked strong, even without Donovan. However, Landon will be back in town and that might actually hurt LA. He has played a lot of games over the last three weeks, which might make him a bit unhappy and when he's not happy, he's not scoring. Perhaps he will come on as a sub in the second half. With Brad Davis out due to injury, San Jose will need Dwayne DeRosario to lead the offense. In addition, Pat Onstad will be back in the net (he did not play on Wednesday) so their backline should be much more cohesive.

San Jose 2 - LA 1

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