Sacha Kljestan and Chivas head to Chicago to face the Fire. (Getty Images)

It is simple for each club, keep winning and good things happen. All the Chicago Fire needs to do tonight is win (or even draw) and they are in the playoffs. As for Chivas a win tonight and a win over the weekend could turn into a Supporter’s Shield trophy. But more importantly for the task at hand for Chivas is getting an automatic birth out of the western conference, and home field advantage.

The Fire are currently slipping their way out of things right now. While the playoffs should happen for them no matter what their current run isn’t going to help them get to MLS Cup 2009. Tonight they have to get their offense going which has been very lackluster as of late. But more importantly they need their defense to step up and get a result (no wins since the middle of August). If they can duplicate the result in New England from last week the Fire will be well on their way to an automatic bid into the playoffs.

Chivas will have to do a good job containing Chris Rolfe, Brian McBride and company while getting Maykel Galindo involved early in the attack. It also wouldn’t hurt to see Sacha Kljestan come up with a big performance tonight as well. Defensively they can’t allow crap goals to the Fire like they did last week against San Jose.

Both clubs know what they are playing for here and each control their fate in this but I have to wonder a bit about where the Fire are at right now. I do think they will play well like they did a week ago but something about their play at home this year just makes me believe Chivas comes in and steals this one away here. I think this one ends on level terms seeing the Fire go through to the playoffs.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 1, Chivas 1

Fredy Montero leads Seattle tonight against New England. (Getty Images)

As mentioned yesterday, this week is loaded with MLS action. Tonight we get another primetime clash on ESPN2 as the Seattle Sounders FC host the New England Revolution.

This is a big match for both sides, New England is looking to prove to the rest of the eastern conference and the league for the matter that they are a playoff worthy club. Seattle is looking to inch their way up the standings in hopes at a Supporter’s Shield run.

The bad news for the Sounders is that according to the Seattle Times, Swedish midfielder and WVH fave Freddie Ljungberg looks like he’ll miss both tonight’s game and Sunday at Houston. Also the Sounders  will be without  Tyrone Marshall, who was sent off against LA. A win for Seattle puts them back in second place and one closer to securing a playoff spot.

New England needs the points in a bad way. With games in hand on everyone in the league this is the time that Steve Nicol’s side has to start stepping up and playing.

This should be a solid matchup in the midfield tonight. Even without Ljungberg and Marshall I still believe Seattle has the better side in this one, especially at home. Look for Brad Evans and Osvaldo Alonso to lock down the midfield. Fredy Montero should find some space to get behind New England’s defense. But keep an eye out for Shalrie Joseph, he’s always dangerous on big primetime games.

I still see Seattle pulling this one out. Sigi Schmid knows how important three points are this late in the stage and I would imagine his club knows that too. The Revs will keep it close but their offense doesn’t do it for me still without Taylor Twellman.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, New England 1

Cam Weaver and Dave van den Burgh battle again tonight. (Getty Images)

There’s nothing like kicking off a week with a good in-state derby. Tonight we get just that for week 21’s kickoff as the Houston Dynamo travel to Frisco, TX to face FC Dallas. Both clubs are coming off big wins from last weekend and look to take ownership of El Capitán, the prize given to the winning club in the season series.

So far this season Houston has gotten the better of their northern rivals by beating them 1-0 and 3-1. The Orange would love nothing more than to do it again for a clean season series sweep.

Dallas may have gotten their offense off the ground last week against Kansas City but looking at what kind of defense they are going up against I think it will be tough for them to get more than one by the Dynamo defense. Sure Houston let in three last week to DC but I just don’t see Dominic Kinnear’s bunch doing that again.

Houston should be able to control things in the middle with Brad Davis and Stuart Holden, which should allow Brian Ching to find openings in the Dallas defense.

I think the difference will come down to guys like Bobby Boswell and Geoff Cameron in the back for Houston going against Jeff Cunningham and Dave van den Burgh for Dallas. I’d like to think that Dallas can keep their offense flying here but they’ve never really been able to dominate Houston since the Dynamo were moved to Houston a few years ago. I also wouldn’t expect a good crowd for this one as no one in Dallas likes to travel to Frisco on a week night with all the traffic around here.

