Peter Nowak and Philadelphia make their home debut this weekend. (MLSSoccer.com)

Are you ready for tomorrow? Seriously, are you ready? Eight games in one day, a new league record. We knew this day would come eventually with all the expansion in the league and kudos to the league for putting one so early in the season too.

If you’re like me, you’ll find tomorrow to be a tough one because of the amount of games on at once. Thankfully with my Mac I can at least throw up a few different game windows in multiple spaces.

So get your DVRs ready (if you can hold this many games), sign up for the league video package online (if you haven’t done so already), or be like most folks and just go to a game if you can. Its going to be a fun weekend for sure.

Feel free as always to leave your predictions below in the comments section.

New York Red Bulls – at – Chivas USA:

Lets just say that Chivas USA needs to figure out their offensive issues here. In to town is the new look Red Bulls who’ve won two straight shutouts. Hans Backe’s club has been solid defensively so far this season but a second straight west coast game will prove to be a bigger test than some will really think, even though Chivas has yet to score this season. We could see a potential letdown by the Red Bulls after they finally got their first road win a week ago after 27-games of coming up short away from home.

For me its going to come down to who scores in this one. Even with the two wins on the year the Red Bulls haven’t lit up the scoreboard so far (only two goals). I see a slight drop off in this one while Chivas continues to struggle to score.

Player to watch out for: Tim Ream – the rookie is as good as advertised here. Look for him to be all over Chivas’ Maykel Galindo in this one.

WVH Prediction: Chivas 0, New York 0

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D.C. United – at – Philadelphia Union

Home opener for Philadelphia is a big, big deal. They’re expecting about 30k+ tomorrow at the Linc, don’t be shocked if they reach a sellout figure (they’re caping the capacity for this one at 35k). This new rivalry will be heated, especially given how bad both have started off the year. D.C. has look awful all over the field while Philadelphia struggled on the road in their debut two weeks ago. Given the fact that Peter Nowak has had a little more time to prepare for this one I like the Union’s chances in this one a little more.

Curt Onalfo’s side has to figure out where to get their offense from. So far in attack they’ve looked uncreative and in result have been unproductive. You could say it comes down to their midfield not doing enough with the possession too. I’d imagine Nowak will do a better job with his lineup now that he gets Fred back. Look for their shape to be a little better in this one as they ride the massive fan support in the home opener. Its easy to go for a draw here given the poor results by these two so far but I like Philadelphia’s chances here.

Player to watch out for: Danny Mwanga – With Fred back and likely in the midfield, we should see more out of Mwanga in this one for Philadelphia. Hopefully Nowak learned that he belongs up top.

WVH Prediction: Philadelphia 1, D.C. 0

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Toronto FC – at – New England Revolution

Steve Nicol is looking for his 100th career MLS win in this one, and he probably couldn’t ask for a better opponent. Toronto FC is still in a bit of a state of flux after all the moves that have gone on over these last few weeks including the latest with the retirement of Jim Brennan. That loss thins out the Reds defense even more here. New England could possibly see Shalrie Joseph back for the home opener but even without him I like the Revs chances in this one. The Revs could also see Darrius Barnes back for this one as well, which would only make it rougher on Toronto to score in this one.

It seems like Toronto hasn’t scored a goal in league play or in exhibition play in ages here. I don’t see that starting back up right now. The Revs played their game last week in D.C. and I’d imagine Nicol will use some of the same tactics this week to get three more points.

Player to watch out for: Dwayne De Rosario – Really Toronto’s only hope to get on the scoreboard. If he can work his magic that we’ve seen him do in the past against the Revs, Toronto could sneak out with some points.

WVH Prediction: New England 2, Toronto 0

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Colorado Rapids – at – Kansas City Wizards

Here’s one game this weekend I’m looking forward to. Two clubs that everyone is still trying to figure out here. Are both contenders or pretenders this season? We think they could be contenders but its still too early to tell. The Rapids have to get their defense in line here for this one as the Wizards showed early on this year that they can score early and often.

As we saw last week, Kansas City’s best bet to get by the Rapids defense is to go right at them with some speed. Look for Ryan Smith and Kei Kamara to do just that on the wings as things in the center of the park will be a little tight. The Rapids haven’t won in KC since 2002 and something tells me that streak isn’t going to end here this season either. However I do think a draw sounds more likely with these two trading some goals early on in this one.

Player to watch out for: Omar Cummings – For me he is by far the most dangerous player on the field in this one. If he finds open space in the final third for Colorado he can score and create chances for Conor Casey.

WVH Prediction: Kansas City 2, Colorado 2

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LA Galaxy – at – Houston Dynamo

I love the promo the Dynamo are running for this one –  a flash light campaign, in case the lights go out again with these two on the field. Beautiful stuff.

Houston as we know is a bit banged up with Brian Ching on the shelf for a few weeks. Dominic Kinnear will have to look elsewhere for offense. Maybe we’ll finally see their Designated Player Luis Angel Landin finally step into the role. Or Kinnear can go with Cam Weaver. Either one with the speed of Dominic Oduro should be fine.

LA has been very good on defense so far this year, with no goals against. But both of those games came from the friendly confines of the Home Depot Center. Things are a little different for the Galaxy at Robertson Stadium, a place few get points at. I see this one staying close but look for the Dynamo to figure out a way to get one by Donovan Ricketts.

Player to watch out for: Brad Davis – Don’t expect another two goals from the PK spot this weekend for Davis but no matter who scores for Houston in this one it will be due to the play of this guy.

WVH Prediction: Houston 1, LA 0

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Columbus Crew – at – FC Dallas

The regular season version of the Pioneer Cup. Both teams had a week off last week to plan for this game. It will be interesting to see if Chad Marshall makes it back for this one for the Crew. If he isn’t out there their defense could be a bit exposed with him gone and Eric Brunner out. Guys like Andy Iro will likely have to step up to contain Jeff Cunningham.

