Rookie Michael Lahoud is expected to make his second career start tonight. (Getty Images)

Tonight’s western conference battle is a big one. Not only is Major League Soccer getting a primetime clash on ESPN2 on a night without the NBA Finals or the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. But they are also getting the league’s two best clubs showcased in front of a national audience. You really can’t beat that if you ask me right now for a league that needs a boost in terms of eye-balls watching.

Houston comes into tonight’s game red hot, putting their three-game winning streak and eight-game unbeaten streak on the line against the top team in the west and the MLS overall standings – Chivas USA. The AmeriGoats are six points ahead in the standings but Houston does have two games at hand.

The only downer on this game is the fact that both clubs are missing their marquee players at the moment. Houston is lacking Brian Ching to injury and Ricardo Clark to national team duty with the US. Chivas is also missing Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein to national duty as well. So in a way we aren’t seeing either side at full strength.

1. What can Houston do to continue owning the league’s best defense?

It all starts and ends with defense up top. If your strikers and midfielders are defending well then it puts less pressure on your backline and keeper. Houston does it better than anyone though Chivas isn’t far off their pace as they’ve only given up two goals more this season. I think the play out of Stuart Holden in the midfield has been huge lately for Houston which has allowed the Dynamo defense to keep the other clubs off the board in recent games. Also throw in the fact that Houston has made some big changes to their offense these past couple weeks in getting Dominic Oduro and Cam Weaver will really help I think.

Though if you want another unsung heroes for the Orange and their defense you have to give some credit to two guys, Geoff Cameron and Richard Mulrooney. Both are playing very well and I’d say Cameron is playing like an All-Star these days for Houston.

2. What does Chivas need to do to overcome their history at Robertson Stadium?

All-time in Houston the Goats have not played well at all. Six games with four losses, two draws and only one goal scored. Houston in that timeframe has scored 12 goals. Thing is this is not the same Chivas club that we’ve seen the last couple years. Preki has put together a very strong defensive group that is getting results. I do worry though that the absense of Mariano Trujillo (suspended) and Bornstein in the back will hurt this club big time tonight.

Chivas just has to play their style of game. Pack the midfield and wait for their chances. They’re good enough to sneak one by Houston if they play their style tonight. They also need a big game out of young guys like rookie Michael Lahoud and veteran Jesse Marsch.

3. Player to keep an eye out for:

I think if Chivas is to be successful tonight on the road they need a big game out of Paulo Nagamura. He’s been the one guy this season for them that continues to impress me week after week.

Quick Thoughts:

This game really should bea  good one tonight even with the lack of big names that I mentioned above. I think if there is one club to cool off Houston, even at home, it is Chivas. Thing is I just think Houston is too hot to handle right now and that is why they will pull out the three points tonight at home. They’ve been too good lately and with the new additions I see them making an impact right away. It will be a tight game but Houston pulls it out in the end thanks to the play of guys like Holden and Brad Davis.

WVH Prediction: Houston 1, Chivas 0

Guillermo Barros Schelotto got the best of Claudio Lopez on Saturday in KC. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

If you blinked this weekend you may have missed some changes in the standings this weekend. A couple clubs continues to fall down the standings while a couple more continue to rise. Also we saw the western race (and the overall race for that matter) tighten up a bit with a Chivas win and a Houston win this weekend.

I believe the groups I’ve mentioned a couple weeks ago in the standings are still shaping up though one or two teams may have shifted around in the groups. The bottom of the barrell is still what it has been for a while now this year.

The Shifting Crew

The biggest move though may be one few noticed due to their game being on at the same time as the US national team’s game on Saturday (yeah, genius plan to schedule it like that). Columbus notched another win in typical Crew fashion this week in Kansas City behind two goals from their MVP and probably current league MVP front-runner Guillermo Barros Schelotto. With GBS scoring instead of setting up the goals this season we are seeing a slightly different Crew side this season but one that is starting to get results.

Sometimes it takes a club a while to get use to a new coach but if you didn’t notice the Crew are back in playoff contention right now. They also have a game to spare on those above them in the east.

Weird part may be though that this club still isn’t healthy here in the least bit this season. But as always good teams figure out a way to get results no matter the lineup. Columbus was still a good team at the start of the season but now they are finishing out games and getting points rather than struggling to get draws. Its hard to keep in mind that they’ve only lost twice this season.

