Friday, June 25, 2010

MLS is Back

Most people are probably still wrapped up in the World Cup, and the fact that the USA plays tomorrow against Ghana I'm sure does nothing to dampen those feelings. Still tomorrow is also the return of MLS soccer to KC, as the Wizards take on the Red Bulls at Community America Ballpark. New York comes into the game undefeated in their last two, although both games are at home. They'll also be missing Andrew Boyens who is still with New Zealand after their elimination from the World Cup (although he's not a huge miss for them). New York has a fairly full injury list right now but they'll still have their most dangerous weapon, Juan Pablo Angel on the field. Angel almost always seems to find a way to score against the Wizards, it's a matter of whether the Wizards can score more than Angel can.

The Wizards return from the World Cup break having won their final game before break, to stop their long winless streak. KC now gets to try and build on that as New York is in town. Stephane Auvray looks like he could make his return from his knee surgery as he is now listed as being probable for the game. While there are other players on the injured list this week, including Davy Arnaud and Ryan Smith, but I'd expect both of them to be playing this weekend. KC will still be without Roger Espinoza who was only today eliminated from the World Cup.

Myers - Conrad - Escobar - Harrington
Jewsbury - Auvray - Arnaud
Kamara - Wolff - Smith

Key Match Up - Jimmy Conrad vs Juan Pablo Angel - They seem to like playing against each other and they both seem to bring out the best in the other. It's always fun to see these two go at it during games and I'm sure tomorrow will be no different.

PREDICTION - Hopefully the Wizards come back from the World Cup break with some confidence from their 2-0 win over Philly before the break. This is a crucial time of their schedule. They need to start getting wins, especially at home if they want to make the playoffs at the end of the season. Getting a win against New York would be a great way to come back from the break. Hopefully a combination of a US and Wizards win will make for a great day tomorrow. KC will need to be stronger overall than they were against Philly, they'll need to have better control of the game, but they're certainly able to pull it off.

KC - 2 (Kamara, Arnaud)
NY - 1 (Angel)

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