Dallas isn’t too different in the back either as both Kyle Davies and Ugo Ihemelu are banged up. We could even see Brek Shea in the back for the Red Stripes in this one as a bit of a patch work job by manager Schellas Hyndman. Expect this one to come down to who can control things in the midfield. On one side we have Guillermo Barros Schelotto and the other David Ferriera. I’d be lying if I didn’t think that was the best matchup of the weekend right there. The visitors could go away with three points but a draw sounds more likely.

Player to watch out for: Atiba Harris – Dallas needs some big time play on the wings and Harris has to be that guy for them. He scored in the season opener and if he can work his way into the middle in the final third of the field we could see him score again.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 1, Columbus 1

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San Jose Earthquakes – at – Chicago Fire

We know the storyline in this one, Jon Busch’s return to Chicago. That should be a it awkward. The Fire looked a little better in week two but they still haven’t found that consistent play out of their midfield. Manager Carlos de los Cobos went with a 4-3-3 last week and it started to work for them as Collins John made an impact with the open space up top. Chicago has to get more out of Marco Pappa though in the midfield.

The Quakes just need to figure themselves out here though. In week one they looked more like an expansion team than a team in it’s third year. Frank Yallop made a couple changes to his roster and got former Quake Scott Sealy back. I’m not entirely sure if that move will get their club going or not here. The road hasn’t been kind to the Quakes lately either. Chicago should find a way to win this one.

Player to watch out for: Ryan Johnson – He’s the main guy for the Quakes, if he doesn’t get going in this one it will be a long night in the Windy City for Yallop’s side.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 2, San Jose 0

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Seattle Sounders FC – at – Real Salt Lake

Probably the game of the week in most folks minds. Rightfully so as both clubs are looking to rebound after dismal efforts in week two. RSL will look to resume their home dominance while Seattle will hope to get on the right track this year away from Qwest Field. Sigi Schmid has to find a way to get his club going offensively though to get any sort of points in this one. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Pat Noonan get the starting nod in this one for them to make an effort to kick start their offense.

RSL also has some decisions to make offensively. Do they start Robbie Findley over Fabian Espindola or Alvaro Saborio, or do they keep him as a second half sub for now? Either way I think we’ll get more Findley this week than what we’ve seen so far this season. I like RSL in this one though with the way their midfield plays at home. I doubt we’ll see the same defensive meltdowns that we saw out of them in Houston a week ago too.

Player to watch out for: Steve Zakuani – The one big chance the Sounders have in this one is for Zakuani to expose RSL on the wings. His pace could be a big difference maker.

WVH Predictions: RSL 2, Seattle 1

Fredy Montero looks to run all over New York again this weekend. (Getty Images)

So week number two in Major League Soccer is a short one. Seriously? After a full slate last week and what I believe will be a full one next week, how come so many clubs are off this weekend? Easter? Passover? NCAA Final Four? My bet is its due to Easter and clubs not wanting games on this weekend due to that.

Last night’s two western conference classes were decent. The Houston-RSL game was pretty much everything we expected it to be, fast paced and some pretty good action from both sides. Weird result in the two PKs in a matter of a couple minutes there but honestly I had no issues on either call. Sure Luis Angel Landin embellished that fall a tad bit but the contact was definitely there from the goat of the night for RSL Jamison Olave. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Olave is a good defender but man does he ever get his team in to trouble more times than not. That’s why I have trouble rating their defense high, discipline reasons like that can really do a number on a team.

At least for RSL they have Javi Morales going well again. His pace and vision on the field is fun to watch. I think he may be this year’s Schelotto in that he is normally an assist man but this year he’s getting the goals.

Further out west last night was the SuperClasico and it was everything but Super. It wasn’t the nasty rivalry that we’re used to except for a few chippy moments early on. Edson Buddle linked up well with Sean Franklin (hell of a ball on that one) and Landon Donovan for his second and third goals of the season. Chivas had chances but they have no finishers on that team.

Now it is on to the weekend with the three games mentioned above. Two are big inter-conference clashes. We’ll definitely find out more about a couple clubs that we’ve had some questions on after this weekend.

As always feel free to leave your score predictions below.

Chicago Fire – at – Colorado Rapids:

Home opener for the Rapids this weekend and they bring in one of the better road sides in the league with the Chicago Fire. Carlos de los Cobos’ squad looked decent on the road last week in New York but was unable to hammer home a shot. Their midfield definitely is lacking some creative power and against a deep midfield that Colorado has it could be another rough night offensively for them.

We know the Fire will be fine defensively with Wilham Conde in the back. Question is can he handle both Omar Cummings and Conor Casey this week? Last week he didn’t have to deal with as much against the Red Bulls. I think this task may spread him too thin. Another guys in the back will have to step up but look for Colorado to have an edge here.

I’d like to see more out of Collins John in this one for Chicago. If he can get going offensively it will open up things more on the wings, meaning Brian McBride will be even more dangerous if the service from the wings is there.

Part of me wants to go draw just because I know the inconsistent nature of the Rapids is still probably there but I think their side is a bit stronger in this one, especially through the midfield.

Player to watch for: Omar Cummings – Expect him to drift a little wider in this one and try to explose the Fire defense from the wings.

WVH Prediction: Colorado 2, Chicago 1

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New England Revolution – at – D.C. United

Two teams with a definite need for points. New England didn’t look half bad in LA last weekend while D.C. was a whole other story in Kansas City. I’d imagine Curt Onalfo will have done enough work this week to correct the defensive issues that gave up four goals last week to his old club the Wizards.

