Sporting KC and RSL square off in the biggest match of 2012 - so far. (Getty Images)

What else can you say about the upcoming weekend in Major League Soccer? It’s damn full. Nine matches, eight of them on Saturday. Tons of interesting matchups across the board that should have everyone’s attention.

This could be the start of where we begin to see how teams will go for the rest of the season. Six weeks in and we know a good amount about each club but it always seem that once those first few games are out of the way that teams begin to separate themselves from one another at this stage. This season should be no different really.

I have a few items I will be looking at heavily this weekend, and here they are:

1. Getting off the mark. For both the Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC, this is a big weekend. Both have win-able home games against clubs that they should beat. Toronto gets Chivas USA, a club making the cross country trip while Philadelphia welcomes in the Columbus Crew, a team fresh off a 4-1 drubbing last week from the hands of the New York Red Bulls.

Even though it is still early, this could easily be a make-or-break kind of weekend for Aron Winter and Peter Nowak. Both of their clubs have been dreadful thus far this season and neither have found their way.

Toronto has to find a way to get their offense going with Danny Koevermans, while making sure that this gritty Chivas team doesn’t make it three straight on the road. Saying that Chivas is a pushover can’t be true anymore after wins in Portland and Salt Lake this season but a long trip to Toronto could be tough for Robin Fraser’s club. Toronto has to find their game and take it to Chivas early or else they could be staring at yet another loss.

For Philadelphia – the plan is simple – find the attack and make it happen against the Crew. Whether it be Danny Mwanga, Gabe Farfan, or someone even like Freddy Adu stepping up…someone has to take over for the Union attack.

2. Reaction to Mullan. It has been nearly a year since the dreaded tackle from Colorado Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan on Seattle’s Steve Zakuani. With Mullan’s return to Seattle set for this weekend, the reception of the veteran wing could be some must-see TV. To me, I hope the Sounder fans keep it classy when dealing with Mullan. I’m not saying they should shower him with praises and roses or anything like that but I do hope that the faithful there realizes that holding a grudge against a player that has already been forgiven for too long could come back to haunt them.

My guess it will end up being mostly boos from the crowd each time Mullan touches the ball. Thankfully most fans do get bored with booing the same guy over and over for 90 minutes.

3. Can the Quakes quiet the Red Bulls? Who would have thought six weeks ago that this could be an interesting match? I certainly did not with the way the Red Bulls started the first two games of the year. Now as we enter Week 6 you have one of the top offenses squaring off against one of the best defenses.

San Jose has done well so far this season at quieting quality offenses like Seattle and Vancouver while finding ways to get Chris Wondolowski the ball. Their style and pace on the wings has come alive with Marvin Chavez and Shea Salines but for me what is so impressive is their defense. Victor Bernardez and Justin Morrow have quietly become a force in the middle of the defense. They’ll certainly have their hands full with Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper, two of the hottest strikers in MLS.

The Red Bulls come into this match scoring 13 goals in the last three games, with Cooper and Henry doing most of the damage. So far this year the Red Bulls have been quieted by good defenses in Dallas and Salt Lake, while running all over Colorado, Montreal and Columbus. How they handle another quality defense like in San Jose will answer a lot about this team. If they can run up the score yet again this weekend, New York will certainly be a force to deal with for the rest of the season. If not, then we’ll know their kryptonite.

4. What formation does Schellas Hyndman put out this weekend? For most of the season FC Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman has used the 4-1-4-1, a trusty formation that really works best with a healthy David Ferreira. But last week against the New England Revolution, he switched it all up going to a 4-4-2. The speed of the wings with guys like Brek Shea and Carlos Rodriguez doubled with the speed of Fabian Castillo up top made it tough for the Revs to deal with at times. This move was made to counter suspensions to Jair Benitez and Daniel Hernandez but with their returns you have to wonder what Hyndman will go to next.

Typically Hyndman doesn’t like to make too many changes from game to game if he doesn’t have to but with the injury to Ricardo Villar, he may have to make a switch again when they host the Montreal Impact on Saturday. Replacing Villar in a 4-4-2 setup isn’t that difficult, seeing how he wasn’t that involved in last weeks game. But in the 4-1-4-1 setup, it proves to be a tougher challenge.

