MLS Week 28 Predictions

Wednesday, September 21st
DC United - Chivas USA: These two recently met in the Home Depot Center, and DC United left the victors riding on a Charlie Davies hat trick and perhaps Chris Pontius' best performance of his career. This time around, however, DC will be without Pontius after losing him to a broken leg in the late stages of that very match. DC's recent performance without Pontius up in Seattle (ultimately losing 3-0) didn't exactly inspire confidence, but it must be kept in mind that important players like Quaranta and Hamid had to be benched with injuries for that match. If DC can get those two back, and Chivas continue's their run of mediocrity, they have a strong chance of getting a favorable result. Though far from guaranteed, DC should be able to win this one.


New York Red Bulls - Real Salt Lake: New York recently was able to break out of their nine match winless slump against an admittedly struggling FC Dallas, the main stories of that match being the glorious return of Luke Rodgers and the fact that the Red Bulls found some semblance of defensive form to hold of the pressure by Dallas to equalize. If New York can keep this going they certainly have a chance against the recently incredibly successful RSL, especially if RSL remains as offensively reserved as they were in last weekends match against Sporting KC. Seeing the current trend cursing teams playing against RSL, there is hope for New York if they can finish their chances. I think I'll side with New York for this one.

Portland Timbers - San Jose Earthquakes: Last weekend saw quite the shuffle for the last wildcard spot in the play-offs, new York stealing it from Portland who had stolen it from DC United. A win today is a must for the Timbers is they want to remain competitive in the play-off race, and they honestly should have little trouble getting one. First of all, San Jose poses very little of a threat. They're recent thirteen game winless streak says it all, sure they may have finally broken it, but that honestly means nothing to me. They're still incredibly mediocre and lacking, which brings me to my second point: Portland's tremendous home advantage. The Timbers can stay with the best of them in that stadium, and have no problem in steaming right past lesser teams (as demonstrated in the recent 3-0 victory over the Revolution). I'd be crazy not to side with the Timbers on this one.

Friday, September 23rd
Sporting Kansas City - Philadelphia Union: With the Columbus Crew, the current eastern conference leaders, take on the league-leading LA Galaxy with little hope of a victory, this match could very well ultimately decide who claims the top spot in the East once the weekend is over. SKC has been on a tear as of late, only falling to top teams in the West (Sounders, FC Dallas, RSL), continually making progress up the standings. The Union, on the other hand, have had some struggles having recently broken out of a nine game winless streak. SKC will be looking to continue winning, and the Union will be looking to reimpose their presence in the top of the East. This will definitely be one of the weekend's top matches to watch. SKC being the ones with the home advantage, I've got to side with them for the victory.

Saturday, September 24th
FC Dallas - Houston Dynamo: Lately FC Dallas hasn't seemed like the same team, struggling offensively thanks to multiple players absences and seeming absolutely exhausted due to schedule congestion. The Dynamo, on the other hand, have been on the rise. Sitting on thirty nine points, if they can win this match and if Columbus loses theirs, they can claim the top position in the East. The problem is Houston's absolutely horrid road form, being the only team besides the Whitecaps that are completely winless on the road. Despite that, I do believe that Houston do have a strong chance at winning this one.

DC United - Real Salt Lake: DC United were looking to be on their way to a second win over Chivas last Wednesday, but for some reason they just stopped playing and let Chivas draw level on a Juan Pablo Angel brace. Strangely, DC has performed better this season on the road than at home (5-5-4 to 3-3-7) going to show that they just don't have any sort of home field advantage. That is just going to make things a whole lot worse against RSL, who happens to be one of the league's hottest teams at the moment with five straight wins. While they may be getting one win after another, at least two of those wins (Sounders and New York)  RSL was gifted each of their goals on mistakes and slip-ups on the other teams part and were truly either equals or otherwise dominated by the other team. That means if DC can refrain from making any errors that RSL can feed on and properly fend the western giant off, that they have a definite chance of getting something out of the match.

Columbus Crew - LA Galaxy: The top of the East hosting the top of the West should usually be the makings for an entertaining match, but seeing Columbus' current form I doubt they have much of a chance at holding off the Galaxy, let alone getting a win. Out of the last five matches the Crew have accumulated just four points to the Galaxy's thirteen, which gives overwhelming favor to the visitors. The Crew do have one potential advantage over the Galaxy, however. Road-wariness. The Galaxy are just coming off of a mid-week CONCACAF Champions League match down in Costa Rica that saw them get their second straight loss in the competition, having played every one of their star players and several of their other starters. If the Crew can take advantage of this potential wariness they have a chance at getting something out of this match, otherwise I see them continuing their slide.

New York Red Bulls - Portland Timbers: This is a battle for the final wildcard spot,  the Red Bulls looking to reclaim it after getting it stolen from them earlier in the week after they lost and the Timber tied San Jose. The question is, who will be more mediocre? The Timber road form is among the worst in the league, and the Red Bulls have been falling apart at the seams lately thanks to very poor defensive shape and lack of team unity. I really think that the Red Bulls will continue their run of mediocrity, and despite poor road form this is a game that Portland has a high likelihood of winning.

Vancouver Whitecaps - Seattle Sounders FC: After last night's draw between SKC and the Union and the Sounders' and RSL's subsequent clinching of play-off berths, this match no longer has any major play-off implications for the Sounders. There is a major prize still left to play for, however, in the Cascadia Cup. With a win, the Sounders will be leaving Vancouver with some silverware. Despite the fact that the Whitecaps have the worst record in the league (having only 22 points from 28 games), they still harness some potent offensive threats in Hassli, Camilo, and Chumiento. If the Sounders can suppress the impact of those three, the match is as good as theirs.