New England will still be without Shalrie Joseph in the midfield, which leads me to lean toward the home-side in this one. I can imagine this one won’t be too pretty to watch either with this one having its fair share of fouls and cards.

I think this one will be rather close with New England compacting things through the midfield and in defense to make it tough on D.C. to get anything going. But look for D.C.’s offense to show some life in this one and find a way to get one in the back of the net. Plus I still wonder where the offense will come from for the Revs here, until someone steps up I am left to wonder.

Player to watch for: Juan Manuel Pena – United’s newcomer may be a welcome sight in defense this week. If things work out and he gets the start look for the defense to be much better in week 2.

WVH Prediction: D.C. 1, New England 0

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New York Red Bulls – at  - Seattle Sounders FC

May be the biggest game on the weekend slate, the up and coming Red Bulls face their biggest test as they head west to Seattle. Is Seattle as good as we think and are the Red Bulls actually good here this season? Those are questions we’ll figure out in this one I believe.

New York looked much better defensively last week against the Fire and offensively they have a master-mind in the midfield now in Joel Lindpere. Look for Seattle to find a way to keep Lindpere off balance in this one though, Chicago didn’t do a good enough job pressuring him on and off the ball last week. Osvaldo Alonso and Brad Evans will handle Lindpere in the midfield, which could open some space on the wings for the Red Bulls.

Seattle should still have the edge on offense here. They probably won’t have Freddie Ljungberg in this one but look for Fredy Montero and company to still handle the attack in this one. Plus the play of Steve Zakuani has really stepped up this year, look for him to be a nightmare on the wings for the Red Bulls.

I still have my doubts about this Red Bull squad but I do see vast improvement over last year. Hans Backe has done a solid job turning the ship around here. Still a big road test is always a true indication of how far along things really are and I just like the Sounders a bit more here. Montero is still a handfull and I think he’ll find a way past Bouna Coundoul.

Player to watch for: Pat Noonan – His signing with the club is a big thing, he adds depth for the Sounders on the wings or up top. Bigger thing for this one though is he has been an absolute nightmare in the past for the Red Bulls. According to Big Apple Soccer, Noonan has scored 12 goals in 19 career appearances against the Red Bulls. Difference maker right there folks.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, NY 1

Claudio Lopez could be headed to Colorado. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Right before the start of the Major League Soccer season a few clubs were having to do a little house cleaning to clear out some salary cap space. Big ones included Jon Busch getting cut by Chicago, Pat Noonan getting the boot in Colorado and well before that Claudio Lopez not being re-signed in Kansas City.

All looks a little better today as Busch is in San Jose with the Quakes while Noonan and Lopez may have new homes.

Word broke last night from Steve Goff that Lopez is possibly looking to sign with the Colorado Rapids. A move that definitely will beef up their attack and midfield. Sure Lopez is a bit old at 35 but he’s still got plenty left in the tank. I’ve been saying for a couple years now that the Rapids needed a go-to guy in the midfield to create offense. Lopez will certainly be an upgrade over Mehdi Ballouchy in that role.

No word yet if the Wizards retained any of Lopez’s rights when they parted ways with him back in February. If anything they could end up with a late round draft pick as compensation if the Rapids do sign Lopez.

Staying out west, the Seattle Sounders FC looked to have filled a hole at right-mid, a problem that many felt could have hurt them down the road. The Sounders signed former New England Revolution, Colorado Rapids and Columbus Crew midfielder/striker Pat Noonan.

Seattle manager Sigi Schmid coached Noonan in 2008 in Columbus. He could either start Noonan up top with Fredy Montero or out wide in place of Roger Levesque.

I like this move for Noonan and Seattle. We know the Sounders can score but Noonan will give them a little extra lift offensively that they need here.

Other Items

Could Luciano Emilio be headed back to MLS? Possibly to Philadelphia.

Speaking of Philadelphia and Peter Nowak, they currently have former D.C. United player Danny Szetela in on trial right now. No word yet if they will sign him but he’s more likely to see playing time in Philadelphia rather than during his time in D.C.

Yes it was unfortunate but there was some good out of it. SoccerAmeria just posted a great article on the 80 seconds of silence that Glenn Davis and Kyle Martino did at the start of the broadcast when the game was finally shown on ESPN2. Looking back on the tape of that game I saw and heard those 80 seconds. Boy it was pretty neat to say the least.

Aside from the ESPN fail on Wednesday this week and weekend are pretty big. We’ve already seen Toronto FC blow away Montreal last night in the final game of the Canadian Cup to advance to this year’s edition of the CONCACAF Champions League tournament. MLS will now field five teams with Toronto now to take on Puerto Rico in the preliminary rounds with a chance to be grouped in with the Columbus Crew.

We also have another competition starting up for a few clubs this weekend as well. The 2009 edition of SuperLiga comes at a good time for teams like Chivas USA and Chicago Fire. Both clubs play on Saturday in their opening matches of the tournament. Kansas City and New England will see their first games on Sunday. All SuperLiga matches can be seen live on the SuperLiga website.

But let’s get down to business as far as the MLS weekend slate goes. Plenty of decent games on the menu for us including one that I am very interested in out in Colorado between the Rapids and DC United.

As always feel free to leave your score predictions below.

Saturday:

LA Galaxy – at – San Jose Earthquakes:

Oddly enough we get another game on ESPN2 this weekend with the Galaxy and Quakes. While it won’t be nearly as good as it could be it should still be a decent western conference showdown between these two old California rivals. LA looked listless last week against RSL at home and now without a key leader in the midfield in Eddie Lewis (suspension). Not to mention the loss of Landon Donovan to the Confederation Cup with the US national team.

I think LA can shut down San Jose a little bit but with Darren Huckerby back and healthy right now I just don’t see LA shutting him out for the entire match. Huckerby has looked very good since his return and I think he will help lead the Quakes out of the cellar here with a win over their rivals.

