There aren't many Major League Soccer teams that can be considered safe in the MLS playoff race. Other than the Columbus Crew, Houston Dynamo and Chicago Fire, the rest of the teams with serious playoff dreams have serious work to do in the remaining five weeks of the season (though poorly-timed slumps could drop Houston and Chicago back into the mix).
That's where Six-Pointers come in, matches that feature two teams in the thick of the race. Win one and you gain a six-point swing on the team you beat. Lose, and you feel the pinch of that swing.
This week's MLS schedule features two such matches. Western Conference foes Chivas USA and Seattle square off at Qwest Field, with the winner having a chance to move past Los Angeles for second place in the Western Conference. The Galaxy will be in its own six-point match against Toronto FC. LA has its sights set on keeping the automatic playoff spot that comes with second place in the West, but it would also help the Galaxy's chances to lock up a post-season berth if it can keep Toronto from scoring a second straight win.
TFC will be hoping to ride a boost from newly-signed Designated Player Julian DeGuzman, who will make his debut at the Home Depot Center against MLS stars David Beckham and Landon Donovan, who will certainly be looking to make up for last week's 6-3 mauling at the hands of FC Dallas.
Here is a closer look at the weekend's MLS schedule, as well as a rundown of the Best XI match-ups of the weekend:
MLS Week 27 Schedule
TONIGHT
7:30pm- New England Revolution at New York Red Bulls (MSG). Juan Pablo Angel is questionable while the Revs welcome back Shalrie Joseph from suspension in a match they need all three points from.
11pm- Colorado Rapids at San Jose Earthquakes (ESPN2). No Matt Pickens and probably no Cory Gibbs for the Rapids, who still have to be favored against an Earthquakes team coming off a bye. New San Jose defender Bobby Burling will have to contend with Conor Casey and Omar Cummings in his debut, not exactly fun.
SATURDAY
3pm- Chivas USA at Seattle Sounders (Fox Soccer Channel). Chivas USA is 2-0 with two shutouts against Seattle this season, but the Sounders come in with confidence after beating D.C. United twice on the road. Loser of this one will feel serious heat in the playoff race.
8:30pm- FC Dallas at Kansas City Wizards. Can the Hoops come close to repeating its six-goal outburst vs. LA? Jimmy Conrad and the Wizards D will hope to shut down Jeff Cunningham in order to keep its faint playoff hopes alive.
8:30pm- Real Salt Lake at Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo will look to break its recent slump against an RSL team that posted a 1-1 tie in its last visit to Robertson Stadium. The battle in central midfield will make this one fun to watch.
10:30pm- Toronto FC at Los Angeles Galaxy. Julian DeGuzman's MLS debut comes in LA, and while we still don't know where Chris Cummins will deploy him, it will be fun to see how he does vs. David Beckham and Landon Donovan. Another question is how will LA's defense respond after its beatdown loss to FC Dallas?
SUNDAY
3pm- Columbus Crew at Chicago Fire (Telefutura). The Crew will be without Chad Marshall, which will make dealing with Brian McBride difficult, but the Fire's 4-4-4 home record means Columbus will stand a good chance of scoring a second impressive road win this week.
Best XI Match-ups to Watch
Stuart Holden vs. Kyle Beckerman
David Beckham vs. Julian DeGuzman
Jimmy Conrad vs. Jeff Cunningham
Freddie Ljungberg vs. Paulo Nagamura
Robbie Findley vs. Bobby Boswell
Alejandro Moreno vs. Wilman Conde
Omar Cummings vs. Jason Hernandez
Marco Pappa vs. Robbie Rogers
Brian Ching vs. Jamison Olave
Javier Morales vs. Geoff Cameron
Eddie Lewis vs. Marvell Wynne
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Which match are you most looking forward to? What individual match-ups do you think are the best this week (and which should be on this list that aren't)? Excited to see Julian DeGuzman make his debut?
Share your thoughts below.
