MLS Week 8: A Look Ahead

By THOMAS FLOYD

The powerhouse matchup MLS fans have been waiting for is finally here.

This weekend's MLS slate will wrap up late Saturday when the New York Red Bulls, who sit on top of the Eastern Conference, travel to play the Los Angeles Galaxy, the top team in the Western Conference, in a match that will feature five Designated Players.

Before that showcase, however, there are plenty of intriguing fixtures on tap. The action kicks off Friday night as the Philadelphia Union will be tested by the intimidating confines of Jeld-Wen FIeld when it faces the Portland Timbers. Saturday, the Columbus Crew's stingy defense will try to hold the Seattle Sounders' talented attacking corps in check at Crew Stadium, while D.C. United will look for its second straight win at home when it plays FC Dallas.

Here is a rundown for the full week eight slate:

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PORTLAND TIMBERS vs. PHILADELPHIA UNION (Friday, 10:30 p.m., FSC)

The debut match for FSC's "Soccer Night in America" will feature two recent expansion clubs as Philadelphia, which has only allowed two goals all season, will try to keep the ball out of the net against a Portland side that is 3-0 at home in league play.

Missing Jordan Harvey to a red card suspension and possibly losing Danny Califf to illness means Union coach Peter Nowak will have to do some shuffling with his stellar back line. With Michael Farfan and Juan Diego Gonzalez potentially entering the lineup, goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon's organizational savvy will be all the more important as Philadelphia tries to keep Portland strikers Kenny Cooper and Jorge Perlaza in check.

REAL SALT LAKE vs. CHIVAS USA (Saturday, 4 p.m., Telefutura)

Resting several regulars last weekend, Salt Lake dropped the first MLS match it played after suffering a gut-wrenching loss in the CONCACAF Champions League final, falling to Portland 1-0. Now, the squad can focus entirely on domestic play and reclaiming its spot atop the Western Conference standings, starting with a home match against a suddenly hot Chivas side.

Coming off an emphatic 3-0 win over New England, Chivas has won two in a row after being the last team in the league to register a win. Improved play from striker Alejandro Moreno, who notched a goal and two assists last week, has been largely to thank. On the other side, Salt Lake will be hoping its go-to goal-scorer, Alvaro Saborio, will snap out of his early-season funk and start finding the net with regularity.

TORONTO FC vs. HOUSTON DYNAMO (Saturday, 7 p.m., Direct Kick)

Three days after a loss at home to Colorado was marred by an uncharacteristic blunder from goalkeeper Tally Hall, Houston will return to the pitch with a match in Toronto. With Brian Ching healthy and newly signed Koke in the fold, coach Dominic Kinnear will have some tough decisions to make up top, as incumbents Will Bruin and Cam Weaver have been in fine form.

After suffering a 3-0 defeat at Seattle last weekend, Toronto will hope to get its offense clicking again as Javier Martina, Alan Gordon and Alen Stevanovic try to develop some chemistry in the attacking third.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION vs. COLORADO RAPIDS (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Direct Kick)

After a scorching start to the season, Colorado had been reeling before a lucky strike from Jamie Smith and an unlikely winner from left back Scott Palguta got the Rapids a come-from-behind win at Houston on Wednesday. New England, on the other hand, was playing well before suffering a 3-0 loss loss last weekend against a Chivas side that has struggled most of the season.

The central midfield matchup of New England's Benny Feilhaber against former U.S. teammate Pablo Mastroeni should be a good one, but Colorado's main concern will be finding the right combination up top between Caleb Folan, Andre Akpan and Quincy Amarikwa if both Omar Cummings and Conor Casey sit out due to injury.

COLUMBUS CREW vs. SEATTLE SOUNDERS (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Direct Kick)

Columbus will get a chance to avenge its U.S. Open Cup final defeat from a year ago against a Seattle side coming off a midweek 2-1 loss at D.C. United. Although Fredy Montero and Nate Jaqua present their own challenges up top, Columbus may be most concerned with stopping Seattle's in-form wingers, Alvaro Fernandez and Brad Evans.

Coming off a two-goal outing against Vancouver, Crew striker Emilio Renteria will look to stay on a roll against Seattle's centerback pairing of Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Patrick Ianni, which had its fair share of struggles against United on Wednesday.

D.C. UNITED vs. FC DALLAS (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Direct Kick)

United picked up a much-needed win at home against Seattle on Wednesday and will now look to ride the strike partnership of Charlie Davies and Josh Wolff to another triumph over a Western Conference foe.

D.C.'s revamped defense, featuring Ethan White alongside Dejan Jakovic centrally and Perry Kitchen at right back, will be tested, though, by a Dallas attack that won't have David Ferreira but still offers plenty of firepower in the form of Brek Shea, Fabian Castillo and Marvin Chavez. And the central midfield clash between United's Dax McCarty and Dallas' Andrew Jacobson -- two players facing their former teams -- should be a good one.

CHICAGO FIRE vs. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (Saturday, 8:30 p.m., Direct Kick)

With a combined record of 2-7-6, Chicago and Vancouver haven't exactly been on clicking on cylinders to start this MLS campaign. With Eric Hassli back from suspension (again), Vancouver could present some tough physical matchups for Chicago's back line, especially if the Whitecaps partner the hulking striker with 6-foot-4 rookie Omar Salgado up top.

On the other side of the field, Chicago's attacking core of Diego Chaves, Gaston Puerari and Marco Pappa could be trouble for a Vancouver back line that will likely still be missing captain Jay DeMerit due to a groin injury.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY vs. NEW YORK RED BULLS (Saturday, 11 p.m., ESPN2)

David Beckham. Thierry Henry. Landon Donovan. Rafael Marquez. Juan Pablo Angel. Dwayne De Rosario. The marquee names will all be at the Home Depot Center, along with rising U.S. national team members Tim Ream, Juan Agudelo and Omar Gonzalez, in the type of star-studded showdown MLS imagined when expanding the Designated Player rule.

There are compelling matchups all over the field, including in the middle of the park, where the battle between the Galaxy's Beckham-Juninho duo and New York's pairing of De Rosario and Carl Robinson (Teemu Tainio's likely replacement) will be key. How Los Angeles left back Todd Dunivant handles the combination play from Dane Richards and Jan Gunnar Solli on his flank could be also be crucial. And Angel facing against his former team for the first time is another storyline to keep tabs on.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SoccerByIves/~3/_u7lpQIs2SM/mls-week-8-a-look-ahead.html

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