WVH Prediction: San Jose 2, LA 1

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Seattle Sounders FC – at – New York Red Bulls:

I won’t lie, after Wednesday’s performance against DC and now having to travel across the country to face New York I do worry about this Sounder side. Thing is they are facing the league’s worst club in New York who haven’t look good all season. Danny Cepero did look good in goal last week in Toronto but I just have low hopes of him going back-to-back in quality games here. I think this one will be close but Sigi Schmid did take out his key offensive players early on Wednesday (Nate Jaqua, Fredy Montero, Freddie Ljungberg), possibly saving them for this trip. That should pay off in a win for Seattle as long as they figure out a way to close out a game on the road. This is a big time road game for Seattle and their confidence moving forward.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, NY 1

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Real Salt Lake – at – Houston Dynamo:

Congrats to RSL, you got your first road win of the year last week. Your reward is to go back on the road again and play the league’s best club, the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium. Hooray Beer!

Big thing to RSL’s success last week was their midfield. Javier Morales finally returned to quality form and that will go a long way with this club and their playoff hopes this season. Also the play of guys like Will Johnson and Yura Movsisyan looked much better a week ago. Thing is I just don’t see RSL’s midfield stacking up well against the hot group from Houston in Houston. Brad Davis, Stuart Holden and company have been more than impressive and when they are at home they are even tougher to beat. Houston should roll here in this one.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, RSL 0

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Columbus Crew – at- FC Dallas:

Another national TV game in Dallas. Sigh. The two HSG owned clubs square off Saturday night, probably in front of a crowd of 6-7,000. Unlike last week against Houston there probably won’t be that many Crew supporters there in Dallas for this one. Dallas hasn’t been able to shutdown quality attackers all season or even sub-par attackers all season. I just don’t see a way they contend with Guillermo Barros Schelotto. In a game that comes down to a lot of midfield play, Columbus still own one of the best midfields in the league while Dallas continues to own one of the worst. The Crew should leave with three points.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 2, Dallas 0

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DC United -  at – Colorado Rapids:

Probably the game of the week for me here. DC has always struggled at Colorado or anywhere west of Texas for that matter but the draw on Wednesday in Seattle should have given this side a big lift going on the road. I’m curious to see how Pat Noonan works out with the Rapids. He should be filling in for Conor Casey here this weekend. This game will come down to who can hold a lead better than the other. In a way I kind of think it will be a lot like the Wednesday night clash in Seattle for DC. They go down early to only come back late. Colorado is good but the lack of Casey does worry me up top for them in this one. DC should also get Ben Olsen back, which is good given the fact that the midfield is a bit spent after Wednesday’s game. I think a draw is the best way to go here in this one. As mentioned before DC typically struggles in Colorado but I think they will do enough to get a point out of this game.

WVH Prediction: Colorado 1, DC 1

Columbus is said to be giving up on the Pat Noonan experiement by shipping him off to Colorado. No other details of the trade are clear but if it goes down expect some draft picks to come back Columbus’ way (my guess a conditional pick of some sorts).

Interesting trade since Columbus went out of their way with New England last year to get Noonan. For the Rapids it makes perfect sense to get another striker. With the likelyhood of Conor Casey being out most of the summer with the US national team this deal would definitely be a wise move for Gary Smith’s side.

My take on the Columbus side to unload a striker like Noonan means they will be unloading some cap space for this summer to sign some depth to their roster for the CONCACAF Champions League run that they will be in. Something tells me Noonan won’t be the only one leaving Columbus. Just a hunch.

Once more details come out I will let you know.

Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff will try to keep Columbus winless. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Week eight has already kicked off with a bit of a bang with two draws on Wednesday night in Kansas City and in Salt Lake City. The RSL-LA draw was something to talk about for sure while the DC-KC draw was pretty much expected.

Time to shift focus to the weekend however as we have plenty of games on the menu to keep us going. Seven games this week, on three straight days. We have all conference battles except for one match tonight in New York with San Jose and the Red Bulls. Also this weekend we have a couple rivalry games like in Texas between Houston and Dallas. And in the east we get to see a lovely battle with Chicago and New England, two clubs that really don’t like one another.

As always feel free to post your score predictions for this weekend’s action below.

San Jose Earthquakes – at – New York Red Bulls

1. What can San Jose do to turn things around in Giants’ Stadium?

One thing going against San Jose so far this season is not sloppy defense or poor offense it is injuries killing Frank Yallop’s bunch. The loss of Jason Hernandez early on hurt the defense in a big way while having Darren Huckerby out for some time hurt the offense just as bad. Right now it is time for Yallop to step up in the locker room and get his troops back to square one here. He also needs guys to step up on the field like Bobby Convey or Romario Corrales.

In this game they face a Red Bull club that is also just as bad as they are this season so getting on the board early will definitely help. Offensively they just need a spark out of anyone at this point. If someone like Ryan Johnson or Pablo Campos can find a way through the Red Bull defense, which has been very shaky this season we could see a surprise tonight in the Meadowlands.

2. Is this the right time for New York to get things going this season?

One would think that this is the perfect time for Juan Carlos Osorio’s bunch to turn the page on this season and get their act together for once. So far this season we just haven’t seen enough solid play for 90 minutes to think they can do it though. While San Jose is just as bad as they are they haven’t been able to beat bad clubs like themselves this season (the loss to LA proved just that a couple weeks ago).

Mainly what needs to go down is some better control in the midfield. No one is servicing the ball into Juan Pablo Angel like last season, which has lead to many questions about this club’s offense. It mainly comes down to quality of service from the wings I think. They just haven’t gotten that so far this season. With how poorly San Jose has been in defense this season this could be the right time for Dane Richards to have a big game.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

I’m watching New York’s Macoumba Kandji in this one. He has all the tools and skills to be super dangerous here. I think its a matter of him realizing that too here. Once he and Angel get on the same page consistently this club will really start piling on the goals…and maybe the wins.

