Really busy time at clubgowi and by the end of this month we will have all "our" football leagues, both "winter" and "summer", in action at the same time, along with NFL and that will mean circa 40 + previews every week until mid December. There have been seven for subscribers today, including five for MLS action tonight and you can read two of those below. They were sent to subscribers @13.00 UK time today in the second of two Saturday newsletters and there are another two emails scheduled for tomorrow, 10-12 per week, each and every week for the rest of 2015. There is never a bad time to subscriber to clubgowi, but right now is just about perfect ! Details
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MLS:
DC United- Real Salt Lake
Both team did us favours last weekend. DCU came from two down to beat Philadelphia Union here in the capital ahead of which I wrote ...........
First home game in over a month for United, who have recently completed a five game league and cup road trip, however, they have been home for a week and only played one match in the last 22 days so should be rested and raring to go and out for some revenge after a 2-1 defeat to Union in the US Open Cup in one of those recent away starts. They have already beaten Union here, in the capital,in the league at the end of May, the visitors had all the advantages ahead of that game, as DCU had played on the West Coast just a couple of days previously (66 hour turnaround), their 3rd away start inside 10 days and were also hard hit by injuries, yet still they ground out a win.
Now it is Union who have had the tougher schedule, coming in on the back of two road games in the last week, including an extra time win at New York Red Bulls in the cup, where they played 80 minutes with ten men and half the team played all 210 minutes across the two games.This will be their 5th start inside 14 days ( just one previous outing in that period for DCU) and they arrive threadbare in key areas, especially on both flanks and in central defence , they are not helped in that regard with the timing of the trading of their longest serving player, right back Sheanon Williams to Houston Dynamo this week. At around the same time, DCU signed a big front man in Alvaro Saborio from RSL, he had 97 goals and assists combined in 157 appearances for them and will be rejoining former team mate Fabian Espindola who was alongside him at Real for most of those games. They are an incredibly potent offensive force and are not going to need much time to gel. Saborio already has a goal against Union this season and he and his strike partner will fancy this with the visitors short handed at the back.
United have not done this business to be competitive in a year or two, this is not a young squad and they have bought another veteran in because they are looking for a title this season, not next and they expect immediate results.
That was a big win for them and they will be especially pleased with the contribution from Saborio who will be massively up for this game against his former club.
Real saw off Sporting KC a day earlier when my preview read.......
Big rivalry between these two and recent encounters have been "spicy" and are always very physical. To that end alone, I feel that SKC are at a disadvantage given that they have played Saturday-Tuesday- Friday over the last week and due to injury and international call ups, could barely rotate for the midweek US Open Cup game and 13 of the 14 who played against Houston in the last league game, also featured on Tuesday when they took almost an hour to get on top of the ten men of Houston, in what was an incredibly hard fought encounter. The way the match played out meant that head coach Peter Vermes felt unable to make two substitutions until injury time and this must be a team running on empty right now and I doubt a battle against a bitter rival just three days later and on the road is going to suit them. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with the form of Sporting and their only loss in 14 starts was here in Salt Lake just five weeks ago, but nine of those fixtures were at home and of the five on the road they are 1-3-1 and that sole victory aside, it is over a year since they won on the road without a goal from Zusi or Opara who are both absent this evening.
RSL are missing key players too, with Olave, Beckerman and Rimando unavailable, but they have had a free midweek to prepare solely for this and have only left Salt Lake once, for the short hop to play Colorado, in the last month and will clearly be the fresher of the two squads. They felt they played their best football of the season in the first half of the last meeting, when they really took the game to SKC and could have been 2-3 up at the break, we might well see a similarly flying start from them this evening and to be honest, I do not feel that the visitors should be favourites for this. Hosts are very strong at home and have lost just once in 26 home starts since early June last year, they pride themselves on the Rio Tinto Stadium being a fortress and with two road games up next and already six points adrift of a post season spot they see as theirs by right, this is a fixture they have to get something from.
They edged home there, but are now on the road and remain without Olave and star keeper Rimando ( see both above) is nursing an injury, he did play 45 minutes in the All Star game in midweek, but with a gruelling schedule ahead ( four road games in 11 days) RSL have to decide whether to risk him for 90 this evening.
Anyway, it is stats which swing it for me. DCU are 0 (goal difference) at home in the first half +9 in the second, actually they are +8 in the final 30 minutes, RSL are a MLS worse 1-7 ( goals scored-conceded) on the road in the final 15 of games and there is a strong chance that the hosts will find a way to win this late.
1.5 units DC United at half time if we are all square (level) , or immediately if they fall behind, whichever comes first, at the first asian line quoted at odds of 2.0 + as long as we are playing 11 v 11.
Should this match be in the "wrong" time zone for you to bet "in running", DCU have led at HT in just 3 of 23 MLS starts this season and circa 2.30 for them to win the second half is an alternative.