One more thing, when I look at KC I still see a quality team here but I’ll keep saying it, they are missing one to two key elements to make them really good here. I think keeping their attack through Josh Wolff and Claudio Lopez can help but the playmaking in the middle just isn’t there enough. Also the defensive mistakes are really hurting this club. The U-8 style defending on the first goal just won’t get it done. I know Jimmy Conrad is already taking the blame for that goal.

Chivas Rolls Yet Again

It didn’t seem to take much but Chivas USA continues to stay at the top. Give credit once again to Preki for finding the bunch to get it done this week after his lineup was changed a bit due to Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein’s US callups and Jesse Marsch’s suspension.  Still the lineup produced what it needed to to get the three points against the Sounders.

Once again give a lot of credit to Zach Thornton in the back for keeping Fredy Montero and company off the boards. He showed some true MVP form in goal Saturday night.

While the Chivas attack isn’t fancy they get the job done. Eduardo Lillingston, Maykel Galindo and Paulo Nagamura combined on the game’s lone goal. I loved the heart those three showed on the play, they pressed hard and got the result. Too many times clubs aren’t pressing enough on goal and that could be a reason why we see so many draws.

I’m also wondering about Seattle now. Is the early success coming to a head and we are seeing this expansion side be an expansion side? Sigi Schmid could use some healthy players to cure that but this group is falling a bit. Maybe a visit from San Jose coming up will help.

Toronto Continues To Stumble

Talk about a bad stretch of play for Toronto FC. A blowout loss a week ago in Houston followed by an embarassing loss in Vancouver in the Canadian Cup. Most thought a home game against a LA squad that would be without Landon Donovan would be the answer to get them back on the winning ways. Instead Edson Buddle made sure his former side didn’t get the three points.

I still don’t know what to make of this win for LA. While it is good I still don’t beleive they have the depth to stay like this without Donovan this summer. Still a win is a win and I am sure this bunch will take it even if it is only their second one of the year.

Toronto on the other hand dips back down into the territory that they shouldn’t be in. The place below the top group of clubs and right in the middle pack that could go either up or down here. Right now they are falling fast though. Maybe this is their usual summer slump too. I still believe this club has plenty of talent to be good in this league but they lack a finisher up top. Until they get a true go-to scorer they will continue to be middle of the pack here.

Houston Rising

Don’t look now but Houston is up there in the standings with Chicago and Chivas. Stuart Holden and company jumped all over Chicago early and held on with their strong defense late to keep Chicago off the board.

Houston continues to impress with their defense, which is the best in the league at the moment in terms of goals against. I think we are also seeing their offense click a good bit here with the play of Holden. He knew he ahd to be a leader this season and he is definitely showing it.

What’s with Chicago at home here this season? Just like last year they struggle at home while playing very well on the road (league best road record 4-0-3). They tend to give up a lot of easy goals at home for some reason and defensively make me question just how deep this club really is.

Yeah, Colorado May Be That Good

I know it was a draw but the fashion the Rapids scored their game-tying goal late in Salt Lake gave me the impression that this club probably can compete without the services of Conor Casey up top. Good thing too since they will be missing him a decent bit this summer.

Omar Cummings was a good go-to filling if you will for Colorado. It’s exactly what the Rapids need out of him when Casey is gone. His speed is there and right now is finishing is starting to be there more for him. If that keeps up the Casey-Cummings duo could be a really fun one to watch this season.

I know RSL had the bulk of chances in this game but finishing continues to ruin what could be a really good club this season. I think once the summer transfer window opens up in a few weeks we will see this club change up a good bit. Jason Kreis has to make some moves to get this club back to where many expected them to be here at the start of the season.

Bottom Clubs Are There For A Reason

I wasn’t at all about to get excited over the recent play of Dallas and San Jose here. While both are starting to slightly come around here this season they are both still not very good. Its sad too since both have the potential to be good but just can’t get over the hump on a few items.

Both San Jose goals were just a product of terrible defense by Dallas here. More of the same if you will from the back four for Dallas, bad give aways in terrible spots.

But for Dallas both goals were very good to see. Great build ups by Jeff Cunninham on the first after a quick restart by David van den Burgh. David Ferrierra bags his first MLS goal (finally) on the play. Brek Shea helped set up the game-tying goal to Kenny Cooper. Just the kind of build up you need from this side, which makes me want to see more of Shea in the lineup here for Dallas.