Quick Thoughts:

Honestly it is hard to pick a west coast club that is playing so poorly coming over to the east coast to play. Then again both clubs have given us very little reason to believe in them so far this season. Each sit near the bottom of the table with near identical records on the year and even the same goal differential on the year. And oddly enough neither club knows how to score on the road. I think with that the advantage has to go to the homeside, which lucky enough for New York means they should win this one. And in reality they should win this one.

While I am picking the Red Bulls to get their second win of the year I doubt it will be too convicing here either. I also wouldn’t be at all shocked to see a 0-0 result out of these two. Especially considering the fact that New York only has five goals on the year (one of which was an own-goal).

WVH Prediction: New York 1, San Jose 0

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Kansas City Wizards – at – Columbus Crew:

1. Once again, will the Crew finally break through here?

Honestly this looks like the one for you Crew fans. At home against a club that played in the midweek and expended themselves a bit at home in the process. Yeah, it could be the one but will it be. A lot needs to happen and the biggest is for the Crew to close out the game if they get the early advantage. Too many times this season the Crew have gone up early and fallen late due to poor defense or sloppiness in general.

Defensively they should be able to get a better pickup once Frankie Hejduk is back in the lineup for good. Hejduk is said to be fit enough to go on Saturday and that should lift this club a lot with their veteran leader back in the lineup.

2. What can KC do to keep Columbus out of the win column again?

For the visitors they need to control the midfield and shut down Gulliermo Barros Schelotto. Easier said than done but the Wizards have been able to slow him down a decent bit before. Secondly they need better service into their attack and better finishing. I wasn’t overly impressive with how they handled DC on Wednesday night for the better part of the game. They had a decent attack but nothing that would really set them apart in the east. I am starting though to think this club is one good striker away from being a really title contender.

Rattling the Crew early also won’t hurt in this one. Emotions could be high for the Crew since they are still searching for that first win so getting under their skin could go a long way.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

I’m looking out for Columbus’ Pat Noonan on Saturday. I honestly feel he is due for a goal or at least an assist with the way he’s been playing as of late. He’s finally fit and I think once he and Alejandro Moreno link up together it could be a good combination going forward for the Crew.

Quick Thoughts:

Yes, I am drinking the Kool-aid that this is the game for the Crew to get their first win. For one they are throwing a big bash to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Crew Stadium and a lot of key guys are coming back to the lineup. Some stars just seem in line but if anyone would ruin it I think the Wizards are very capable of pulling it off. I just think the Crew are too hungry for a win at this point to let another slip by.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 2, Kansas City 1

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Toronto FC – at – DC United:

1. With Dwayne De Rosario back in the line up, how does TFC stack up against DC?

Without DeRo the Reds looked pretty good, in fact they sort of turned their season around after a bad two game spell against Dallas. Now that DeRo is fit again the club is continuing to play well. Both clubs are coming off a midweek game where each played fairly well so each should be just as tired as the other when it comes to Saturday’s game. The thing for Toronto is, DC has owned them in the past at RFK Stadium.

Toronto needs to work the ball through DeRo early in this one. He has to be the X-factor that controls this game for them or DC will take full advantage of TFC just like they always have at RFK.

2. How can DC control this game from start to finish?

Something DC failed to do on Wednesday was close the game out. That’s been a problem here and there for them so far this season, closing out games. And with Toronto not being a pushover these days finishing out the game in a good manner is a big thing right now for DC, especially since they are the leaders in the east right now.

Keeping the ball in the midfield and getting good runs out of the back from guys like rookie Rodney Wallace will definitely go a long way. We saw on Wednesday that when Wallace makes his runs he can be very dangerous for DC.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

I think a big game could come from DC’s Luciano Emilio. He didn’t go the full 90 on Wednesday so he could be fully ready for Saturday’s game. That’s a good thing too as he’s done fairly well over these last two years against Toronto.

Quick Thoughts:

This one really has game of the week potential written on it. Toronto is playing some good soccer these days and DC is right up there with them. Hard to believe that these two are contending for the top spot in the east right now.

I think in the end DC gets the best of Toronto. RFK has never been a friendly place for the Reds and right now I just don’t see that changing. Toronto has been decent on the road so far this year but until they can prove they can win in places like DC it will still be hard to take them very seriously on the road. This one will be tight but in the end DC marches on with a win.

WVH Prediction: DC 2, Toronto 1

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New England Revolution – at- Chicago Fire:

1. Does Chicago continue to get draws here or will a dose of New England be the cure?

Let’s face it the Fire are in a little bit of a rut right now. Yes they aren’t losing a game but they also aren’t winning at the same time. That’s a problem no matter how you look at it, especially when they aren’t closing out games that they should win.

But if last year is any indication, the Fire playing New England is something the Fire look forward too. Maybe the Fire have been overlooking the past few games for this weekend’s clash with the Revs. It comes at a good time too since the Revs are still very banged up and are in a bit of a funk due to the major injuries on their roster.

2. Can we even expect New England to be competitive in this one?

Last year the Fire spanked the Revs all over the place during the regular season and even in the playoffs. With the amount of key guys still out to injuries it is hard to look at New England seriously here right now. I do love a Steve Nicol coached club but right now he is struggling to find a way out of the pile of injuries that is club has, which is understandable.

But to the question, they will be competitive in this one. Its a rivalry game for one and you know Nicol is posting scores from last year in the locker room this week to get the guys pumped up.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

No one more to watch than Chris Rolfe for me. For some reason Rolfe has had New England’s number in the past and I doubt that will change at all this season.