@Kobao you guy are not even a lock for the playoffs this year? How can you possibly be saying you have sett the bar for expansion teams. Yes you have been successful off of the field but lets wait until the playoffs are set in stone before you start saying it has been a successful year. I promise you that winning an open cup and not making the mls cup playoffs would be considered a failure of a season.
A tasty week-end for sure in MLS.
Chicago hosting my Crew has to be the headliner. Though Marshall being hurt deprives us of the Marshall/McBride match-up. The Fire being w/out Ward and Segares will understandably have no sympathy.
I think de Guzman’s debut in LA could be a good one, especially since how LA got pasted at home last week.
The Seattle/Chivas match is also a good one, and Houston/RSL is a near must win for RSL.
Hmm..not too sure about Burling starting for San Jose vs Colorado. Yallop has been pretty pleased with the pairing of Brandon McDonald and Jason Hernandez.
Ives, I’ll admit that some Sounders fans are really annoying. The thing I find most irritating is that every thread (like this one) seems to get hijacked into a discussion of how great/arrogant/stupid ect sounders fans are. That said, I’d rather root for a team that’s hated than one no one cares about.
Also I like all the comment replies you’ve been doing. It makes comments much more interesting to read. What caused the change though? Did you run out of reruns of Three’s Company so you’re looking to kill some time?
Ives,
Good points and true all the way around. We do have some eager fans new to the game and especially MLS. We do have fans who have an extreme sense of entitlement (it is annoying for us too) and the relative success the team has seen so far certainly doesn’t help.
I enjoy the site, your opinions and especially the banter in the forums. While people don’t agree on everything and often agree on less than more it is great to see so many Americans who care so much about football.
quite = quit..my bad
its funny at the beginning of the season people said, “wait till you actually win something then you can talk.” then the sounders win a trophy and now its “well that one doesn’t really matter anyway. wait till you win a real trophy then you can talk.”
What do we need to do exactly? Be around 14 years? Win everything every year? Have a soccer specific stadium? Quite hating just for the sake of doing so. It is really sad and pathetic.
(SBI-Some of the Seattle hating is overboard, to be sure, but there’s certainly a section of the Sounders fanbase that is annoying and a bit oblivious to the rest of the soccer world and MLS itself (Call it the “Sounders can do no wrong, everyone’s out to get us, MLS began when Seattle showed up) people. It’s that section of the fanbase that stirs up the hatred you see from non-Sounders fans. Enjoy your new team, just turn down the volume on the sense of entitlement. That doesn’t apply to all, or even most Seattle fans, but enough to lead to what we have now, which is Seattle Sounders fan backlash.)
A trophy is still a trophy. A trophy is also something a few teams we could mention have not yet won …
Jimmie you’re right we should just admit it is all a fluke and pack it up and leave. Our bad, MLS go back to the way you were and forget the sounders ever happened.
*cue the smart a$$ responses
Who said i was counting my eggs before they hatched? “Are the sounders the greatest thing since sliced bread? Maybe not.” ring a bell?
Technically we did win a championship in our expansion year (the US Open Cup, as did Chicago) but i get your point and yes we haven’t won the MLS Cup yet.
Yes we have a way to go and yes we don’t have the MLS history other clubs do. Is this a reason for us to hang our heads and fall at the feet of fans whose teams have been around longer? No. is this a reason to not be excited when our team does well and stand up to the haters. No. Can we still be proud of our pre-MLS history? of course.
I think the definition of renting means you pay for the use of a facility. The Sounders pay nothing, and keep the money for parking, concession, etc. Did i say the sounders get more pull in the stadium than the Seahawks? of course not! Do they have preference over the seahawks or sell out the full stadium every week like the NFL does? Of course not! Can you name any MLS team that could consistently sellout a full NFL stadium, absolutely not. But have you or will you ever see football lines on the field during a sounders game? No.
Its safe to say the NFL will always have more pull than the MLS so your points are ridiculous. In fact, it seems all your points are based off things i didn’t say. When you have a legitimate point to make let me know.
It would also be worth noting that as long as the sounders can use qwest and the facility is well maintained it doesn’t really make sense to try to build a soccer specific stadium somewhere else, as i believe ives has written about previously.
