Posted by Heath Harshman

By Heath Harshman- WFD Fan Correspondent

Despite the international break that has halted most other professional football leagues in the world; the MLS has kept pace and provided a superb schedule in the upcoming week. There are just nine points separating sixth and eleventh place in the MLS playoff standings and about two months remaining in the regular season. Every game from here on out could be the one that either puts a team in position for a playoff push or will place them squarely between a rock and Rafa Benitez's skull (AKA a hard place). That being said, three games in particular stand out this week that MLS fans should catch as a good precursor to the upcoming postseason.

Up first for prime viewing will be a Thursday night matchup between the Seattle Sounders and Real Salt Lake at 8PM PST on ESPN2. The game will be held at raucous Qwest Field in Seattle, WA as the Sounders look to solidify their spot in the playoff standings. The sophomore Sounders are currently in the eighth and final playoff spot with a five point lead over Kansas City. A big win over Real Salt Lake on Thursday would go a long way to securing their second football postseason year in a row.

The two teams met once earlier this season at the Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah, drawing at 2-2 on April 10th. Costa Rican substitute Alvaro Saborio scored in injury time to deny Seattle a big road win early in the year. Almost since that point Salt Lake have gone an incredible run. The Jason Kreis led Royals have earned a point in all but one match since they lost to Columbus in late April. This terrific stretch has put them just a point behind first place Los Angeles Galaxy for the top playoff spot from the Western Conference.

Saturday the Chicago Fire and expansion Philadelphia Union meet for what is sure to be a battle at PPL Park in Philly. The game will be on FSC at 3PM PST. The Fire are within shouting distance of the playoffs with 25 points in 20 games thus far, giving them three games in hand on eighth place Seattle. Chicago has been frighteningly inconsistent of late and will need to straighten up in order to make a late season playoff push. The Fire have taken just five out of a possible fifteen points in their last five games and getting three on the road in Philadelphia will not be an easy task.

Philadelphia is well out of the playoff race with 21 points, only ahead of last place DC United, who sit at the bottom of the league table with 15 points. But, the Union has not failed to impress in their premier season in the MLS, losing just twice at home in ten games. Overall at home Philly are 3-2-5 with wins over Toronto, Seattle and DC United. Not overly impressive, but it shows that it is difficult to defeat the Union on their own soil. Working in the Fire's favor is the fact that the Union is yet to keep a clean sheet this season and have allowed 13 goals total in those ten home games.

The final game on the Saturday docket is a possible MLS Cup matchup between the Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy. They each sit atop their respective conferences with 44 points apiece. Each team also holds a 13-5-5 record on the year. The game will be at the Home Depot Center at 7:30PM PST. At home this season the Galaxy have dominated, going 6-2-2, but have struggled recently. Los Angeles has lost their last two home matches and has not won in the friendly confines since a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Sounders on the Fourth of July. The Galaxy have watched their large Western Conference first place lead dwindle to just a point over the last two months and the Crew are not exactly the type of team you want to face when you are struggling.

The Crew are 4-3-4 on the road this season and are seven points ahead of the New York Red Bulls for first place in the East. Led by MLS superstar Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who has tallied seven goals and seven assists this season, the Crew are well on their way to their third consecutive MLS Playoffs appearance. The Crew also booked a spot in the MLS Open Cup final against the Sounders on October 5th in Seattle after defeating D.C. United last week in the semis. The Crew will have to balance a full MLS schedule, the Open Cup final as well as CONCACAF Champions league play for the final two months of the season.

With less than two months left in the season, the final stretch of play is crucial and will give telling glimpses of what to expect come the MLS postseason. This week in particular will show just what these teams have to offer.



In addition to being a weekly blogger for WFD, I write for the Washington State University student newspaper, The Daily Evergreen, where I have a weekly sports column. I am also the Washington State University men's basketball beat writer for Jim Basnight's college hoops blog on mynorthwest.com. You can find past pieces and follow my work not only for WFD but for The Daily Evergreen and mynorthwest.com by following me on twitter @heathharshman.