Still I do like Dallas shifting their lineup a bit by moving Jeff Cunningham to the wing. His pace on the wing is much needed on a hot day like yesterday. The thing though about a guy like Cunningham is he isn’t always there for you out there. Too many times he gives up on plays but at the same time he could have been more involved at times.

The man of this match for me though had to be Ray Burse. For Dallas fans I think it is easy to say Burse has claimed his spot as the starting keeper for the club, even when Dario Sala is healthy again.

New England Lays Into New York

For a while we’ve said that New England will be good once their offense gets going. Well after a four goal effort yesterday I wonder if everyone else is still having doubts about this club like they were a few weeks back. Thing about this club is they’ve seemed to get over the hump a bit in terms of the amount of injuries that they had early on this season and are finally seeing results on the field that we’ve come to expect out of Steve Nicol’s bunch.

Kudos to Taylor Twellman for becoming joining the 100 goal club. No doubt his play on the field is sparking this club in a big way. I still have little doubt that he will go into the books before long as the all-time leading scorer in league history.

So what can we make of New York here? Six goals against in two road losses this week. They still haven’t found the back of the net here and most are certainly calling for Juan Carlos Osorio’s head now. Would it even be the best move for this club going forward? Maybe and maybe not. All I can say is the moves that were made by Osorio haven’t worked and that may be enough for a dismissal. It’s just gone from bad to down right sad there.

Other Notes:

The butts-in-seats look this weekend wasn’t all that bad. Everyone had at least 11K except for the lowly figure in Dallas yesterday. No way in hell there was even 5700+ at Pizza Hut Park. You’d have to count for all the workers at the stadium and the folks playing on some of the other fiels in the area to make that number. Now I know that is technically the number of tickets sold but its a pathetic number nonetheless.

Best crowd this weekend may have been at Rio Tinto Stadium for the Rocky Mountain Cup match between the Rapids and RSL. A near sell-out according to the final attendance numbers.

Order of highlights: Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Aljeandro Moreno (Columbus), Nate Jaqua (Seattle), Fred (DC United), and Paulo Nagamura.

Arturo Alvarez (video via MLSnet):mls_nynbal_4801125_400k

DeRo may have the best goal but the best team goal probably was the Crew’s first on Saturday with Ekpo.

Order of goals: Alan Gordan (LA), Paulo Nagamura (Chivas), Kei Kamera (Houston), Shalrie Joesph (New England), Chris Pontius (DC), Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto), Emmanuel Ekpo (Columbus), Gulliermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus), and Josh Wolff (KC).

Dwayne De Rosario was a handful for KC this past weekend. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

We got one week under our belts and already a lot to discuss. Week one left us with plenty…and I do mean plenty of quality goals. We also got a few surprises on the week as well like Chivas’s Paulo Nagamura and his random two goal effort over the Rapids. Lastly we got some solid crows for the opening week (Dallas may have been the biggest shocker after reports of only 5,000 tickets being sold a couple weeks ago).

I felt like doing something a little different for this week’s recap. Instead of going game-by-game here I thought it would be more appropriate to go team-by-team in a first impressions kind of mode. I am a big believer in the eye-ball test for teams, meaning that first impressions do go a long way.

As always feel free to pipe in your thoughts on the first weekend of action below.

Chicago Fire:

Offensively they didn’t impress me all that much. They put a decent attack together against a rather mediocre defense in FC Dallas. Still a three goal effort on the road is good no matter how the attack looked. The goal with Justin Mapp is exactly what you expect out of this club though and it is something I can see this club doing a lot this season. Blanco’s free kick was pretty sweet too.

Defensively they weren’t bad, giving up an early cheap goal from Kenny Cooper. Giving up a goal from beyond midfield is a keeper issue and just a smart play by Cooper. Really nothing to go crazy over.

Still this club gave me what I expected. A slow start with a strong finish.

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Chivas USA:

I said in the season predictions and previews that if this club stays healthy they will be really tough to handle out west. They don’t have a lot of flashy talent but they have the guys that aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty to get the job done. Head coach Preki still finds a way to get everything out of what he has on the field, even if it isn’t his best 11.

How about Paulo Nagamura and his two goal effort? Four career MLS goals and he nets two to start the 2009 campaign. Not a bad way to start at all. It didn’t hurt that the Rapids really gave him a lot to work with on each goal.