We wouldnt renovate key arena for the sonics, sadly, so to build a soccer specific stadium for an expansion team would be near impossible. Also the appeal of having a great facility to hold sounders games in the downtown area and the resulting revenues for the city, local businesses, the team and yes the seahawks make it very unlikely you’ll see a soccer specific sounder stadium anytime soon. It may make sense elsewhere but right now, here in seattle, it doesn’t make sense at all.
I always love it when Ives lays the smack down in the comments section!
To Sounder fans: keep bragging. It is so awesome to read. If you look into it, and maybe Ives has the data, the Sounders were given the golden key to the golden crapper with respect to the changes in rules for an expansion team with additional money, rights, and selections over previous expansion teams. So, you started out ahead, and should be ahead, which you are. Now, stop bragging about it.
Kobao,
Win a championship during your expansion year (like Chicago) and average 20,000+ fans for your 14-year history (like LA) and get your own stadium (like half the league that you claim you’re doing better than). You’re a great MLS story this year, but until you prove something year after year, you’re nothing but a flash in the pan.
And be real with yourself… the Sounders essentially RENT the stadium from the Seahawks. It’s the Kraft family using the Revolution as a tax write-off all over again. You really think the Sounders can get more pull in that stadium than the Seahawks?
Ask yourself this: WHO GETS FIRST DIBS IN QWEST FIELD: SOUNDERS or SEAHAWKS? You’re a second class citizen in your “own” stadium.
Must be sad to admit that your GREAT AND AMAZING AND SUCCESSFUL (barf) SOUNDERS is still #2 to the Suckhawks.
DC Josh I agree, an ideal expansion team is one that has yet to make the playoffs despite having such an “overwhelming” home field advantage and the other great attributes you’ve described that have nothing to do with winning. Also Rangers is not a huge European club.
What’s with all the hate for the Sounders? All season, all we hear is disdain for arguably the most successful expansion team in league history and certainly the most successful since Chicago. We have a great stadium, great owners (which include the Seahawks, who apparently rent their own stadium from themselves Colin?), a great coach and a good squad that seems to improve a little bit each/most weeks.
Like it or not we’ve reset the bar for what an expansion team should and can be in this league and contrary to what you may believe our success is good for everyone involved. Yes even you DC. We’ve brought more revenue, ratings, interest and corporate sponsorship opportunities to a league that so desperately wants them. We’ve created interest in games that normally would be an afterthought. When Portland and Vancouver arrive, oh great we’ll be able to make fun of them for starting in the USL too, you’ll have 6 games a year which will instantly be amongst the most compelling and fierce rivalries in the league.
Are the sounders the greatest thing since sliced bread? Maybe not. Are our fans fiercely loyal and at times obnoxious? Certainly. But is having passionate fans who care so much about a sport and league that is second tier in the US a reason to hate a team so much. I dare to say no. Going 0-2-1 against them however certainly is.
So get over yourselves and if you’re going to hate on us at least have a legitimate/creative reason. The USL insults are getting old. I’ll throw you a bone, how about the rave green jerseys? Why don’t you go beat that horse to death now?
I’m in San Jose this weekend for a wedding, so I might be going to the Earthquakes tonight (my first MLS non-FIRE game). It should be interesting.
I forgot that the league took three points from you every time you lost…
(SBI-Not sure if you’re trying to be funny or if you just don’t grasp the concept of a six-point swing. Say two teams are tied on 40 points. If Team A wins, it will have 43 points to Team B’s 40. If Team B wins, it will have 43 points to TEam A’s 40, that’s a six-point swing. Get it? Now repeat it a few times until it clicks.)
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😉
(SBI-Should have known. It’s tough to tell the sarcasm from the flat-out lunacy today.)
Wow, congrats Sounders on winning a trophy that, unless you’re an upstart MLS team who hasn’t proved anything or a USL side desperate for attention, is essentially irrelevant to the rest of MLS.
You can go ahead and put the US Open Cup trophy in the case you rent from the Seattle Seahawks. God knows they won’t be putting any trophies in there any time soon.
