As stars prepare for Azteca, MLS playoff race heats up stateside

PRINT EMAIL FACEBOOK DIGG TWITTER RSS SHARE

Though David Beckham and the Galaxy moved up in the rankings, the Sounders could reverse L.A.'s fortune. Getty Images

Our weekly dose of Major League Soccer quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.

The Azteca effect

On Wednesday afternoon, the United States Men's National Team will play Mexico at Estadio Azteca in a vital 2010 World Cup qualifying match for both squads. While eight players from Major League Soccer -- Jonathan Bornstein, Chad Marshall, Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden, Conor Casey, Brian Ching and Landon Donovan from the U.S., as well as Mexico's Cuauhtemoc Blanco -- will represent their countries, few club teams will be affected.

For one, Bornstein, Marshall, Holden and Casey aren't likely to figure in the proceedings, and because it's a mid-week fixture (and the U.S. is departing immediately after the match), everyone should return in time for the weekend. Whether their club mangers choose to play them is another story entirely.

The playoff picture

It's never too early to start talking about the playoffs. With Major League Soccer's new format, the top two teams from each division qualify as well as those with the next four highest point totals. A quick look at the standings shows that New York is the only team essentially eliminated, although San Jose, FC Dallas, and Kansas City can ill afford to drop any more points, and early season darling Chivas USA needs to find itself quickly as Preki's side plummets down the standings.

Even the Houston Dynamo, who sit seven points clear of their nearest competition in the Western Conference, can't be considered safe after having played two more matches than any other squad. Every slot is up for grabs.

Back to normal

After a summer filled with friendlies against some of the best clubs in the world, MLS squads get a week filled solely with league action. In the match of the week, Seattle travels to L.A. to battle the red-hot Galaxy, a team that's earned 16 points in its last six matches. The Galaxy now sit in second place in the Western Conference, but the Sounders could leap-frog David Beckham and his mates with a win.

On the other side of the country, Chivas could get the salve it desperately needs with a trip to New York, while FC Dallas will look to continue a solid run against a Columbus Crew team that's been unbeatable of late.

Week 22 Power Rankings   New Rank Previous Rank Team 1 1 Columbus Crew (9-3-9) Alejandro Moreno, Robbie Rogers and Adam Moffat all found the back of the net as Columbus won their fourth in a row 2 2 Houston Dynamo (11-6-5) Corey Ashe drew a late penalty that Stuart Holden finishing with considerable aplomb as the Western Conference leaders welcomed Wade Barrett back to the Starting XI. 3 3 Chicago Fire (8-4-8) The Fire's shutout streak ended at 395 minutes, and its four-game MLS unbeaten streak was halted an hour later. 4 5 Los Angeles Galaxy (7-3-10) Bruce Arena's team won for the first time in eight tries at Gillette Stadium as Landon Donovan struck again. 5 4 D.C. United (6-4-10) The Crew and the Fire have managed to put some distance between themselves and United, as D.C. sits four points short of second place. 6 9 Colorado Rapids (8-6-6) Conor Casey's hat trick moved him into pole position in the Golden Boot race, while Omar Cummings notched his eighth, ninth and 10th assists. 7 7 Seattle Sounders FC (7-5-8) Seattle proved it's difficult to score -- and even harder to win -- when you manage to put only one shot on frame. 8 6 New England Revolution (6-6-6) The Revs became the latest club to fall victim to the Galaxy buzzsaw as they suffered a difficult 2-1 defeat on home soil. 9 8 Toronto FC (7-7-6) TFC, which got run over by Real Madrid, will be happy when MLS action returns to BMO Field. 10 11 FC Dallas (6-9-5) FCD earned an impressive win at Pizza Hut Park as Jeff Cunningham's fifth goal in two matches proved to be enough. 11 10 Chivas USA (8-7-3) The free fall continues as the Goats returned to MLS action after almost a month-long layoff with their fifth consecutive loss. 12 13 Real Salt Lake (7-8-5) Robbie Findley -- called out by Free Kicks two weeks ago for a lack of production -- tallied the game's only goal. 13 12 San Jose Earthquakes (4-11-5) After a 4-0 win last week, the Quakes had the tables turned as they conceded a trio of second-half tallies to Columbus' in-form offense. 14 14 Kansas City Wizards (5-7-6) The Wiz and new coach Peter Vermes had an off-week to focus on a late push up the Eastern Conference standings. 15 15 New York Red Bulls (2-15-4) The Red Bulls found themselves bounced out of the CONCACAF Champions League after falling 2-1 against W Connection in Giants Stadium.