Defensively this club didn’t look bad but I have to say they need a new keeper in a bad way here. Zach Thornton is decent but he is no longer a reliable guy between the posts. His little give-away in the goal mouth can’t be done on any level.

I thought the new additions weren’t too shabby either. Striker Eduardo Lillingston and defender Mariano Trujillio had decent debuts for their new club.

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Columbus Crew:

What can you say about this club? In 2008 they were the toughest team to beat and that is carrying over in 2009. I felt offensively they had the bulk of the chances in their game against Houston but were unable to really capitalize on what they had until late. Guillermo Barros Schelotto is still a genius in the midfield and really no one can handle him, even one of the better defensive clubs in the league.

This club is still dangerous on all ends though. I kind of felt they could have had the early advantage with the Chad Marshall goal that was called off due to a foul on Marshall. That call really could have gone either way but kudos to the official for sticking to his call on it.

I think overall things will still run through Columbus in 2009.

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Colorado Rapids:

I have a feeling this will be a long year in Colorado. While the one goal was a positive thing the defense and the midfield play were rather pathetic. They were able to put some decent pressure on late but no one made a solid enough effort to really test Chivas keeper Zach Thornton late.

I think for me it comes down to a lack of creativity in the midfield for this club. We know Christian Gomez failed to work out there last year but I think it is already time to begin looking for a DP-level playmaker in the middle for this club. Someone like a Schelotto or a Blanco that elevates this club to a new level. I really think that is the biggest thing missing for them and could be the difference between making the playoffs or not this season.

Still Conor Casey showed me that his late run a year ago was no joke. That is a good thing for Rapids fans.

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DC United:

We thought it in preseason play but now in regular season play we still believe it. It could very well be a long season in DC. Tom Soehn is probably already on the hot seat for his club’s performance in the second half against LA. Sure some calls (that handball call, are you kidding me?!) didn’t go his way and that nasty collision between Devon McTavish and Greg Janicki didn’t help either.

I thought early on things were going to be different for DC. They came out and impressed me early on with a nice two goal lead. But their downfall was due to their biggest weakness, their defense.

Still some pluses to note, I really thought both first round picks played well this weekend which means things could quickly get on the rise in DC. Rodney Wallace recorded an assist and Chris Pontius recorded the first goal by a rookie this season.

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FC Dallas:

Ah, the home club for me. Well the crowd was much better than we expected. The new dance team looked alright and Kenny Cooper scored from midfield. Not much else to really leave you with here.

Defensively the club didn’t look any better than what we’ve seen out of them for the last couple years. In the midfield we saw a couple decent bits out of David van den Burgh (no surprise) but nothing too great out of newcomer David Ferreira. He has to find a better way of controlling the game for Dallas in the midfield. If he doesn’t no one else will.

I thought offensively aside from Cooper’s long-range blast, there wasn’t a whole lot there. The chances looked decent but after reviewing them a couple times they actually weren’t all that great.

Not a great start, and not a real surprise either in their start. I kind of feel it will be a very long year in Dallas for this bunch.

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Houston Dynamo:

Pretty much what I expected out of this bunch. Sound on defense yet only to give up a really good goal that not too many could score like that (and not too many keepers could save). I gotta say I was impressed a bit by Chris Wondolowski in the offensive end for Houston. While I don’t think he will be the best partner to Brian Ching in 2009 he certainly made his case for it. He found himself in a decent position more than once but he just needs to find a better way to put the ball home in the back of the net.

Overall though not bad out of this bunch. The only real downer was probably the field at Robertson Stadium, it was a total mess.

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Not the greatest start to the season for Jimmy Conrad and KC. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Kansas City Wizards:

Defensively it was about what I expected. The lack of defensive quality in the midfield always puts more pressure on this club’s backline. When you add in the fact that Toronto now has some serious talent in their midfield it really showed up for me on Saturday night. I watched a few highlights a couple times and noticed just how out of place some guys in blue looked. It may have been the quick counters that Toronto was getting but it just seems like KC has more guys committed forward than what their defensive midfield can actually handle.

Still they were in this game thanks to two amazing strikes by Davy Arnaud. Pick either one and they could be goal of the week material. It seems that just as last year Arnaud will carry this club on his back offensively. Thing is those types of goals don’t always come every week.

A positive note to finish them off here, rookie Graham Zusi looked real solid in the offensive third for this club.

