MLS Week 27 Predictions

Wednesday, September 14th
Columbus Crew - Houston Dynamo: Starting with the 6-2 loss against the Sounders at Century Link the Crew have been in a bit of a nose-dive, losing the following match 4-2 to their rivals Toronto FC. The Dynamo have lost their last two matches as well, most recently the fell to Sporting Kansas City 3-0. This is a match with table placement implications, both teams in the top four standing to advance a position if they win. Due to the implications, this will be an interesting match. I think the Crew will continue on their nose dive, you don't concede ten goals in two matches if there isn't a clear issue with the defense. I think that the Dynamo will take advantage of that problematic defense.


Friday, September 16th
Portland Timbers - New England Revolution: Both teams got impressive results last weekend, Portland held the Union to a nil-nil draw and even more impressive, New England defeated one of the league's best (FC Dallas) by two goals to nil. Unfortunately I don't think that big win for the Revolution means very much, their still one of the worst teams in the league. Not only that, they'll be playing in the hostile environment of Jeld Wen. I say the Timbers take this one.

Saturday, September 17th
Philadelphia Union - Columbus Crew: The Union has yet to break it's winless streak, but last week's result against the Timbers can be seen as promising. The managed to play to a nil-nil draw, which seems to indicate that they've managed to patch up their of late leaky defense. The Crew are in a slump of their own, winless in three isn't all that concerning, but twelve goals conceded in three games is. If the Crew's defense doesn't get an adjustment, they'll find themselves less and less a favorite for the post season. I'm gonna go with a draw for this one.

FC Dallas - New York Red Bulls: Last weekend saw a pretty big upset, FC Dallas falling by two goals to one of the league's lesser teams in the Revolution. Their lack of any offensive punch in their midweek CCL match against Tauro doesn't inspire much confidence either. Notably, neither Brek Shea nor Marvin Chavez were in the eighteen on Wednesday, and there lies the problem. Those two account for a vast majority of Dallas' offensive output, and without both of them Dallas will no doubt continue to struggle. To their benefit, they're playing the Red Bulls this weekend, who haven't looked remotely dangerous for a couple months now. Despite being crippled without Shea or Chavez, I firmly believe that FC Dallas wins.

Seattle Sounders FC - DC United: This match has major play-off implications. The Sounders can't afford another loss, otherwise they may quite easily lose their grasp on second place. On the other hand, DC desperately needs another win to maintain their grasp on the last wildcard spot. History says that DC has the advantage, with a 3-3 tie in the Sounders inaugural season which saw them erase a three goal deficit and a 3-1 win last season that Chris Pontius played a major part in. Which brings up DC's main disadvantage, the loss of Pontius to a broken leg in the late stages of last week's match against Chivas. With seven goals and five assists Pontius has accounted for a major percentage of DC's offense throughout the season, and I have a feeling that DC are going to struggle without him despite having other big guns like De Rosario and Charlie Davies on the field. With the midweek 2-1 victory over Herediano I have a strong feeling that the Sounders are quickly bouncing back from last week's fluky loss to Real Salt Lake. I favor the Sounders in this one.

Real Salt Lake - Sporting Kansas City: RSL has been on a bit of a roll lately, recording three straight wins and climbing their way up the Western Conference, now literally breathing down the neck of FC Dallas with only a point's difference between the two. SKC has been on a roll as well, absolutely dominating with their new home advantage of Livestrong Sporting Park. Having just come off of a nine match home stand, I believe this is the first away match they've played in about two months. Seeing how well they've been playing lately I think they're up for it. RSL has the advantage of Rio Tinto, but I think SKC has what it takes.