Los Angeles Galaxy v. D.C. United (Saturday)
I will be stunned if Los Angeles does not win this match. I don’t want them to, but they will. They are as hot as any team in MLS has been this season (only one loss since the end of June) and they are going up against a team in D.C. United that has played nine matches in the last month, including a cross country trip to San Jose and a trip to El Salvador to play C.D. Luís Ángel Firpo in the CONCACAF champions league. I just don’t think they have the depth (truthfully, no team in MLS does) to survive that schedule and then beat a team playing as well as the Galaxy are. However, if you believe in karma, there is one thing going in D.C. United’s favor- Los Angeles’ website is already promoting the derby match with Chivas U.S.A. on the 22nd.
Toronto F.C. v. Chivas U.S.A. (Saturday)
Chivas are currently tied on 30 points with two other teams (Colorado and Toronto) and need to put together a few wins to break the deadlock- they’re not going to catch Chicago for second place in the Eastern Conference, so total points are all that matters to them at this point in the season. The situation is much the same for Toronto, but with a few results and a stumble by Chicago, they could actually get into the Eastern Conference’s second automatic playoff spot. If they don’t, though, they’ll need all the points they can get. So, two teams that need three points, not one, and certainly not none. That means we’ll either have a thrilling shoot out that will end 4-3 or a yawn-inducing defensive battle that will end 0-0 or 1-1 and not do anything good for both teams. I’m going with the former, and Toronto being on the winning end of it.
Kansas City Wizards v. San Jose Earthquakes (Saturday)
If I had MLS Direct Kick this is one of those matches where I would sit down with my calculator to figure out just how much of my subscription fee went to each match, shrug, and go look for something else to do- like cleaning the bathroom. Neither of these teams really have anything to play for at this point, and that’s probably more of a disappointment for the Wizards players as they were competitive for a while. For that reason I think San Jose might be in for a win in this match- they haven’t really been in the picture all year and will probably be loose and ready to go. Fun fact: There was a time, in the early days of the internets, that the soccer coverage of the San Jose Mercury News was my “go-to” source for all things football related.
Birmingham City F.C. v. Stoke City F.C. (Saturday)
The first of the newly-promoted clubs to get our attention this weekend is Birmingham City. I was shocked to learn that among Birmingham’s forwards is Kevin Phillips. Shocked because I assumed that he’d been retired for years! You learn something every day, I guess. Please also watch this space to find out when B.C.F.C. Officially becomes “Hong Kong F.C.” Stoke City are off to a solid start with a win and a loss in their first two matches. That’s about what one expects and if they keep to the pattern they’ll finish in the middle of the table, which for them, is a good year. Do you suppose there’s a story behind the team having no less than four Senegalese players? Does Mamady Sidibe feel badly because the flag of his native Mali doesn’t have a green star like the flag of Senegal? I bet he does.
Manchester City F.C. v. Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. (Saturday)
Also playing on Saturday are straight-from-the-Colaship Wolves who feature an American with a German name- Marcus Hahnemann- a Scotsman with a French name- Christophe Berra- and the Championship’s leading scorer last year who has a name worthy of the most snooty English public school boy- Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. The Citizens, on the other hand, simply have every player that they could hit over the head with Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s gargantuan wallet. If all goes according to plan, by the end of the January transfer window the team will have winnowed out all of its English players and will formerly adopt the name “Arsenal F.C. 2.0” Whether that will make them a better team is anybody’s guess.
A.C. Siena v. A.C. Milan (Saturday)
There are two reasons to pick this match- one obvious one, and one not-so-obvious one. First, Milan is now the home club of our own Oguchi Onyewu. Opinions seem to be split over just how much playing time Gooch is going to see as a member of the Rossoneri. I tend to think he will see a good amount as there was little point in Milan signing him if they didn’t plan to play him on a regular basis. The second reason to watch this match is that I own two different Siena home shirts and a Siena sweatshirt. I also own a Siena bandana, but we’re not going to talk about that, are we? Fun fact: Siena’s annual palio in the Piazza del Campo is something that I’d really like to see. Fun Fact 2: I used to live just minutes away from Siena College in scenic Loudonville, NY.