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LA Galaxy:

Looked okay. The slow start defensively was expected for this bunch but the two late goals by Landon Donovan put the defensive issues to rest for the day. The equalizer was something else though, very clutch.

Still growning pains are going to be apart of this club for the next couple months. They have a solid core of rookies, a decent amount of veterans and then Landon Donovan. Thing is Donovan can only carry this club so much like he has done in years past.

Their rookies showed up in the starting lineup weren’t bad but did help DC out more than their own. Omar Gonazlez has talent but man did the kid ever give up a goal for DC.

Its going to take a lot to get this club to the next level but if everyone can be patient and also if they can get a little luck this club could surprise some.

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New England Revolution:

Their game was no biggie. Defensively they were more impressive than I expected without Michael Parkhurst and offensively they were able what I expected with no Taylor Twellman. Their two rookies looked great though. Kevin Alston showed his quality was really locked down a tough player in Darren Huckerby on the wings. Darius Barnes also started in the backline with Alston and really impressed me, plus the kid has a cannon for a throw-in.

I said on Friday that Kheli Dube would have to carry the scoring load for the Revs and he came through. The Revs really didn’t show a lot of negatives but then again didn’t give up a lot of positives either. I did think that the Quakes would score a couple on them but give Steve Nicol credit for picking a defense out that not many would have expected to see a couple months ago. Starting two rookies in the back is always bold but Nicol always finds a way to make it work. It also didn’t hurt that San Jose couldn’t hit anything on Saturday night.

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New York Red Bulls:

Lets get real honest about this club. If their defensive additions don’t pan out quick this could be a long year for them. Plus the key guys in the midfield that are expected to produce failed to do so against Seattle. I wonder how long it will take before Juan Carlos Osorio realizes that Juan Pietravallo is just not a good idea.

This club has a lot of expectations surrounding them and really I am wondering exactly how they will live up to them this year. The first impression they gave me in 2009 was not a good one. It was similar to what I said about them a season ago. Sound offensively, a bit over hyped in the midfield, lacking in defense and nothing special in goal.

I said it Friday and I will say again, is Danny Cepero really an upgrade to Jon Conway? I wasn’t a Conway fan but after reviewing some of Thursday night’s game I am starting to wonder if Cepero is any better.

It will get better in New York, but Osorio better get use to hearing his name on the hot seat again if it doesn’t come quickly.

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Real Salt Lake:

Off in week one, check back next week.

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San Jose Earthquakes:

They picked up where they left off a year ago on offense. No one could hit anything, okay, well that wasn’t true as they hit the post a few times. Still it wasn’t a good offensive showing by the Quakes. Though I think we saw what is to actually come from this club. The first goal is always the toughest to get in a new season and it will come for this club soon enough.

I think once Weaver and Huckerby settle into this season they will start seeing more chances come their way. I thought the Quakes held New England off pretty well in the midfield, which isn’t always easy to do with Shalrie Joesph out there.

Again another rookie showed promise out there. Quincy Amarikwa looked pretty solid for San Jose. I think he will eventually link up well with Weaver and guys like Shea Salines.

Defensively they are still as solid as before. The one mistake ended in a New England goal. I don’t see this club giving up too many multi-goal games though this season anyways.

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The eye-ball test was real good for this club. I think everyone will see them more as a club that isn’t in their first year than one that is. They became the first expansion club since Chicago in 1998 to win their first game…and we all know what Chicago went on to do in that season.

Hard to really find a lot of faults in this club after their first game. Fredy Montero was a beast. Osvaldo Alonso may have been the best USL-to-MLS addition that we’ve seen since Brian Ching. He answered a lot of questions that I had about him and his ability to go from USL to MLS.

Defensively the club looked okay. Nothing great but Kasey Keller did show that he still has it.

Oh and that crowd looked amazing.

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Toronto FC:

A nice group of TFC supporters decended on KC. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Aside from two You-tube worthy goals given up this club looked a lot better than what we had seen out of them a year ago. I said on Friday to keep an eye on Amado Guevara and he did not disappoint with his two-goal effort. Dwayne de Rosario was a handful in the midfield for KC, as he set up a couple goals for the Reds.

Defensively they looked better, not great but better. I think their offense will easily carry them this season while their defense could cost them some games down the stretch.

Make no mistake, this club should contend in 2009 though.