Seattle Sounders- Vancouver Whitecaps
Hosts have really struggled and lost 7 of 10 starts, five of those came by a 1-0 scoreline and six by a single goal and they have only trailed at half time in 3 of 22 starts this season, so are keeping themselves competitive, at least through the opening hour or so, but have ultimately been paying the price for being left toothless by injury, suspension and international duty, the loss of Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins for week after week has been huge. They get Dempsey back this evening and will be looking for an immediate impact, that is a lot of pressure on him after an absence of six weeks, but he has scored four goals in his last two starts after returning from suspension/international duty and when he plays this year Sounders are 9-1-2 ( 2.33 pts pg) and 1-1-8 in his absence ( 0.4 pts pg ), which is quite a stat ! If any further proof was need about his value, Dempsey has 13 goals and 9 assists in his 23 MLS appearances in the last 12 months. Captain Brad Evans has also returned from Gold Cup action and he and Dempsey have contributed to some really upbeat training sessions this week.
I have notes on Whitecaps last start, a 3-1 home win over San Jose Earhquakes, below the "good luck" sign off. They are in the reverse position to Sounders in that they lose a very key player in Mauro Rosales who was looking forward to playing his former club, having spent several years in Seattle, he was running into form with a goal and assist last week and is a significant loss.
1.75 units Seattle Sounders -0.25 ball 1.98 asian line/Sportmarket.
Good Luck.
Vancouver Whitecaps- San Jose Earthquakes (written July 26th)
Plenty of recent notes on San Jose Earthquakes and ahead of their trip to LA to meet Galaxy last weekend I wrote ......
This is the third California Clásico inside 20 days, with honours shared so far, San Jose took the first 3-1 and I previewed that at the end of last month (notes reproduced below....see July 17th newsletter), a few days later, Galaxy got a little revenge with a 1-0 road win in the US Open Cup, but that competition is never a priority for LA and if it was/is revenge they are looking for, it is this evening they will have in mind.
Since that win three weeks ago, Eathquakes have failed to score in three MLS starts and have looked toothless in the absence of key striker Chris Wondolowski something we touched upon ahead of the second of those games........
They put huge effort into that game and got a famous win, top scorer Chris Wondolowski got the opener there and is a massive loss tonight having since joined the national team. Also called up for Gold Cup duty is right sided midfielder Cordell Cato, a situation which is compounded as the other midfielder on that flank, Sanna Nyassi,is suspended. These are very difficuly absences to overcome especially against a team with so much offensive firepower and to have to do so following back to back games inside four days against a deadly rival and the biggest name in MLS football is too much.
They got Nyassi back last week for a home game with an even more beat up Houston Dynamo, who were missing four key players and Quakes were hugely disappointing in a 2-0 defeat. They played a friendly match with Mexican side America in midweek and had the idea of the squad playing 45 minutes each, but it back fired somewhat as they picked up an injury early and then Nyassi got sent off just before half time and they suddenly got a bit of a tough work out, spending a lot of time without the ball and a man short throughout the second period.
Galaxy were on fire offensively with 22 goals in six league and cup games, before a 1-0 defeat in the US Open in midweek away to Real Salt Lake, they were able to rest five players with today in mind and Steven Gerrard who played the second 45 minutes, is expected to see out 90 tonight in what is effectively his home debut and there is of course huge media interest in that and he and LAG will want the points to mark it. They received a further boost yesterday with the signing of Giovani dos Santos and he will join them after the Gold Cup, these are marquee signings and a clear indication of where the MLS is heading. Hosts have won 5 of 9 home games with Earthquakes, with all those wins coming by 2+ goals and if they are to get the points this evening, I feel it will be by a similarly convincing margin.
The home side are themselves hurt by international absences and a gruelling schedule, but meet a team with similar issues and without the rotation options, home advantage and big name introduction.
They hit the ground running there, were 2-0 up early, but were behind 40 minutes later and eventually lost 5-2, the two goals from Quincy Amarikwa in his second start offer hope that they can be competitive offesively this evening and they have Cato ( see above) back now and he played against Manchester United in a midweek friendly where Earthquakes were in the match for an hour ( played their starting 11 in the opening 45 mins only). They will be so much better when Wondolowski returns to action next week, but are going to have to learn to win in his absence some time. This is a tough ask for them, they have lost five straight at Vancouver and the hosts are very motivated to collect the three points which will enable them to move up to second place in the Western Conference.
This is a match Whitecaps should win and they could run in a few goals, but the hosts are very short on the left flank, with left back Jordan Harvey ( cover Sam Adekugbe injured) and left winger Cristian Techera suspended, which does give SJE, who suddenly have a few options on that side ( Cato and Nyassi) an area to exploit. Hosts have conceded in 6 of 7 home starts and might easily do so again, even against Wondo less Earthquakes.
1.5 units "over" 2.5 goals 2.09 asian line/Sportmarket.
San Jose are 0-10 (scored-conceded) on the road in the final 15 minutes of each half combined and are clearly not seeing out matches/halves well, at home they are 0-2 through these 30 minutes and, to not have scored a goal all season in the last 15 minutes of either half is an incredibly worrying statistic, with seven being the next lowest total through this period ! Backing Vanvoucer late in either/both halves is obviously an in play option, especially if they need a goal.