F.C. Dallas v. New York Red Bulls (Sunday)
Speaking of matches I’m glad I don’t have to pay for- or watch at all, for that matter… Actually, this could be interesting, because Dallas put a “6” on the board a few weeks ago against the Wizards and they are a much better team than New York. New York, in fact, has a -23 goal differential this season- ten goals more than “next worst” San Jose. Oh, and did I mention that Juan Carlos Osorio resigned as the coach of Red Bull New York earlier today (assistant Richie Williams will take over for the rest of the season). You have to feel for the guy, he was brought in to do a job and then not given any of the tools to do it with. Seriously, is there any player on the team- other than Juan Pablo Angel and mabye John Wolyniec- that you would want on your team?
Colorado Rapids v. Chicago Fire S.C. (Sunday)
Colorado needs a win, Chicago can live with a draw. That should make for a good match, with the Rapids pushing forward and opening the game up while Chicago probes forward on the counter-attack looking for a goal before they sit back and defend. Colorado need to win because they are not going to get one of the automatic playoff spots in their conference and will need to advance based solely on their point total. Currently they are tied on 30 points with two other teams and they need as many big results as possible to break out of that pack. The Fire, conversely, just need to get a point here and a point there to prevent Toronto from catching them for second place in the Eastern Conference. And even if they do, Chicago will probably have enough points to make the post-season anyway.
Real Salt Lake v. New England Revolution (Sunday)
On the heels of their big midweek win against Seattle, the Revolution will be looking to keep the good results coming as they face off against RSL on Sunday. New England is 3-1-1 over the last month and that’s just the kind of form they need to maintain if they are going to catch D.C. United and Toronto and make a push for the playoffs. Maybe they make it, maybe they don’t, but they’ll go into the 2010 season knowing at least this: that rookie defenders Darrius Barnes and Kevin Alston are the real thing. Emmanuel Osei wasn’t a bad pick-up either. Real Salt Lake have as many points as the Revolution, but they’ve played two more matches and trail an additional team for a playoff spot. Put more simply, they must win. New England just needs to not lose.
Seattle Sounders v. Houston Dynamo (Sunday)
Anything but a loss would be fine for Houston- it would keep the Galaxy six points behind them. Then again, if they win and the Galaxy lose, the Dynamo are up by eight with only seven weeks left and that would probably clinch the conference championship. For Seattle, coming on the heels of a tough home loss to New England, a win is essential if they want to remain in a fight for second place in the Western Conference and the automatic playoff berth that goes with it. To do so, they must win and hope that the Galaxy lost on Saturday. If that happens, they’ll be only a point behind Los Angeles with seven games remaining on the schedule. Unfortunately, I think L.A. is going to win, so the points might turn out to be more important to Seattle than any ground they may gain in the standings.
Burnley v. Everton F.C. (Sunday)
The final EPL newbies in action this weekend are the Red Devil Killers of Burnley F.C. In Burnley’s first top flight match at Turf Moor in over thirty years they beat Manchester United with a team effort and some good, old-fashioned hard defending. Why, it’s almost like somebody had predicted that’s how they would succeed in the EPL! A few more efforts like that and they might just stay up. Then again, the Toffees didn’t have a bad week either- you might say that their Europa League win against Sigma Olomouc was as easy as taking candy from a baby. You see what I did there, don’t you? However, Everton- after the spanking they received last week- do have something to prove this week and I fear that may spell “bad news” for the Clarets.
Ross County F.C. v. Raith Rovers F.C. (Saturday)
Undefeated. That’s right, a win and a draw in the league, a First Round win in the CIS Cup, and a First and Second round win in the Alba Challenge Cup. The Staggies were also undefeated in their preseason friendlies, if you care. This weekend brings their third SFL First Division match against recently promoted and also undefeated Raith Rovers. Raith are off to a good start, with two draws including one against joint league leaders and promotion favorites, Dundee F.C. Not too worry, however, County are finally healthy and playing at home, so they have to be considered favorites to remain undefeated after this match. Of course, too many points and the Staggies might be in danger of getting promoted and that, oddly, probably isn’t the best thing for them.
