Preview of Game 26 - DC United at Chicago Fire

DC United, 15-4-6 (W-D-L), head to Chicago after eleven days off without the services of three starting midfielders. DC United will be without Fred, Ben Olsen, and Christian Gomez, all of whom are on league sponsored Yellow Card Vacation. United won the only previous meeting at RFK 3-1. These two teams will play their third and final game at RFK on October 13. United has clinched a playoff spot and essentially is guaranteed no worse than the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference postseason. There are two things left to play for in the regular seasonfor United. First is to beat out New England for the top seed in the East. New England can get a maximum of sixty points, so United's magic number is eleven (combination of United points and points New England doesn't get for losses and ties). DC United is on nine match MLS unbeaten streak (8-1-0), outscoring their opponents 22-6 in that span. United is 6-2-5 on the road this year with a +7 goal differential, both tops in MLS. United leads the league in points per game (1.96 PPG) and is in 1st place in the Eastern Conference, four points clear of New England (1.80 PPG). United is also in 1st place in the Supporter's Shield race, four points ahead of New England and Houston (1.73 PPG). United has played the same number of games as New England, twenty-five, and one less than Houston.

Chicago Fire, 8-7-10 (W-D-L), are fighting for the final playoff spot with New York, Kansas City, and Colorado. Chicago pulled out a tie in Dallas on Thursday to get a precious point, and are now two points ahead of Colorado. Due to the rule changes this season, if the number five team in the East finishes with more points than the number four team in the West, the East team, currently Chicago, would be placed as the fourth seed in the West for the playoffs. Chicago is a mediocre home team with a 4-5-3 record and a -1 goal differential. They are in 5th place in the Eastern Conference (1.24 PPG), eighteen points behind DC United. They are in 8th place overall, but cannot overtake United for the Supporter's Shield.

The full three points for United would be quite a bonus. A tie keeps them on pace for the Supporter's Shield. If they get one point in each of their road matches and average two points in their three home games, that should be enough to win the Supporter's Shield. I expect the starting eleven for United to be Emilio, Kpene, Moreno, Gros, Carroll, Simms, Namoff, Burch, McTavish, Vanney, and Perkins in a 4-4-2 formation. Moose, Boswell, and Mediate all could get in during the second half.

With five games remaining, United needs about six points to have a good shot at retaining the Supporter's Shield and eleven to guarantee it.

Prediction:

DC United 2:1 Chicago Fire