Friday MLS Forecast: Week Sixteen

By Kyle McCarthy

The Forecast wonders what David Beckham and Landon Donovan will say to each other when they inevitably meet up in the Los Angeles locker room in the next couple of weeks. The recent excerpt published from Grant Wahl's upcoming book on Beckham's American adventure, The Beckham Experiment, certainly raises a question or two about how the two biggest soccer stars in Los Angeles will coexist for the rest of 2009.

For instance, can you see the shy and retiring Landon apologizing profusely when he sees Becks for the first time?

“Hey, Becks, how are ya? Did you see what Grant Wahl said I said about you? Tabloid journalism, I swear. I was completely misquoted during every lengthy and truthful interview I gave to him. I'm really happy to have you back. Oh, and can you say hi to Ruud for me?”

Or what about a groveling Beckham hoping to establish himself as a better teammate and leader?

“Landon, I heard about the interview. I even had one of my assistants go onto SI.com to print out the excerpt for me so I could read it. I'm sorry you don't think I give a toss about the Galaxy. Usually, I'm just sterile enough to avoid those perceptions. For the rest of the year, I'm going to try to act like I care even though I really, really don't want to be here. I'll even let you keep the armband this time, even though I take better pictures when it's around my bicep. Maybe I'll even pick up a check or two when we go out to dinner.”

Maybe not so much.

All fictional conversations aside, Beckham's imminent return – July 16 in New York, in case you were wondering – raises the not-so-minor question of how the English icon will be received by his teammates. The Galaxy can certainly use him and Beckham will certainly help them on the field, but will his arrival prove too distracting off of it to allow Los Angeles to mount a playoff push?

That's a question the Forecast simply can't answer heading into a full-sized Independence Day slate. After SuperLiga robbed us of games over the past two weekends, it's nice to return to the regular schedule just in time to grill out and watch the fireworks crackle before, during and after the games.

Last week: 2/4 (50%)
For the season: 41/93 (44%)

Friday

San Jose @ Real Salt Lake – 10:00p.m.

The Quakes received mixed news on the injury front this week, according to Center Line Soccer. Arturo Alvarez (groin) and Jason Hernandez (calf) are back to full fitness after last weekend's much-needed bye week, but Darren Huckerby will miss the match after aggravating a long-standing quad injury. That isn't good news for a San Jose team that has struggled to keep teams off the board this season and needs Huckerby to help them keep pace on the attacking end. To help stymie the RSL attack, San Jose coach Frank Yallop is expected to deploy Brandon McDonald in midfield alongside Antonio Ribeiro after McDonald performed well in central defense against the Galaxy two weeks ago. The move will push Ramiro Corrales back to the left back role he often played in Scandinavia. RSL is in the midst of four-match unbeaten streak, though they enter this game with Kyle Beckerman (United States) and Will Johnson (Canada) on Gold Cup duty and Javier Morales (ankle) a significant injury doubt. Even if Morales can't go, look for the in-form Yura Movsisyan to exploit the Quakes' patchwork central defensive pairing of Hernandez and Aaron Pitchkolan. If Movsisyan can't get the job done, RSL head coach Jason Kreis is likely to have Robbie Findley (ankle) available as an option off the bench.

Prediction: Real Salt Lake win.

Saturday

D.C. United @ Columbus – 7:00p.m. (ESPN2)

Both of these teams are in the midst of fine runs: D.C. has lost twice in its past 12, while Columbus has lost once in its past 11. Columbus didn't set hearts alight in a 1-0 home win over New York last Saturday, but the three points vaulted the Crew into second place in the East, just one point behind United. The Crew will have to cope without Chad Marshall (United States) and Robbie Rogers (United States) due to international commitments. Fortunately for Crew head coach Robert Warzycha, he has two solid options to replace those missing players with Danny O'Rourke and Emmanuel Ekpo ready to fill in those gaps. United will have to cope without Jaime Moreno (hamstring) through injury and Santino Quaranta (United States) and Dejan Jakovic (Canada) through national team duty. United may also miss Luciano Emilio (bone bruise) and Fred (adductor) as both struggle to overcome injury complaints. Columbus won both meetings last year – including the 1-0 win on Oct. 26 that knocked United out of the playoffs – but both teams have preferred the draw this season (15 combined draws in 31 games).

Prediction: Draw.

Chicago @ Colorado – 9:00p.m.