5. Battle at 15 points. Real Salt Lake head to the midwest to battle Sporting Kansas City, in the battle of the top two sides in the league. Each team has 15 points so far and SKC is undefeated after five games. Two extremely strong teams here, really no edge either way in my book as to which way this one leans.

Sporting will want to assert their speed and skill up front early in this one but so far this season they haven’t seen a defense quite like RSL. Jason Kreis’ club always plays tough against quality offenses like Sporting’s and this one will certainly come down to who blinks first.

I’m sure somewhere some executives at MLS are wishing this has been a national TV game for the league. IT would have been a great one to showcase.

6. Dreadful Timbers and Galaxy square off. John Spencer said recently that this last month has been hell, well I am paraphrasing him with that. I’m sure Bruce Arena is thinking the same thing about his club’s performances over the last six weeks as well. Both sides only have a win to bank on up to this point and neither look like the clubs most expected them to be at the start of the season.

Both teams need points but more importantly each need a big performance out of their defense in this one. Neither has shown up well this season and while you could make the point about their offenses not stepping up to the plate as well, it is the defenses that really win in this league.

7. Oh yeah, Houston and Chicago. Man I hate the unbalanced schedule for reasons like this one. Both the Houston Dynamo and the Chicago Fire have been on and off all year not because of poor play on the field but because of the schedule. Both teams have played just three games so far. Yes just three. How insane is that?

Hopefully this match will shed a little more light on just how good the Fire will be this season. I think what we’ve seen so far is they have some quality around the pitch but someone else has to step up offensive other than Dominic Oduro. The same can be said in a way for the Dynamo as their offense has to have some form of life here too.

File this one under the section of things that the Seattle Sounders front office does well.

This clever set of videos are to help get fans in Seattle to renew their season tickets for another season. Seriously. All jokes aside with these videos but this is great. You don’t see one other clubs in the league doing anything remotely close to this. From the video of forward Roger Levesque just crewing repeatedly, to keeper Kasey Keller talking retirement and midfielder Steve Zakuani saying he knew it hurt when he left you, just chalks up to being good fun and very clever.

I couldn’t tell you if they hiked any of their prices up like some clubs did (looking at you New York), but even so I’d probably fall for this cleverness and renew in a heart beat.

Click here to see all the videos in their glory.

Of course a lot of this stems from the recent injuries to Steve Zakuani and David Ferreira. I thought a quote worth point out was one from Vancouver Whitecaps defender Jay DeMerit.

“The difference between a really nasty challenge and a great tackle is timing,” said DeMerit, a veteran of eight professional seasons in England and a regular on the U.S. national team. “The only thing is that guys get the timing wrong. The ones that continuously get into tackles like that, then you go to the next level and ask is it a dirty player.”

Interesting stuff.

The Major League Soccer Disciplinary Committee today suspended Colorado Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan for his tackle on Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Steve Zakuani in the 3^rd minute of the game on Friday, April 22. Mullan received a red card for the challenge, which resulted in the breaking of Zakuani’s right tibia and fibula.

The Disciplinary Committee determined that Mullan’s challenge was reckless, egregious, and showed utter disregard for the safety of his opponent. Mullan will be suspended for a total of 10 games and fined a total of $5,000, including the automatic one-game suspension and $250 fine for receiving a red card.

No doubt the tackle was reckless. It will be interesting to see if Mullan appeals the suspension or if he just let’s it go. As shaken up as some reports claim he is, I wouldn’t be shocked to hear him not appeal this. For the most part Mullan was a good, clean player that just got caught in the moment and wasn’t thinking clearly after not getting a call go his way. Hey, as a former player, it happens unfortunately.

What did you make of the 10-game suspension? Fair? Too much? Let’s hear it.

Steve Zakuani will now face a long recovery. (Getty Images)

Like I mentioned yesterday, week six in Major League Soccer was a pretty ugly one. While the Red Bulls and Galaxy were stomping their way through their games, most of the folks out there were yet again focused on the fouls and one non-foul that hurt two big stars in the league.

