Week 29: Examiner.com's MLS preview, Part II: Second playoff qualifier awaits

October 2, 3:23 AMMLS ExaminerCharlie Corr

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  AP photo / L.A.'s David Beckham says he is ready for the Fire.

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Will anyone be joining the Columbus Crew as a postseason qualifier this weekend? The Houston Dynamo probably have the greatest chance when they host the Kansas City Wizards.

But before that Sunday match even takes place, a second playoff clincher could already be in the books. On Friday night, the Chicago Fire travel west to take on the Los Angeles Galaxy. If either team wins, plus D.C. United loses its Saturday match to Chivas USA, that means L.A. or Chicago will join this season's postseason eight.

In this awkward 2009 campaign, the home team might not be the favorite in this one. The Fire have a 6-2-5 road record heading into Friday's game. L.A. holds a mediocre 5-4-4 home record, while being outscored 17-15 ... the same ratio that Chicago holds at home, ironically.

One big international should be back, another didn't even travel with the team. L.A.'s David Beckham expects to play despite an inflamed right Achilles tendon. Meanwhile, the Fire's Cuauhtemoc Blanco stayed home and is not playing because of a left hamstring injury.

The cohesive group should turn out the victor, or as Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch said on a couple of occasions last weekend, they need to be "on the same (bleeping) page."

• Impact games galore: Aside from Saturday's match between the New York Red Bulls and host San Jose Earthquakes, every other game this weekend carries high stakes for the playoff hopefuls. The playoff line sits at 37 points at the moment, with the New England Revolution holding the eighth spot.

There are also some interesting story angles to pay attention to: Sigi Schmid taking his Seattle Sounders FC squad into his former stomping grounds at Crew Stadium on Saturday, or Kei Kamara traveling with the Wizards to revisit his former teammates at Houston on Sunday.

But the most intriguing match might be Chivas USA at D.C. United. Chivas was on a roll earlier in the season and now sits at 38 points, but has the luxury of five remaining games. D.C. United is used to life in the postseason, but a loss would put their backs against the wall. They already are on the outside looking in with 36 points.

Let's also not forget the Revolution playing at the Colorado Rapids. The Rapids need to take advantage of their home field and jump higher in the standings since the two teams just ahead of them in the standings, L.A. and Chicago, are playing one another.

The standings should look incredibly different by the end of the weekend, unless everyone plays to a draw - a distinct possibility the way this season has panned out.

FRIDAY'S MATCH

• Chicago Fire (10-6-11) at Los Angeles Galaxy (10-6-11): Winner - Chicago Fire (Check out Los Angeles Galaxy Examiner Matthew Hall's coverage.)

SATURDAY'S MATCHES

• Seattle Sounders FC (9-7-11) at Columbus Crew (12-4-10): Winner - Columbus Crew (Check out Seattle Soccer Examiner David Falk's coverage.)

• Chivas USA (11-9-5) at D.C. United (8-7-12): Winner - D.C. United (Check out Chivas USA Examiner John Santos' and D.C. United Examiner Ed Morgans' coverage.)

• New England Revolution (10-9-7) at Colorado Rapids (10-8-9): Winner - Colorado Rapids (Check out Boston Soccer Examiner L.E. Eisenmenger's and Colorado Rapids Examiner Deron White's coverage.)

• New York Red Bulls (4-17-6) at San Jose Earthquakes (6-12-7): Winner - San Jose Earthquakes (Check out New York Soccer Examiner Jeff Kassouf's and Bay Area Soccer Examiner Giovanni Albanese Jr.'s coverage.)

SUNDAY'S MATCH

• Kansas City Wizards (8-11-7) at Houston Dynamo (12-8-7): Winner - Houston Dynamo (Check out Kansas City Wizards Examiner Brent Lager's coverage.)

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(Prediction record last week: 2-2 with 4 draws. My cumulative record: 56-41 with 40 draws. ***Please note, all draws are actual MLS draws - this forum only decides winners and losers each week.***)

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Charlie Corr is a freelance sports writer based in Chicago. In addition to his Major League Soccer duties, he is the Chicago Sports Examiner and the creator of a Chicago-based soccer Web site, SlideTackles.net.

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