Quick Thoughts:

Its really hard to pick New England right now. I want to but I just know it would be a waste of a pick with the amount of injuries this club has. Its a shame too because when healthy they are still a very good club. Thing is they don’t have the depth to do much right now and offensively they just aren’t scaring anyone. On the flip side Chicago has as good of an offense as anyone in this league and defensively they are pretty sound right now.

I think this one goes to the homeside pretty easily. Still too many key guys missing all over the field for Nicol and in the end Chicago just has more talent on the field.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 3, New England 0

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FC Dallas – at – Houston Dynamo:

1. Is this the time that Houston starts to turn things on here?

I think last week was a good indication as to how well Houston will start playing here. They controlled a lot of the game against New England and even though this is a rivalry game I still think Dallas has a very small shot at beating Houston in Houston. Stuart Holden is proving he can carry the load for the Dynamo in the middle and really that is something great to finally see.

2. How can Dallas sneak in and get the three points?

Luck may be one way but in all reality they need better midfield play. They have guys getting balls in the box but not to Kenny Cooper and not in ways that allow this club to be good on offense. Its kind of like having too many chefs in the kitchen. Its just messy. Plus defensively Schellas Hyndman still hasn’t figured out which combination of players works well enough to hold teams off.

Let’s not forget Houston has practically owned Dallas in this series. Only one Dallas win in three years between these clubs.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

If Dallas is to get any sort of success in this one it may have to come from Dave van den Burgh. He’s been a big lift to this club on the wings so far this year and I’m sure folks in New York miss his service too. Dallas needs a big game from him is they want to get on the board in this one and come out with any kind of points.

Quick Thoughts:

The El Capitan series kicks off for 2009 but it just doesn’t have that same bang to me as it has in recent years. Maybe it is the lack of De Rosario for Houston that is doing that to me or maybe it is because Dallas is a tough club to get behind these days. I don’t know what it is but its a good rivalry nonetheless even if Houston has won most of the games in it.

I think Houston will start to roll here with this game. They showed a lot of promise last week in their win at New England and I think it will continue this week at home against Dallas. I see Houston getting on the board early with Brian Ching and never looking back from that.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, Dallas 0

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Real Salt Lake – at – Chivas USA

1. What will it take to knock off Chivas?

RSL is a club that can do it really. They get Javier Morales back in the midfield after his suspension and that will help. The thing is I’m still not totally convinced this club can do anything of note on the road. Three games on the road this year for RSL and they haven’t even mustered a single goal. That isn’t very good. Its showing that their defense really isn’t as good as advertised. Against a club like Chivas that exposes weaknesses easily RSL has to clamp down in the middle of the park in order to shut Chivas down.

The thing that Chivas is doing well right now is spreading their attack out to multiple people. Plenty of guys have goals this season for this club and that is always tough to defend. On any given night one guy could be the hot hand and as a defender that can be very tough to defend. RSL has to get more out of guys like Nat Borchers and Jamison Olave. But in all reality they need a bigger game out of Kyle Beckerman and Clint Mathis in the midfield.

2. What does Chivas need to do to control this game?

From the start Chivas just needs to continue playing their style of soccer. Its worked for them through eight games and there is really little reason why it won’t continue to work tomorrow night. Preki has gotten the most out of this bunch so far this season and I wouldn’t expect anything different now that some veterans like Sacha Victorine are coming back. Plus it doesn’t hurt if Sasha Kljestan continues to improve on his form. I thought last week he got himself involved a lot more and that can only lead to bigger and better things for this club if he continues to show interest here.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

I think a guy to watch has to be the AmeriGoats’ Maykel Galindo. He will likely be coming off the bench still but look for him to be a second half sub that could give this club a boost late in the game. If he can regain that form he had two seasons ago this Chivas club could go from really good to something amazing.

Quick Thoughts:

Another potential game of the week here leads me to wonder if we will ever see RSL show up on the road this season. Chivas has been a very good home club these last couple of seasons while RSL has stunk up the place outside of Salt Lake City. Plus was anyone really that impressed with the way RSL finished the game at home against LA on Wednesday? I know they didn’t get a call go their way but still if you can’t close out LA at home then something must be up.

I’ll keep saying it, until RSL shows me they can do it on the road I won’t pick them when they are visiting. Plus this is a big stretch for Chivas I believe. They’ve made it this far and I know Preki will want them to continue pushing forward in attack and continue getting these wins. I like Chivas is this one. It will be close but I think Chivas at home in a physical game should do it.

WVH Prediction: Chivas 2, RSL 1

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LA Galaxy – at – Seattle Sounders FC

1. Will LA continue to improve on the last two results?

Four points in the last two games would normally mean a club is doing something right. Plus not to mention how Bruce Arena’s club got the draw on Wednesday. That should be a big boost going into Seattle on Sunday. They need to carry that momentum into Qwest Field in a big way and get the expansion Sounders off their guard early in this one. LA is showing they have a decent club right now. Let’s not forget here that they haven’t lost a lot of games this season…but they’ve again only win a single game too. If they can rattle the Sounders early with something from Landon Donovan they could see another positive result.

2. What will Sigi Schmid do without Fredy Montero?

Well Montero is suspended for this one from his cheap shot a week ago. Probably a good thing too because he really hasn’t done a lot for this club in recent weeks in my opinion. Schmid needs to get more out of guys like Nate Jaqua anyways. More than likely rookie Steve Zakuani will be in place of Montero and we will see a decent amount of offense through him. Which hasn’t been a bad thing so far this season.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

I want to see more out of Seattle’s Sebastian Le Trox here. So far he’s been involved a lot in the attack but has only produced an assist on the season. I’m still waiting for him to break out a little bit and start scoring some here for the Sounders. Against a young defense like LA it could be a good time for that.