The last couple days have been a guessing game on Twitter and at various sites. Most seem to think the tackle by Colorado Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan on Steve Zakuani deserves at a minimum of five games suspension. Intent and Mullan’s background as a nice guy comes into the fold when looking at these sorts of things which could ultimately save him in the end from getting what Ricardo Clark got back in 2007 when he kicked Carlos Ruiz while he was on the ground. Clark received the highest penalty given by the league, 10 games (nine games plus the normal one game ban for the red card).

Is Mullan’s tackle worth ten games? Most Seattle Sounders fans would tell you that they think so. His comments after the game probably made it worse however as he said it was a tackle he’s done a hundred times and would likely do again. He apologized to Zakuani but the manner of the way he did seemed more like a forced thing and not a real one by Mullan. It probably didn’t help that a camera was shoved in his face after the game to do it, I’d be willing to bet that a day later his comments wouldn’t have sounded so ass-hole like.

The league is currently reviewing this challenge and the one by Vancouver defender Jonathan Leathers on FC Dallas midfielder David Ferreira.

The tackle by Leathers isn’t as cut and dry as the Mullan one. Mullan’s had some intent behind it when he didn’t get a call just moments before his reckless tackle on Zakuani. Leathers was trying to play the ball and instead came in and got Ferreira instead. Interestingly enough there was no foul given, no card shown and all Dallas got was a corner kick that they actually scored from.

Leathers’ tackle was easily more clean than Mullan’s and I never felt that his tackle was meant to injury Ferreira. As a writer who covers Dallas a lot, you’d probably expect me to be all in rage over the tackle but I’m not. Leathers was playing the ball, not the man, and unfortunately for Ferreira his foot got stuck in the fake turf causing the injury.

Should Leathers’ have been carded then and there for the challenge? Probably so. At least a yellow seems fair as he didn’t get that much of the ball and he did come in from behind in a ways.

Again, the league is reviewing these two tackles. Mullan’s deserves a harsh penalty in my mind. I think the league has to come down hard on challenges like this one and give it a pretty lengthy suspension. As for Leathers, not so much. I’d be shocked if he even received a suspension here.

What did you make of each foul? Think Mullan deserves a long suspension? Does Leathers? Let’s hear it.

Normally I tackle one of these kinds of posts each year it seems as there are always a group of guys that just look prime to go from MLS to Europe at the next chance. A year or so ago (okay December 08) I wrote that guys like Sacha Kljestan and Michael Parkhurst were on their way out of MLS.

After Geoff Reid’s talk yesterday about players heading to leagues in Sweden or Norway I felt like piggy-backing that post a bit to get back into this discussion today. The fact that I skipped an entire year on something like this was a bit shocking as I thought I’d keep up with it longer when I first started doing it. Silly me I suppose.

The summer transfer window just closed a couple weeks ago and now clubs have to wait before they can get their hands on some up and coming MLS talent. It seems like right now there are plenty of guys that could very well be gone from MLS next year if the league doesn’t step up and protect it’s own, which we know probably won’t happen.

A lot of talk has surrounded Landon Donovan in recent months but really anymore I don’t see him going back to Europe full-time. I think in January we’ll see him head back to England or where ever for a three-month deal only to return to LA for the start of the 2011 season. Plus I feel as though he went to England this past year and did what he’s been wanting to do for a long time, prove himself on a big stage. He’s done that and so I think he’s fine in LA for the time being. Some folks won’t agree with that but let’s face it MLS isn’t getting rid of it’s biggest star just yet.

Now some of my list below is built on a gut feeling and the others could be based on rumors flying around. All of these guys are young too as I didn’t go for any veterans that think they’ll just up and leave MLS. Which means I still believe guys like Shalrie Joseph won’t go even though you know they’d like to. Also I know a few of these guys are a couple years away from a move but I thought they were worth discussing. If you feel like I missed someone or think I’m totally crazy just share your thoughts below.

1. Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo) – His injury this year probably dampened his chances in a big way to score a huge contract or even a transfer this summer but one thing is certain about Cameron he’s vastly underpaid in MLS. He knows it and so does the rest of the soccer world. He hasn’t signed a contract extension with the Dynamo just yet either so don’t be shocked if his situation turns out to be similar to Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark. I’d love to see Geoff stay here in MLS, believe me I would but we’ve seen this time and time again with clubs like Houston. They make good, young, and cheap players into very talented stars. Its always tough to hold on to something like that.

2. Danny Mwanga (Philadelphia Union) – I know he got talked into coming to MLS instead of going to Europe but believe me he won’t be in MLS very long with the way he plays. I give him one more year here tops. Maybe even less than that.

3. Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy) – Here’s a gut feeling kind of thing. Once his contract runs out with the club I see him as a goner. Defenders like Gonzalez are tough to come by and he’ll also continue to get more US National team play in the coming year as well I believe. The more folks abroad see him the more likely he won’t be in MLS with LA.

4. Brek Shea (FC Dallas) – Here is another talented yet cheap player that is continuing to get better. He had rumors a couple years ago about going to Europe but after the way he’s emerged this season it will be tough for Dallas to keep him long-term. He’s still very young and has room to grow in the right system.

5. Andy Najar (D.C. United) – You can’t be shocked to see this kid’s name listed here. Thankfully for D.C. fans they have him for at least another year as he can’t go anywhere else until he’s 18. But unfortunately for D.C. and anyone who enjoys watching him play in MLS he’s a star on the rise that will only continue to garner interest from abroad.

6. Toni Tchani (New York Red Bulls) – Some will say Tim Ream is more likely to leave MLS than Tchani but I disagree. Tchani may be a couple years off from a move out but believe me once this kid gets the proper playing time you’ll understand why I put him here. His size and skill are there and its only a matter of time before this guy gets attention abroad.

7. Stefan Frei (Toronto FC) – I could be wrong here about Frei but the talented Swiss player could make a move easily based on his passport. Then again if anyone watches him in goal they’d be silly to think he wouldn’t be a good fit abroad. He’s got the size and skill you want in a keeper too.

8. George John (FC Dallas) – This one may shock some folks but I’m a big George John fan, not because I see him all the time here in Dallas but because he’s really started to grow as a player here. His size is perfect and he’s only getting better, just like his club at defense. Part of me feel he could be the next Clarence Goodson from MLS.

9. Steve Zakunai (Seattle Sounders FC) – The speedy winger from Seattle is a guy that can be a game changer with his pace and scoring ability. Having some chances in Europe before (he was with the Arsenal youth system) before coming to the US to play college soccer at Akron. Now that he is making a name for himself here its only a matter of time before he hops back across the pond.

10. Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew) - Part of me thinks he’ll be in MLS for his entire career but the other part me thinks he’ll eventually try his hand at going to Europe. He’s only 26-years old but had enough experience to land in a decent league if he wanted to.

FC Dallas battles Seattle tonight on ESPN2. (Getty Images)

A Thursday night game in Frisco, TX, boy let’s hope the locals come out for this one since it is on national television. The Seattle Sounders FC come into town tonight to face one of two remaining clubs in Major League Soccer without a win on the year in FC Dallas. Both teams coming off late goals with different outcomes in their last games, Dallas could have seen road points in New York while Seattle gobbled up three points on a very late goal at home against Kansas City.

Dallas is hoping to get their first win and not go April winless, something they haven’t done since 2003 when the Burn went 0-1-1.

Tonight’s contest will be all about who’s offense finally gets going here. Dallas has yet to really see Jeff Cunningham be the Golden Boot winner of last year just yet. Then again this time last year it was a similar effect for him as he really didn’t come alive last year until the summer. Seattle on the other hand is hoping to find more offense than Fredy Montero and to find some sort of consistency on offense.

It won’t be easy though as both club’s defenses are solid. Some may not think Dallas’ defense is any better than before but I’m seeing a tougher group out there and one that is getting loads more possession. If Dallas continues to control the possession in the game like they have in each game so far this year they will eventually work out the kinks in their offense in the process.

Seattle must find ways to spread out FCD with Steve Zakuani and get Freddie Ljungberg involved as early as possible. Dallas usually does a decent enough job clogging the middle of the field so Seattle must rely on their wing play in this one.