Anyways, I see Houston carrying this one out and extending their lead in the overall standings.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, Dallas 1

Juan Pablo Angel needs to step up and lead New York tonight. (Getty Images)

The battle for the Atlantic Cup resumes tonight in Washington as United play host to the New York Red Bulls on ESPN2’s weekly telecast. Both clubs are in need of three points to stay up in the eastern standings and a win over a rival is always nice to say the very least.

We also get a treat tonight in the broadcast booth, Glenn Davis and Kyle Martino will call the game in place of JP and Harkes who are on National team duty. Honestly some may not like Davis or Martino but I think the pairing is as good as, if not sometimes better than JP and Harkes. That’s just me though.

I’ll do my usual week night game preview here with a couple questions along with the quick thoughts on the game. Feel free to post you predictions below as well.

1. What can New York do to win this game?

First of all they have to start early here. Get DC rattled from the start and continue that pressure for 90 minutes. The problem with the Red Bulls this year is flipping the switch off at the wrong time too many times this season. A lot of people thought this would be a good club with the talent in place but maybe its just a matter of poor talent collection afterall along with poor coaching.

New York also needs to rely on getting numbers forward. With DC playing a 3-5-2 most games they tend to lack cover in the back, hense the reason why they tend to give up leads easily and for their high number of draws so far. Push numbers forward early and don’t allow their young rookies to catch you on turnovers.

2. What can DC do to get the three points at home tonight?

DC has to play their game for a full 90. We’ve seen them break away from that too many times this season but when it counts they do know how to put on the pressure and get the goals needed to save points. New York will be without a few players tonight which means they will have a fairly young and inexperienced lineup on the field.

With the way they’ve played New York this season in both league play and in US Open Cup qualifiers, I would imagine the confidence level is pretty high for this bunch going into this game anyways.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

I know he is a designated player but it’s about time he starts acting like it again. You know I am talking about New York’s Juan Pablo Angel. If he is going to play like a MVP he needs to step up now and do so for his club.

Quick Thoughts:

This is a big game right now for each club. New York really needs three points to move up the standings a bit and get their name back in contention here this season. Eight losses in 13 games never looks good and usually means you won’t see the post season. DC on the other hand just needs to get back to closing games out here. They need to break that deadlock in the east with KC and Toronto and get back up the charts here like they were a couple weeks ago.

I think in the end New York is missing too many guys and even if some were there tonight I doubt they’d make a big difference anyways. DC has too much talent to handle tonight and I think in the end talent wins. Plus New York hasn’t even scored a goal this season on the road and I don’t see it starting tonight.

WVH Prediction: DC 2, NY 0

Marco Pappa and Chicago face Carey Tally and Chivas USA tonight. (Getty Images)

This seems to be a running theme as of late, conference leaders clashing each weekend. Oh wait, that is because Chivas USA continues to play clubs from the east when they are at the top of the east. Okay, I get it now. Anyways this should be a real interesting game tonight when the league leading Goats host the Fire in a prime-time clash on ESPN2.

The game kicks off a little late for you east coast folks (10:30ET). I haven’t decided if tonight will be a twittering during the game kind of night like last night or not here. All depends on the amount of time that I have later on this evening. I may just enjoy the game without the use of a computer in front of me.

Anyways, if you have a score prediction for tonight, leave it below.

1. Is Chivas starting to slide?

One has to wonder with their last two results if the AmeriGoats are starting to hit a wall. They’ve given up goals in spots that they weren’t at the start of the season and aren’t putting away clubs like we had seen. Then again it is almost expected for that kind of thing to take place when you get this big of a jump on everyone to start a season. The thing is there is one club that is starting to get real close to the Goats in the standings, and that is Chicago.

The Fire are still undefeated here and are really picking things up these days on the field with a couple wins lately. Guys like Chris Rolfe have been the big part of that so I would expect Chivas to play a bit tighter tonight defensively to slow down the Fire attack.

2. What does the Fire have to do to stay undefeated?

Its is as simple as playing their game and controlling the midfield with guys like Marco Pappa and Blanco. Lately the Fire have done everything right in terms of controlling the game and keeping as much pressure of their defense as possible. It also hasn’t hurt that their defense has really come together a good bit in recent weeks to now allow as many goals as they were earlier in the year.

Chicago also has to spread Chivas out. The AmeriGoats do well in controlling tight spaces but when you spread them out they can tend to get exposed a bit more. The Fire are excellent at using the wings and sending balls into the box for Rolfe and Brian McBride.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

Sacha Kljestan has to be the big factor in this game for Chivas. We know he has struggled so far this season but this could be a great time to showcase his talents and get back into the spotlight for his club.

