Week 13 Preview

By: travis | June 19th, 2008

I’m running behind schedule so this will be a quick and painless preview this week. Games have already kicked off this week, with New England and New York drew 1-1, along with RSL and San Jose playing to a scoreless tie. Not to mention Thursday night’s game of the week that saw Chivas take out Chicago.

Toronto v Kansas City
BMO Field is a fortress. That’s the new theme north of the border. Toronto is undefeated at their home ground and have already defeated Kansas City there once this season. The Wizards are struggling big time; they can’t score and last week their usually strong defense conceded three times to the Crew. I can’t see a reversal of fortune this week, even if Toronto has Guevara playing (don’t know if they will).
Verdict: Toronto 2-0 Kansas City

New York v Dallas
The Red Bull were unlucky not to win already this week. They let the Revolution equalize late in the game. The wounded strikers don’t exactly strike fear in anyone. Juan Carlos Osorio needs to figure something out to get this squad going in the right direction. Dallas has named a new coach in Schellas Hyndman who will be looking to turn things around. They’ve only won two of their past nine games. Not sure if Hyndman will be in charge this weekend. Despite all of their problems, New York will somehow find a way to pull a win out of this one.
Verdict: New York 1-0 Dallas

Colorado v Houston
The Rapids are looking for improvement. From anywhere. They have dropped their last two games and can’t build any sort of positive consistency. Hosting Houston this week is a chance to reverse things for once, but it’s not like the Dynamo are coming in amidst their own struggles; they’ve managed to patch together their poor start to the season and are back near the top of the West. DeRo and Onstad are out via Canadian team duties, while Bouna Coundoul continues his stint in Africa with Preston Burpo (always gotta love the name) continues to start. Christian Gomez has been relatively quiet as of late. I think the Dynamo will pull through on the road.
Verdict: Colorado 1-2 Houston

Real Salt Lake v New England
This is a big test for RSL. After a road win against Chivas, a win over New England this weekend will be a real boost for confidence. Salt Lake hasn’t lost at home yet this season, and I don’t think the trend will start this week, no matter how well Matt Reis is playing.
Verdict: RSL 1-1 New England

Los Angeles v Columbus
No longer are the Galaxy just Beckham/Donovan combination. This game could provide a bit of trouble for them, as the Crew look to restart the success from earlier this season. Hard to say what’s going to happen, but I think the Crew may escape with a win here.
Verdict: Los Angeles 2-3 Columbus

DC v San Jose
United is on a roll. They’ll have Gallardo and Namoff back after they missed out yesterday through suspension. San Jose comes to town. Nothing short of a two or three goal victory for DC here.
Verdict: DC 3-1 San Jose

Last week’s record: 3-4 Season so far: 30-52