Dallas must also find a way to keep a lead, they’ve gotten leads in their last two games but failed to get more than a single point out of them. Its not just the play in the back that has given up those goals but the play in the midfield.

Part of me wants to pick Dallas in this one to get their first home win of the year but I see a draw. Seattle will go up early and hold back as much as possible as they have another road game this weekend in Toronto on Sunday.

Player to watch out for: George John – He’s a Seattle local but he’s also hoping to go the full 90 for the first time against his hometown team. He’ll be called on to handle Montero and the other Sounders coming down the middle of the field.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 1, Seattle 1

Week four in Major League Soccer got off to a slight bang last night. Philadelphia and Toronto clashed up on the new grass at BMO Field. Dwayne De Rosario nailed two goals for the Reds in the 2-1 win. Take away the red card to Danny Califf and really Philadelphia should have at least gotten a point out of last night’s game. But they didn’t and its time to move on.

The win was definitely bigger for Toronto, even if it wasn’t pretty. Fans held up banners that said YOU MUST WIN last night. They may have won but they are far from being a team that is on the up and coming here. Preki knows lots still need to change, don’t be at all shocked if they continue to re-work this roster.

One thing we did learn from Philadelphia last night is that Roger Torres and Cristian Arrieta are solid players. Torres’ pass to Jordan Harvey on the lone Union goal was a thing of beauty. I know I’ve raved over New York’s Joel Lindpere as one of the best newcomers this year but keep watching Torres, he’s young and loaded with talent.

Now for the weekend, we have seven games with six coming up tomorrow. Some how Columbus managed to be left off the weekend slate. Can anyone figure out why a club that will have such a heavy schedule late in the year has two weekends off within the first month of the year? Shouldn’t the league have loaded their schedule up a little more early on? I don’t know, just a weird thing to see.

Feel free as always to leave you score predictions and thoughts on this weekend’s games below in the comments section.

Saturday

Kansas City Wizards – at – Seattle Sounders FC

One of the better games this weekend, the Wizards travel to Seattle to face the Sounders. Qwest Field is a place the Wizards managed to grab a win at last year so don’t be shocked if they find a way to do the same this year. With Ryan Smith charging down the sideline it could happen. This will be a great test for the Wizards though, most of us really wonder exactly how good this team really is here this season. We’ve only seen them at home and on a smaller field.

Seattle will need to use their speed and skill on the wings to spread the Wizards out. I’d expect another solid game out of Steve Zakuani in this one as I love him going against either Roger Espinoza or Michael Harrington. I think his speed may be too much to handle for either one. Also can KC handle Fredy Montero up top? They did well to shut down Omar Cummings and Conor Casey a week ago but Montero can be an entirely different kind of handfull to deal with. I like the Sounders at home but in a close one.

Player to watch out for: Jimmy Nielsen – I’m not usually one to point out a keeper in this area but so far he’s kept a clean sheet this season. I’m mainly curious to see how he handles the turf at Qwest, sometimes its a tricky monster to deal with.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, Kansas City 1

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Chivas USA – at – Houston Dynamo

This one could be interesting, on one hand you have a club that never does well at Robertson Stadium and on the other hand you have a club that has nearly nothing to place on the field at striker. As we all know Brian Ching is out with an injury, so is Cam Weaver and Luis Angel Landin will sit with a red card suspension. So who will the Orange turn to? Dominic Oduro and newly signed Joeseph Ngwenya.

The thing is Houston finds ways to get points, and wins at home. I expect that to happen this weekend even with all the injury issues that the Dynamo have right now. Chivas hasn’t been tested on the road yet this season, unless you count the SuperClasico game against LA, which I don’t count as a road test. Brad Davis and Geoff Cameron will be too much for Chivas to deal with.

Player to watch out for: Jesus Padilla – If Chivas is going to win they will need this guy to find ways to score again this week. His goals last week against New York weren’t pretty but were enough for three points.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, Chivas 0

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Chicago Fire – at – D.C. United

Its hard to really think that between these two clubs they combine for only one point on the season so far. And it’s not like that draw for the Fire was pretty either. Both have plenty of issues that is obvious. D.C. however may have a few more issues in the injury department than the Fire do at this point, especially defensively. Its hard to take a club serious that has that many issues in the back like D.C. does right now.

