Major League Soccer Preview: Chivas USA At Toronto FC

Goal.com's Talha Zaheer breaks down the match between Canada's MLS team and the league leaders.

Apr 21, 2009 11:56:30 PM

More On :  Chivas USA, Toronto FC

Chivas USA head off for their first trip to the east coast this season looking to cement their place at the top of the pile. Toronto FC will look to ignite its home form despite the absence of talisman Dwayne De Rosario following a run of disappointing results.   

Managing expectations  

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Toronto FC seems to revel in the status of underdogs and have so far failed to live up to their preseason hype. The club seems unable to overcome their habit of conceding late goals. The management and players are both at a loss to explain the reason for their late game jitters.  Addressing that issue may take some doing, as will filling the boots of the injured De Rosario for the next few weeks.    

Chivas USA sits pretty atop the MLS league table and are undefeated. Making light of the absence of key players, they have relied on a frugal defense and a battling midfield to overcome seemingly superior opposition for the best start to a season in their history. Just how long it will continue to evade trouble with referees as a consequence of their punishing physical approach remains to be seen.     

Missing pieces   

Chivas USA is without the services of Lawson Vaughn, Claudio Suarez, Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo. 

Coach Preki has set his team up with such dedication that their absence has hardly been felt. In fact, one might argue, Chivas may not have fared any better with those players featuring. Midfield linchpin Sacha Kljestan has continued on from where he left off last season. The sheer industry and intensity of Chivas has contributed significantly to their success thus far. Moreover, the experience that runs through this Chivas team allows Preki the luxury of a deep squad that managed to eek out a 2-0 win in last weeks top-of-the-table clash with Seattle Sounders FC. Any defense that successfully corrals Freddy Ljunberg and Freddy Montero with authority will take some effort to beat.    

Toronto FC has their own injury concerns with De Rosario sidelined and SuperDraft pick O’Brian White still on the recovery trail. Of greater consternation to head coach John Carver will be the inconsistency throughout the team. Rohan Ricketts has already lost his place in the side as Carver begins to feel the heat. The coach expressed his displeasure at the officiating in the game at Dallas where TFC showed great heart to come back from a two-goal deficit, but eventually lost out to a late Kenny Cooper penalty.

Don’t cry for me, Argentina   

The fans in Toronto have been longing to see more of Pablo Vitti in action and are somewhat perplexed by Carvers preference for Chad Barrett in attack. It is hard to imagine a technically superior player like Vitti being more wasteful in front of goal than Barrett. In fairness to Barrett, he does work his socks off and found the back of the net against Dallas.

Barrett’s looks and work ethic can lead some to describe him as a poor man’s Wayne Rooney. With De Rosario nursing his hamstring, this may be Vitti’s chance to shine and stake his claim for a regular starting berth. In the brief stints the Argentine has had on the field, he has shown an exquisite touch, intelligent movement off the ball and an understanding of the game few others at BMO Field possess.     

Players to watch:   

Toronto FC- Amado Guevara. His form epitomizes TFC’s season thus far. His performances have been inconsistent and he is invariably the driving force behind every successful move on the part of Toronto. With De Rosario absent, Guevara will have to lead the TFC midfield to match Chivas USA’s intensity to give TFC a chance.   

Chivas USA- Jonathan Bornstein. He may not possess the flair of Kljestan, but his performances are arguably more valuable to Chivas as it has only conceded twice in their first five outings. All successful teams build on a solid foundation and the two-time MLS All-star provides that.

Prediction:   

With TFC’s early season defensive woes and the proficiency of the Chivas players in finding gaps, this looks like a game in which the visitors should prosper, especially with Toronto coming at them to force a result. It is hard to see Toronto FC ending Chivas USA’s unbeaten run, but their rousing second half performance in Dallas should ensure some excitement in this encounter. 

Goals will be at a premium:  Toronto FC 1 – 1 Chivas USA

Talha Zaheer, Goal.com

(For more on Major League Soccer go to Goal.com's MLS page)

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