MLS Weekend Predictions: July 19

Jul 16, 2014; Columbus, OH, USA; Sporting Kansas City midfielder Benny Fielhaber (left) celebrates with teammates after scoring the game winning goal during second half action at Crew Stadium. Sporting Kansas City won the match versus the Columbus Crew 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Each week of the Major League Soccer season MLS Multiplex co-editor Chase Ruttig gives his predictions on the weekend action across the league. 

Another weekend of MLS action leading up to the 2014 MLS All-Star Game in Portland will provide a wild race for positioning in the table for playoff spots before the All-Star break as seven matches on Saturday will help paint the playoff race picture leading into August with struggling clubs desperate for wins to get momentum and to revive their playoff hopes. With that being said, here are my Saturday predictions…..

Sporting Kansas City (9-5-5, 1st Eastern) vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (7-3-6, 3rd Western) 

The first match on Saturday is a highly anticipated clash between the USMNT World Cup stars of Sporting Kansas City and emerging league star Dom Dwyer and the star studded Los Angeles Galaxy of Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan in a match that could be a potential MLS Cup preview was both KC and Los Angeles feel that they are title contending clubs this season.

Los Angeles are currently red hot since the World Cup break as a motivated Donovan has helped lift the Galaxy to three wins as of late, including a midweek drubbing of the New England Revolution where the Galaxy beat the Revs 5-1 at home. That run of form has the Galaxy all the way up to third place in the Western Conference, but chasing the impressive Sounders the LA club needs all the points they can get if they want any hope of getting home pitch advantage come the fall.

Meanwhile Sporting Kansas City has been pulling off some crazy late wins of late, scoring off a howler late against the Montreal Impact and then scoring late on midweek against the Columbus Crew in a wild game that saw both clubs take red cards. After Crew midfielder Wil Trapp took an 89th minute red card, Benny Feilhaber made the hosts pay with a long distance winner that gave SKC their second straight late victory to continue a run of form where they have taken 13 points out of 15 over their last five matches.

This game is a hard one to predict due to the fact that both sides are in great form as of late, but the hosts do have the edge as the Galaxy’s travel from the West Coast to Kansas City could lead to some tired legs in what should be a hostile environment on Saturday. In a star studded affair between two of the best clubs in the league, anything can happen in this one but this match seems to have draw written all over it after both clubs played midweek.

Prediction: 1-1 Draw.