Wednesday, October 12th
Chicago Fire - FC Dallas: These two have been going in opposite directions, FC Dallas towards the top of the league and suddenly dropping result after result and Chicago towards the cellar and suddenly climbing their way out with result after result. With that trend in mind, Chicago will certainly be the favorite in this match, especially playing at home.FC Dallas, however, will certainly be giving the Fire a fight. Though results haven't been going their way lately, Dallas has certainly been capable of holding their own. If fortune can turn in their favor, FC Dallas can win this match.
Vancouver Whitecaps - DC United: Last week, with a little help from some questionable calls, Vancouver did what no one expected that they would do: defeat Real Salt Lake. Sure Real Salt Lake has been in a nosedive lately, but their still one of the better teams in the league, there is a reason that they're in third place after all. Now Vancouver will be looking for a second consecutive victory in their new stadium, BC Place. DC has the best road record of the East, but they also have issues when it comes to consistency and lately it's been haunting them (recording only four points in they're last five matches). In the match against RSL, Tommy Soehn shuffled the line-up clearly to great success. If Vancouver continues with the new line-up and DC remains inconsistent, they should garner BC Place and their fans with another win.
Friday, October 14th
Colorado Rapids - Real Salt Lake: The second leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup will certainly be one to watch, both teams are in desperate need of a result. Real Salt Lake is in a slump only matched by that of FC Dallas, having lost four matches in a row, and as the season is coming to a close are getting more and more desperate to break free. Colorado was in a similar slump, but a recent victory over FC Dallas remedied their situation. Now, if the Rapids can get a win and other results go their way they can clinch a play-off berth this weekend and that will certainly provide a huge motivation for them. Without their captain RSL's chances are incredibly slim, as they've already proven. I say Colorado wins this one.
Saturday, October 15th
Sporting Kansas City - New York Red Bulls: The Red Bulls have seen somewhat of a resurgence lately, shuffling and bolstering up the defense. Not only were they able to defeat the LA Galaxy, they were able to keep a shutout and that speaks volumes. The key to this success is clearly the movement of Rafa Marquez from central defense to a defensive midfield role. While he still may have issues here and there, he has been thriving in his new role. Meanwhile SKC has continued to get results, consistently in that fight for the number one spot in the East. Speaking of placement, because they're sitting on forty three points, should the Red Bulls get a win they can jump ahead of SKC in the table which will certainly provide further motivation. New York has certainly improved lately, but SKC has proven their homefield advantage of Livestrong Sporting Park. SKC wins this one.
DC United - Chicago Fire: Both teams are on the outside looking in, in terms of making the playoff's. They are the only two teams remaining that don't hold a wildcard spot and still have a chance of sneaking in. Recent form for both sides, however, doesn't inspire confidence in their chances. DC is currently in the midst of a three game losing streak, while the Fire recent momentum seems to be sputtering to a halt. I think the key for DC in this one is regaining their primary cog in the offense, Dwayne De Rosario, after being absent for the last couple weeks due to World Cup qualifier duty with Canada. If DeRo can spark their offense, then DC stands a strong chance of winning. This has the makings for an entertaining match, and at the end of the day I see a team winning. Which one, though, is difficult to say.
FC Dallas - Vancouver Whitecaps: Recently FC Dallas has been in quite the slump, losing four in a row as well as being shut out four times in a row. If the result at Toyota Park earlier this week is any indicator, they've begun to turn things around. They finally managed to break the winning and scoring drought and take all three points in a 2-1 win over a fairly lifeless Chicago Fire. If the Whitecaps recent performances are any indicator, however, winning two straight may not be so easy. After shuffling the lineup, Tommy Soehn has obviously found a successful line-up as they've now managed two straight wins. Despite the Whitecaps' recent form, I think that Dallas has enough quality to get the win.
Seattle Sounders FC - San Jose Earthquakes: When it comes to the play-offs this match is all but meaningless. The Sounders have second place all but locked up and the Earthquakes have been eliminated from contention for a wildcard spot. This match does carry immense meaning in that it is Kasey Keller's last regular season home match, however. As a result, emotions will be high and a record crowd inexcess of 62,000 is expected. Seeing that they have nothing left to lose, and that Chris Wondolowski is still very much in the race for his second consecutive Golden Boot award San Jose has made it clear that their one primary objective tonight is to feed balls to Wondo's feet and hope he scores. Keller and the Sounders look to spoil those plans, surely aiming to maintain a clean-sheet to honor their captain and honor him, and their fans as well, even further with a victory. The imminent returns of Mauro Rosales and Alvaro Fernandez definitely bodes well for those hopes. The Sounders should easily win this one.
Sunday, October 16th
LA Galaxy - Chivas USA: The return leg of the SuperClasico doesn't bode well for Chivas USA, nor does their history in the rivalry. By and large season in and season out, the Galaxy have consistently won the two game series. Only once, in fact, do I believe Chivas has actually won the series. They do stand a chance to overturn the 1-0 result earlier in the season due to the Galaxy's weakened state (Donovan recovering from injury, Keane out for the next couple weeks), but the Galaxy's ability to consistently grind out results despite the absence of major players stands in the way of any hope that they might have. One only has to look to the Galaxy's match at Columbus a few weeks back that saw them without all three of their stars, Chad Barret getting the stoppage time game-winner after both teams had been deadlocked during regulation time. I'd be crazy not to favor the Galaxy in this match-up.
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