Quick Thoughts:

This game will probably be more competitive than most think. LA’s defense is really starting to come together I think but that’s only if the young three (Gonzalez, Franklin, and DeLaGraza) play well and on the same page as veteran Gregg Berhalter. Like I said if they can get under the skin of the Sounders early and take the crowd out of it as well they could be in for a good battle.

In the end however I think Seattle takes the points from this one. Seattle has a few more weapons up top and defensive are better in the midfield than LA is right now. It will be tighter than most think but I see Jaqua sticking it to his old side.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, LA 1

Jesse Marsch and Chivas USA continue to roll. (Getty Images)

Another week down in Major League Soccer and a lot of things remain the same around the league. Week seven is in the books here Chivas USA still remains the league’s top club. Other things that are still constant in the league include:

- New York still struggling
- Columbus still struggling to win
- Chicago still drawing games, yet still undefeated
- Dallas still losing games
- Salt Lake still losing on the road
- Attendance still so-so across the league

And a little sidebar that a couple of you pointed out to me, I picked every game correctly this past week. Some of the scores weren’t right on but I did have all the winners correct and all the draws be 1-1. Yeah, sorry to toot my own horn but sometimes it is nice to be right.

Chivas Still In Front

Some how, some way this club continues to lead the pack. Another gritty win without the help of Sasha Kljestan. But what they are getting is loads of good defense (they lead the league in goals-against). Only three goals against in eight league matches. Not bad at all my friends, not bad at all. And you know what they say, defense wins championships.

Anyways, I’d say a big reason is right now Preki is getting a lot out of his back four and even more so out of Zach “Turn the clock back” Thornton. The big guy between the pipes is making me think it is 1998 all over again.

Scary part is this club is slowly getting healthier by the week. Justin Bruan is starting to get more involved with the attack and as San Jose found out that is not a good thing. Plus with more guys coming back like Sacha Victorine and Maykel Galindo it just shows how deep this club is going to be for the long run.

As for the Quakes, the winless streak is at six. May be time for Frank Yallop to redo some of his line up to make up for the defensive issues going on. But then again the offense isn’t looking any better right now either.

Salt Lake Falls In Colorado

Again, it was hard to get so hyped up about last week’s 6-0 win for Salt Lake when you knew they had to turn around this week and go on the road to rival Colorado.

RSL continues to show they are missing a piece or two when it comes to playing on the road. For a team that was suppose to contend this season, they sure don’t get me thinking they will with the way they play on the road right now. Teams who win championships and contend find ways to win on the road.

It didn’t help to be a man-down for the entire second half either. And that they lost keeper Nick Rimando early in the game too. But in all the offense never got going for RSL.

The Rapids controlled the pace of this one early and really never let the visitors in this one. It was good to see this club finally take a real ownership of their home field. Sometimes it takes a rivalry game to do that too. Plus this club really starting to get interesting. With the way the west is playing this year this club could very well contend for one of those two auto-bids into the playoffs.

Seattle Looks Strong In Draw

For an expansion club Seattle goes on the road in Chicago against the league’s last undefeated team and comes out looking very good despite playing a man-down for a good chunk of the game. Seattle showed some serious grit after going a man-down and trailing shortly after in the second half when Chicago’s Marco Pappa put the Fire on top.

Some how, some way the Sounders placed a call to Tyrone to get them level in this one. Tyrone Marshall’s game tying goal gave the Sounders their first draw of the season and at the same time giving Chicago it’s forth straight tie (fifth of the season too). Freddie Ljungberg’s corner kick to Marshall was just poor marking on the Fire’s part. To be a man up and leave a guy like Marshall that open was pretty bad to see.

I don’t know what it is about the Fire but at some point they are going to lose one here. While some clubs aren’t good enough to win the Fire are playing just good enough not to lose at the moment. Hey, whatever gets you by but at the same time they get starting to get passed in the standings. Draws look good for only so long.

As for Seattle goes, they lost Fredy Montero to the red card on a bad elbow to Gonzalo Segares, who had a pretty rough game overall. I really felt even though the Sounders played a man-down they really out-played the Fire late in the game. Chicago had the possession and shots early but just like most clubs this year they were unable to get anything by Kasey Keller.

DC Continues To Roll

Look at DC here. Hard to believe they are sitting atop the eastern standings now and only have a single loss on the year. Credit those veterans for stepping up and credit that defense for really putting a clamp down on guys like Kenny Cooper.

What can you say about the two goals by Jamie Moreno too? Too calm and cool goals got United the three points after dropping an early goal to Dallas’ Andre Rocha (nice corner by the way for Dallas).

Dallas really never got solid possession in this one and that was due to DC stepping up their midfield play. DC pressed early and often in this one behind Moreno, Luciano Emilio and rookie Chris Pontius.

Defensively for Dallas they are still struggling. Schellas Hyndman can’t seem to get a grip on who to put in the middle of his defense and until he does his club will continue to give up easy goals down the middle of the pitch like they did on Saturday.

DC is improving each week here folks. Rookies are stepping up due to quality play of veterans and Tom Soehn’s club may be one to contend with here this season.

LA Gets First Win

Someone told me the other day that the best thing to happen to Chicago in the past two years was not landing Blanco or McBride but it was losing Juan Carlos Osorio. For some reason his club is still a mess despite new players starting to get playing time on a regular basis.

This one was pretty boring for the most part anyways. LA had the better chances overall but there weren’t that many to begin with. Neither club was holding possession too long but neither was creating many scoring chances either. LA lead the way with six attemps (five on goal) but New York only mustered up three shots and only one of those was on frame.

LA got their first win but this club still doesn’t look like a winner to me. Once they lose Landon Donovan this summer to Gold Cup and other national team duties they will easily stay near the bottom of the standings.