Quick Thoughts:

We really have an excellent matchup tonight on our hands. The league’s best defensive club (Chivas) against the best offensive club (Chicago). While Chivas doesn’t score as many goals they have scored a bunch at home this year. I have a feeling it will be a tight game with loads of fouls (Chivas leads in fouls committed and Chicago is near the top if fouls suffered).

In the end it does scream a draw with the way things are going this season but I like the Fire here to continue on their winning and inch closer to Chivas in the standings. Something out the last couple weeks with Chivas worries me a bit about this club and I think the Fire will expose that a bit more tonight. Then again I could be totally wrong and see Chicago’s undefeated mark end tonight but I’m going with my gut feeling here.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 2, Chivas 1

Expect a big night out of KC's Josh Wolff. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Unlike last week where I totally goofed on the date of the game, there is a Thursday night clash this week. That I promise you. This week we get an eastern conference clash between two up and coming teams as New York travels to Kansas City.

New York finally found the net in their last game in the win over RSL, while KC came from behind on the road against Chicago.

As always feel free to leave your score prediction below.

1. Can New York consistently keep up what they started last week at Giants Stadium?

Honestly that is a big question of this club. A year ago they were largely one the worst road clubs in the league, and when you fast forward to this season not much has changed in two road games (two losses and four goals against). But a lot has been said about how this club bounced back last week at home and actually played good soccer for once this season.

Consistent play will be key tonight for New York on the shorter field at CAB in Kansas City. Not to mention the fact that this club hasn’t won a game in KC since 2005. Also double the fact that this starts a big stretch of games for the energy drink club. New York will play the first of four matches in a 10-day stretch tonight, with games against DC on Sunday, at San Jose the following Wednesday in the USOC, and at LA next Saturday.

Getting off to a bad start on a stretch like that can really set a club back.

2. What does KC have to do to keep up their production offensively?

Keep Josh Wolff as a striker. It is as simple as that, when Wolff is free to float around the penalty box he is as dangerous if not more dangerous than most players in this league. I know the Wizards have a long list of guys who’s lead position on the pitch is at striker but Wolff is best when positioned there. Not on the wing. We saw that against Chicago last week, when Wolff was on the wings the Wizards’ offense was stagnent and nearly non-existent. One quick change to move him up top lead to two goals.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

For New York be be successful in the midfield tonight they need a big game out of Seth Stammler and Jorge Rojas. If either of those two fails to keep possession in New York’s favor it will be a long night on a New York defense that is still a bit shaky. Plus keeping the possession means more chances on Kevin Hartman’s goal for Juan Pablo Angel and Mac Kandji.

Quick Thoughts:

The Wizards are either hot or at least luke warm depending on who you talk to right now. Their offense is clicking like it should and their defense is playing some decent soccer as well. But truth be told their midfield is really been stepping up and Curt Onalfo has been making some big time subs in the second half in recent games.

New York needs this win to keep rolling here but I don’t like their chances on the road. For me its one of those things, if they can prove to me that they can consistently put it together for a full 90 on the road then I will feel better about picking them in games like this. But they haven’t done so yet. I like KC in this one due to another strong performance out of the big four of Hartman, Jimmy Conrad, Claudio Lopez and Josh Wolff.

WVH Prediction: KC 2, NY 1

Yes, the league is in full hype mode and so am I. Below is a full list of previews from a lot of big boys of the sports media.

• MLS previews: Seattle (USA Today)
• Seattle’s own silver lining (The Washington Times)
• What to expect from Sounders FC (Seattle Times)
• Previewing the New York Red Bulls/Major League Soccer 2009 season (Newark Star-Ledger)
• Red Bulls’ burning questions (North Jersey Herald News)
• Is ‘09 a Bull market? (North Jersey Herald News)
• Sounders, Red Bulls herald new local soccer era (Tacoma News Tribune)
• McGrath: Region had lots of soccer history before Sounders FC (Tacoma News Tribune)
• Sounders’ debut is biggest story of season (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Preview: Seattle Sounders vs. New York Red Bulls (Associated Press)
• Carey gives Seattle fans a voice in front office (Vancouver Sun)
• Major League Soccer Scores Swede Sensation (TV Guide)
• Seattle, New York set to open 2009 MLS season (The Sports Network)

If you have a preview, send me the link! I’ll get it up.