With the way Baudet has played compared to Gibbs, Gibbs being injured probably has helped the Rapids, not hurt them
I forgot that the league took three points from you every time you lost…
Posted by: attenborough | September 18, 2009 at 10:48 AM
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The ways of MLS are mysterious indeed …
let’s go metro
crush the revolution scum
Montero vs Marsch
DC Josh… I think the real punching bags in all this are DC United. Two losses at home in two weeks to an expansion team? With so much history and so many trophies, how could your club let that happen? Upstarts….
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Wasn’t the key phrase there “so many trophies”, USL guy?
DC Josh… I think the real punching bags in all this are DC United. Two losses at home in two weeks to an expansion team? With so much history and so many trophies, how could your club let that happen? Upstarts….
I would just like to point out how the standings are organized in a single table to the left here, and it’s somewhat less confusing than if they were divided into conferences.
I think DC United wants the single table too.
The last few RSL / Houston matches have been really hard fought, physical games. Some goal fests, some stalemates, but it’s always exciting to watch. There really are some intriguing match ups Ives.
TFC has been an ideal expansion team.
1.They’ve got a great stadium (minus the turf, but that can and will be changed)
2.First round pick sold to a huge European club (Mo Edu)
3.Have a strong and loud fan-base.
4.Bring in probably the best DP in the MLS (considering price paid, age, quality of form, etc.)
I despised the TFC fans until I met them this year in DC for our stadium march. They are just passionate fans like the rest of us, and very nice. Luckily however, the Sounders fans are excellent punching bags.
I forgot that the league took three points from you every time you lost…
(SBI-Not sure if you’re trying to be funny or if you just don’t grasp the concept of a six-point swing. Say two teams are tied on 40 points. If Team A wins, it will have 43 points to Team B’s 40. If Team B wins, it will have 43 points to TEam A’s 40, that’s a six-point swing. Get it? Now repeat it a few times until it clicks.)
Just a few gripes:
Doesn’t Stu Holden play on the wing, while Beckerman plays in the middle?
The other matchup between Wynne and Lewis will be fun to watch because Wynne will blow by Lewis every chance he gets.
The Galaxy’s sponsor, like DC United’s, should be Rogaine, or Viagra, or a Funeral Home. If there was a MLS senior league, like the Senior PGA tour, those two would meet in the final every year!
(SBI-Holden plays centrally for Houston.)
Mo Johnston better hope that the De Guzman experiment works out in Toronto or else it’ll be time for him to go.
(SBI-Is it really an experiment? DeGuzman is a proven player in his prime, not some major gamble. If Toronto FC isn’t a top team by 2010 then yes, heads will roll, but the DeGuzman signing isn’t some long-shot play. I’m also willing to bet that most TFC fans would have had a heart attack a year ago if you had told them they’d have both Dwayne DeRosario and Julian DeGuzman.)
Ives,
Not quite sure why you’re calling Houston a lock on a playoff spot. They are only 6 points clear and have played one game more than teams out of the playoffs. If they lose to RSL this weekend, they are going to be in some trouble.
(SBI-Hey Tim, how you been? I suppose the Crew is the only real literal lock based on form, points earned and games remaining, but I’m not holding my breath on an RSL win at Robertson, even with the Dynamo’s shaky recent form (actually, Houston didn’t play badly in Columbus). Houston has three of four remaining at home, where they’re 7-1-4 this year, so I’d bet it all on Houston qualifying.)
This is now 2 years in a row that the regular season Crew-Fire games have all been on Telefutura. I get that you want the Blanco-Schelotto matchup on Spanish TV, but that goes a long way toward alienating a lot of non-Spanish speaking fans who don’t probably don’t even *have* Telefutura.
I have every Crew game from last year stored on a hard drive at home except 2: the regular-season 2 against the Fire. One of those I attended, but the other I never saw.
It’s annoying and it’s frustrating. I just want to watch my team win without learning *another* foreign language to do so.
De Guzman and Beckham have played eachother in La Liga before. This should be an interesting match.