Avoiding the Drop

New England Revolution  v.  Colorado Rapids (Saturday)

Whether injuries are an “excuse,” or a “reason” (and there is a difference) is becoming less and less important as the season moves along.  At some point, the Revolution need to start adding to their point total or they’re going to be too far behind to catch up when they eventually do become healthy.  With Steve Ralston back in the line-up (fingers crossed!) perhaps this will be the week that the recovery begins.  Colorado have only two points on New England, and no real excuses for why they haven’t been any better thus far.  They will also be without their home field advantage (altitude!) as they will be on the road this week.

D.C. United  v.  Chivas USA (Saturday)

A month ago this had the potential to be a lopsided affair, but United have come into their own in recent weeks and now this looks like it could be one of the better match-ups of the season to date.  Chivas are, without a doubt, the class team in MLS this year and D.C. United can make a strong claim to being the second best team in the league.  Should Chivas win this match- and I believe they will- the remainder of the season in the Western Conference may become something of a formality, while the clubs in the Eastern Conference are going to need to step it up a bit if they plan to offer some sort of opposition in MLS Cup 2009.

Chicago Fire S.C.  v.  Toronto F.C. (Saturday)

With teams like New England and Columbus faltering at the beginning of the season an opportunity arose for another team to move towards the top of the Eastern Conference table and Toronto F.C. were the team that seized it.  If D.C. United lose to Chivas USA, this could become a match that vaults the winner- if there is one!- into first place.  This would be nothing new for the Fire, but for Toronto this could be another “opportunity” to show off the improvement and ensure that they are still around when the playoffs begin.  That’s a long way off, but it’s amazing what a bit of success and the confidence that comes with it can do for a club.

Seattle Sounders F.C.  v.  F.C. Dallas (Saturday)

I’m going to go out on the proverbial limb here and say that this one might get a little lopsided in favor of Seattle.  The Sounders have shown the ability to score goals and Dallas have shown the ability to allow them- and that was before their starting keeper (Dario Sala) was lost to injury.  Seattle, on the other hand, has the league’s best goalkeeper and need only to shut down Kenny Cooper in order to render Dallas impotent- errr, soccer-wise that is.  Expect that to happen, and expect that Seattle to benefit greatly from the fact that the capacity of “their” stadium has been increased by almost 4000 seats due to demand for tickets.

Other MLS Matches:

Houston Dynamo  v.   New York Red Bulls (Saturday)
Kansas City Wizards  v.  Real Salt Lake (Saturday)
Columbus Crew  v.  Los Angeles Galaxy (Sunday)

Bologna  v.  Lecce (Sunday)

In my head this match is “baloney” v. “milk.”  I do not, however, speak Italian, so there could be some room for error in my thinking.  In any case, these two teams are both in the relegation zone with only a single point between them.  If Bologna win, they will have a legitimate chance to stay in Serie A next year.  If Lecce win, well, they’ll have a chance.  Needless to say, both teams would benefit from a Torino loss this week.  I’m going to put my 1,000,000 lira (c. 4 Euros) on Lecce as they have been in slightly better form over the last month or so.  Torino, of course, have been in better form than either of these clubs lately, so it may not matter a great deal who is victorious.

Numancia  v.  Recreativo Huelva (Sunday)

One, or quite possibly both of these teams could see their hopes dashed at the conclusion of this match.  However, given how tightly packed things are at the bottom of La Liga, both of these teams could actually survive!  In fact, they are playing better than either of the two teams ahead of them (Sporting Gijon and Osasuna) in the table, so one might even say that it’s likely that they will survive.  The teams above them are also playing strong opposition this week, so the remaining three weeks of the season could likely see a great deal of movement at the bottom of the table.  This is particularly good because there isn’t likely to be much movement at the top of the La Liga table!

Saint Étienne  v.  Toulouse (Saturday)

Near the top of the Ligue 1 table Toulouse is trying desperately to unseat PSG for the league’s Europa Cup place while, down by the relegation zone, Saint Étienne are hoping for a win and the points that will keep them above the bottom three for another week.  Should be a good one!  Fun fact:  I once taught with a French teacher who was a big fan of Saint Étienne, but that wasn’t why I liked him.  I liked him because, even though he was a French teacher and had a quintessentially French name, “Bertrand Chevalier,” he did not consider himself a “Frenchman.”  He was a Breton, and don’t you forget it!

Borussia Dortmund  v.  Arminia Bielefeld (Saturday)

Much like the French match above, this one features a team trying to get into Europe (Dortmund) and another trying to avoid being relegated (Bielefeld).  All I can say is that Bielefeld better hope that the teams below them (Cottbus and Karlsruher) and the team immediately above them (Bochum) lose their matches this week, because Dortmund are on a tear and are probably going to win this match on the trot.  If, however, everything goes Bielefeld’s way, they could find themselves moving from 16th to joint 14th place, which is…something.  A “moral” victory?  A “pyrrhic” victory?

Manchester United v Arsenal (Saturday)

So this, possibly, is it.  One point for United and they’ve won the Premier League for the third year in a row and the 11th time overall (both of these numbers will chap the asses of certain important people here at ATD World Headquarters).  Frankly, it’s hard for me to imagine that the Red Devils won’t walk away from this match with at least that point- Arsenal are struggling at the moment and United are playing at Old Trafford.  Another question would be, will the motivation of Arsenal to ruin the day for United be enough to inspire them to victory.  Of course, if Liverpool do anything but win, it doesn’t really matter what happens in this match!

Moss FK  v.  Kongsvinger IL (Saturday)

Our Norwegian friend’s side- Kongsvinger- in the Adeccligaen are off to a blistering start, taking twelve of the first fifteen points available to them.  And good for them, because with the rest of the European leagues winding down we’re going to need something besides MLS to follow in the coming months and there’s nothing like backing a winner!  What do I predict for their opponents, Moss FK?  Well, I have consulted Yggdrasil, the tree of fate, and it tells me that Kongsvinger will win again this week.  Moreover, the tree tells me that Moss FK will be cast into the nine worlds of Niflheim, never to be heard from again.

KS Dinamo Tirana  v.  KF Tirana (Saturday)

You didn’t think I was going to let the Tirana Derby pass unnoticed- did you?!  Seriously, is there any more anticipated derby day in a former non-aligned communist country?  I think not.  As we all know, KF is the big team in Tirana, so any time Dinamo can win the derby it’s quite a triumph for them.  It might be even tougher this year, however, as KF trail KS Vllaznia Shkodër by only a point for the Super League (yes, they really do call it that) title.  Perhaps more importantly, KF will be trying to secure a place in Europe, and if you live in Albania I’m guessing the chance to leave a couple of times in the coming year is all the motivation you need to win.  Fun fact:  John Belushi was of Albanian descent.  His brother Jim, however, is not funny.

Western Mass Pioneers  v.  Crystal Palace Baltimore (Friday)

I was on-hand for the home opener against the Richmond Kickers that brought the Pioneers to 0-2 for the season.  It was not an impressive display.  The team was at sixes and sevens at the back and never really threatened to score against the Kickers defense.  I’m not expecting a whole lot better for this match- if only because the Pioneers will be playing Crystal Palace Baltimore on Friday night.  I know this is a cost-cutting measure but it can’t help to play two matches in two days.  Anything more than two points out of these two matches would be a triumph.  (Yes, yes, I did accidently include this preview last week’s post, I’m not a god.)