For whatever reason the Fire are a better road team still than they are at home. I think this will be one of those cases where they play the spoiler on the road and grab three points. Even with the issues I just like the Fire’s attack and midfield a little more than United’s right now.

Player to watch out for: Marco Pappa – He has to be the guy that keeps the Fire going in this one. He can be a bit too hot and cold at times but when he’s hot he’s extremely tough to stop.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 2, D.C. 1

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FC Dallas – at – New York Red Bulls

Dallas goes on the road for the first time and it won’t be easy as they get their first try at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls will have to do a better job possessing the ball if they want to pick up three points. Dallas has improved a lot in that department this year but only have two points to show for it.

I think the trip back across the country (again) will be rougher on the Red Bulls than some will think. Remember they went from Seattle to LA to NY all within three weeks. That’s a lot of traveling, long traveling to be exact. Dallas will have to find a way to cut down Joel Lindpere’s touches on the ball and spread the field with their wing play. I think we’ll figure out how good exactly this New York side is after this game, but I just small another draw for Dallas though. New York’s offense hasn’t come alive yet this season and believe it or not but Dallas is doing better in the back.

Player to watch out for: Juan Pablo Angel – He’s gotta get going for New York if they want to win this one. He has the technical skill to beat Dallas.

WVH Prediction: New York 1, FC Dallas 1

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New England Revolution –  at – San Jose Earthquakes

The Revs momentum may be slowed down a bit with the loss of Shalrie Joseph this weekend. He’s out again with an injured hip. Still going for a third straight win will be big for Steve Nicol’s side. Frank Yallop’s side got three points of their own a week ago in Chicago thanks to a Ike Opara goal. So the confidence is there for both sides.

The matter comes down to the midfield and even without Joseph I still like how the Revs are playing through the midfield these days. Pat Phelan will likely slide back into the starting role this week. The wing play of Sainey Nyassi will be key for the Revs attack, his pace should be too much for the Quakes to figure out. One also has to wonder what the hat trick for rookie Zach Schilawski, can he keep it up? I think so.

Player to watch out for: Ramiro Corrales – He has to be the one for the Quakes to shutdown Nyassi, if he does that it may give the homeside some points.

WVH Prediction: New England 1, San Jose 0

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Real Salt Lake – at – LA Galaxy

The Big one for sure this weekend, a MLS Cup rematch out in LA. Its easy to say right now that LA is the best club in the league, both standings-wise and play-wise. RSL will have to find ways to get their attack going and pressure a defense that hasn’t given up a thing thus far this season. The big story will be if Javier Morales will be 100% or not, he picked up an adductor strain last week against Seattle. Without him at full strength others like Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson and Fabian Espindola will have to pick up the slack.

Defensively RSL will have to figure out a way to slow down the hot feet of Edson Buddle. He currently leads the league in goals with five so far this season. Let’s not forget that RSL isn’t the best road team in the league either over the last couple of years. Just too many issues to overcome I think for Jason Kreis’ bunch.

Player to watch out for: Sean Franklin – He’s quietly putting together a very nice season so far for the Galaxy. He’ll have to find a way to slow down Espindola or Robbie Findley in this one.

WVH Prediction: LA 2, RSL 0

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Sunday

Toronto FC – at – Colorado Rapids

No time to rest for the Reds, they immediately go on the road after their first win of the year on Thursday night to face the Rapids on Sunday in Colorado. Not the easiest of road trips for a Thursday-Sunday swing. I’ll make this one short because let’s be honest after last night we know that Toronto lacks the depth and talent to go on Thursday-Sunday swing here. Colorado will be hungry for another win and to get their defense more in check. This should be a good game for them to do just that.

Player to watch out for: Claudio Lopez – He’s new to the Rapids but if he sees playing time he’ll be too much for Toronto to handle.

WVH Prediction: Colorado 3, Toronto 1