Colorado lost its club-record eight-match unbeaten run in emphatic fashion with a 3-0 loss in Seattle on Sunday. Now the Rapids have to try to start another one with Colin Clark (United States) and Omar Cummings (Jamaica) on Gold Cup duty. On the bright side for the Rapids, Conor Casey is back from Confederations Cup duty; Casey's return could lead to a more direct route towards goal with Pat Noonan still settling into the Rapids attack. As for the Fire, they play their first league match in three weeks after the SuperLiga group stages. Logan Pause (United States) and Gonzalo Segares (Costa Rica) are with their respective national teams, so Chicago head coach Denis Hamlett will hope John Thorrington can shake off a back injury to negate the gaping hole left by Pause's absence. All things being equal, Chicago would look like a good bet to get a point out of this game. They aren't. Chicago hasn't won in Colorado since Oct. 6, 1999 (0-6-4), while the Rapids are 11-1-1 all-time on July 4.

Prediction: Colorado win.

New York @ FC Dallas – 9:00p.m.  

“It's incredibly strange,” Red Bulls sporting director Jeff Agoos told me earlier this week when I asked about his team's stretch of 22 matches (0-16-6) without a win on the road. “If you don't count the playoff games and the Open Cup games (which we have won on the road), we haven't won since the middle or beginning of May last year. It's not the NFL and it's not Europe. We're not playing in stadiums where there are 70,000 people and there is a real home-field advantage. You'd think in that time period, you'd get a lucky bounce or an outstanding performance one day and something goes your way. It hasn't happened.”

It isn't likely to happen this weekend in Frisco – a sparsely populated venue no one in their right mind would compare to a European atmosphere – if only due to the crippling injury bug that has robbed the Red Bulls of Juan Pablo Angel, Albert Celades, Kevin Goldthwaite, Mac Kandji and Carlos Mendes. Only Angel and Celades are possibilities against the Hoops. Add in the Gold Cup callups for Dane Richards (Jamaica) and Alfredo Pacheco (El Salvador) and the Red Bulls are operating on fumes. FC Dallas can make it one loss in their past eight matches with a result here and it'd be foolish to bet against them even with Kenny Cooper away with the United States.

Prediction: FC Dallas win.

Houston @ Kansas City – 9:00p.m.

The Dynamo suffered a shocking 1-0 loss in Los Angeles last Sunday to snap an 11-match unbeaten streak. In order to start another, they'll have to adjust to the internationally-enforced absences of Brian Ching (United States), Andrew Hainault (Canada) and Stuart Holden (United States). Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear can accommodate for losing the first two fairly easily, but he's just about out of attacking-minded options in central midfield with Brad Davis failing to impress in that role. It might not matter against a Kansas City side that didn't perform well in SuperLiga and will miss Davy Arnaud (United States), Jimmy Conrad (United States) and, to a lesser extent, Roger Espinoza (Honduras) because of Gold Cup duty. The Wizards may have the stingiest backline in the Eastern Conference, but Conrad provides the foundation for it. When he wasn't on the field during SuperLiga, that stinginess turned into something far more forgiving. It might take some heroics from Kevin Hartman – who will make his 317th appearance against the Dynamo to climb to second on the all-time MLS games played list – to ensure the Wizards get a result.

Prediction: Houston win.

New England @ Los Angeles – 11:00p.m. (Fox Soccer Channel)

For Revs head coach Steve Nicol, picking his team has turned more into a process of counting the available bodies rather than selecting his first-choice XI. New England took just 15 players to New Britain for Tuesday's extra-time loss to Harrisburg in the U.S. Open Cup. That number should be up to 17 at the weekend with Kevin Alston (hamstring) and Edgaras Jankauskas available. Jankauskas probably isn't fit enough to play a full 90, but could be in line for his debut at some point, particularly with Kheli Dube (ankle) and Mike Videira (thigh) sustaining injuries on Tuesday. Rugged defender Emmanuel Osei will miss out through suspension, leaving a gaping hole in the Revs defense when combined with Jay Heaps' departure for U.S. national team duty. Los Angeles welcomes Donovan back with open arms from his star turn at the Confederations Cup, while Alecko Eskandarian could also feature after his mid-week move from Chivas USA. Donovan, in particular, could help make the Galaxy counterattack more potent. If Jamaica allows Donovan Ricketts to play in the match, that would also be a boost for the Galaxy considering his impressive form this season. L.A. will want to build on last Sunday's surprising victory over Houston, but may have run into the wrong opponent to do so. The Galaxy hasn't beaten the Revs in league play since April 3, 2004 and boasts a 1-2-2 record against New England in their annual Independence Day fixture on the left coast.

Prediction: Draw.

Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/kylejmccarthy

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