New York on the other hand is more confusing by the week. Osorio-watch may be in full force since his high-speed offense couldn’t even get more than one shot on goal against a club like LA. It wasn’t like the Galaxy defense stepped up their game for once it was more like New York couldn’t get their game going. While the Galaxy may not be a big winning club this season New York is quickly playing themselves out of playoff contention here before summer hits.

Crew Still Winless

Watching this game I made the classic mistake of walking away for a few minutes and missed both goals (left the room to see the news on the Cowboys training facility collapse). Anyways, Columbus again handled the Reds but were unable to get the three points again.

The Crew dominated the first half and had plenty of good chances on goal. Stefan Frei came up big for the Reds time and time again but early in the second half Emmanuel Ekpo’s sweet finish gave the Crew the lead for a few minutes. Chad Barrett got the homeside on the board no more than 10 minutes late to level the game.

The second half really was owned by Toronto after the Barrett goal. Mostly I think it was due to the subbing out of Guillermo Barros Schelotto midway through the second half. Without GBS the Crew weren’t holding possession well and weren’t getting the best passes in the offensive third of the field.

Columbus near got the lead back with Pat Noonan late in the second half but once again Frei came up big for Toronto.

A win for Columbus is coming though. You can sense it as they continue to improve each week here. The toughness that wasn’t there early on this season is starting to come back and once they get fully healthy the wins should start coming. Thing is before long it could be too little too late with the way some clubs are playing so far this season.

Toronto on the other hand is playing well. Another solid draw keeps them in the thick of things in the eastern conference. Now they have to turn their attention to the Canadian Cup this weekend when they host Vancouver on Wednesday.

Houston Starts To Catch A Break

Once Stuart Holden realized he was the man to lead Houston this season things started to click. That was the case yesterday as Houston finally caught a break and got out of their regular season funk against the Revs.

New England again failed to generate any sort of offense this week with only three shots in the game. The Revs’ only shot on goal didn’t come until just after the hour mark when Jeff Larentowicz header failed to do anything more than to give Pat Onstad something to do for once. Houston really controlled this one from start to finish with Holden and Brian Ching.

Once again it came down to a young defensive line in front of Matt Reis that caused New England to fall in this one. They weren’t able to handle any sort of pressure that Houston put on them as the Dynamo registered 14 shots in the game.

Until New England can get healthy again here this season they will continue to play this way. A bright spot though was seeing Taylor Twellman on the bench for this one as a sub. Apparently he isn’t too far from coming back which is something New England really needs to have at this point.

Houston is starting to really look good here. They still have some catching up to do out west but as we’ve seen out of them before, sometimes slow and steady wins the race.

Additionally, the teams traded spots in the current 2008 allocation standings with Columbus moving into the 10th spot and New England moving to third and the two sides agreed to considerations regarding 2009 allocation rankings.

Noonan seems happy to be back in the States and with MLS again. I have to agree, this is a good signing/trade for the Crew and for Noonan. He will probably start once he gets his fitness back up.

“I am excited at the opportunity to return to MLS and especially to join the Columbus Crew,” Noonan said. “I think it will be a great fit and I look forward to helping a team that is in a great spot to make a run for an MLS title.”

Columbus head coach Sigi Schmid also appears to be excited to finally add some depth to their attack.

“I think we’re obviously adding a quality player who brings another dimension and further options to our attack as we enter the final third of the season and playoff push,” said Crew Head Coach Sigi Schmid. “He has had a lot of success in this league and we look forward to having him for many good years in Columbus.”

The 28-year old midfielder/striker spend the last year in Norway with Aalesunds FK of the Norwegian Premier League where he made 11 appearances since signing in January.

From what I’ve gathered over the last few hours, Noonan never really wanted to be back with New England once he resigned with the league. The same was kind of said about New England who retained his rights, as they too were looking to trade him away the second they could. As nice as it would have been for him to be back with the Revs, they really had no place for him now that Taylor Twellman is getting healthy again.The need in Columbus is there and Noonan is a great fit to it.

What do you all make of this deal? Did Columbus make the right call in what they are sending back to New England for Noonan? Some may say they over spent but I disagree, but let’s hear what you all think.

The Crew are expected to send allocation money, a first-round draft pick and the rights to swap allocation slots to the Revs for the veteran striker.

A deal could be announced today, if not by the end of the week.

This is the deal that Columbus has been hunting for a while now and to me its a deal they need going forward as they are trying to catch up to New England in the standings. Usually you don’t see two clubs so close at the top of the standings work with one another on a trade like this but New England knew they didn’t want Noonan back and so a trade was going to happen. From what I’ve heard, the Crew were the most interested and appeared to give up enough in a trade for him.

What do you all make of this deal? Crew fans are you excited to get another striker?

MLS is still finalizing transfer details with Norwegian side Aalesunds, which still had Noonan under contract. Once that is settled, the Noonan sweepstakes could begin.

Earlier it was believed he was going to be with the Revs but that may not be the case. New England has had several offers for Noonan and could work out a deal to trade him off to someone else now that he is back with the league.

New England still own his rights (apparently they retained the rights after offering him a new contract at similar money to his old contract) and could keep him to add to their attacking depth. Galarcep went on to mention that the San Jose Earthquakes and Columbus Crew are the leading candidates to trade with the Revs.

So Crew fans your man could still end up with you all in the coming weeks if a deal works out. I just wonder how eager the Crew are to make a deal happen now that he is actually back with the league. Its usually a smart thing for a club in first place to not deal with a club in second place like the Revs and Crew currently sit. So a deal with San Jose could be more likely. Or Colorado. Or Dallas. Or Houston. Or where ever you all think.

Where will Noonan end up? Think the Revs will keep him or deal him? Let’s hear it.