Last season the Union needed a US Open Cup run to keep spirits high as they spun down the Nowak rabbit hole. A year later, the team they beat to keep the 2012 USOC run alive is equally desperate for a catalyzing victory in cup competition.
Columbus can leapfrog the Union with a win, but the Union can give themselves some breathing room by knocking off the Crew. Two very similar teams vie to stay above water in the middle of the Eastern Conference at PPL Park Wednesday night.
LA will want at least a point against a Union squad that has maintained a flimsy home fortress. The local lads should see a midweek matchup as the perfect moment to pounce on a tired and injury-laden opponent.
The Union have been a counterattacking team on the road in 2013. Can they revert to a less possession-based style at Chicago without sacrificing the improved fluidity seen against Seattle?
The Sounders can't score, but then again neither could the Revolution. The Union's shaky defense needs to step up if the team wants to earn full points against a desperate Western Conference foe.
The Revs need three points heading into a tough May, but the Union have been a force on the road and New England's vaunted back line was torn to shreds by Jacques McHenry last week.
With the 2012 season now nothing but history, a different Union faces a different Toronto in a game that could set the tone for the Union's 2013 home season.
Can the Union bust the Crew's ten game home unbeaten streak? In other words, can the Union control the midfield and contain two highly skilled strikers?
The trouble with winning? Every team wants to knock you off. That will be doubly so for the New York Red Bulls, who are looking to put the Union on the other end of their first victory in 2013.
Two teams that thought they deserved more last weekend look to get their first points of the season as Danny Mwanga and the Colorado Rapids welcome the Union
Currently bottom of the table and mired in a five game losing streak with seeming nothing but misery in sight, DC United will have to find something special as they face one of their toughest conference foes in the high flying Houston Dynamo who are off to their best start ever and tied for the [...]
As D.C. United gets set to face their most bitter rivals New York Red Bull this Saturday evening at 7pm at RFK Stadium, one can't wonder what to think what has happened to both of these teams during the early portion of this season. Both teams were on the short list to fight for Eastern [...]
MLS didn't do D.C. United any favors with a rather harsh flurry of tough road matches to start the 2013 season. United started the season in a city (Houston) where they have literally never won a match in their history. Then they travel to play the home opener to their most bitter rival (Red Bull) [.
D.C. United opens up the home portion of their 2013 MLS regular season with a matchup against Real Salt Lake this Saturday night at 7pm at RFK Stadium. United is coming off of a disappointing but ultimately predictable 2-0 loss in Houston last weekend to open up the 2013 campaign. Two late goals sunk United [.
The last time D.C. United officially had taken the field outside of RFK Stadium was the first leg of the Eastern Conference finals against the Houston Dynamo in Houston this past November. That 3-1 loss was chock full of agonizing moments that all worked against United, not the least of which was the 45th minute [.
Rafa Benitez to his credit has stuck by his rotation policy at the club and Thursday night was Chelsea's eleventh game in the last thirty three days. Juan Mata and John Terry were both on the bench next to Oscar that night and I expect all three to start this one.
With two games in four days this past week, the Chelsea squad has been stretched to the limit but the good news is that Ashley Cole and Gary Cahill returned to training on Friday. Their return bolsters the squad and gives Rafa Benitez plenty of options. Marko Marin hasn't trained after picking up a knock a week or so ago and Oriol Romeu remains a long term absentee.
Sunday is massive and without question, the biggest game of the season. Without being disrespectful to Millwall or Wigan and their supporters, whoever comes through this one will be installed as odds on favourite with the bookies to go on and lift the 2013 FA CUP!.
FA Cup semifinal weekend is always big football news and will fill plenty of pages in the written media.
As holders of the FA Cup, Chelsea travel to Manchester this afternoon to take on United in the Quarter Final of the FA Cup. Having won the competition in four of the last seven seasons, Chelsea need a big performance to progress. Team News
After another woeful and second rate performance from "Rafa's Chelsea" the likes of Victor Moses, Ramires, Juan Mata, Gary Cahill, Cesar Azpilicueta, Demba Ba and Ashley Cole will all return to the starting eleven for this one.
Apart from Oriol Romeu who is out for the season, Chelsea have a full strength squad to choose from ahead of Sunday. Frank Lampard and Branislav Ivanovic was rested for the midweek Europa League game and Demba BA was cup-tied so expect all three to start this one.
On Sunday, Chelsea take on Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in the early kick off and being honest, I am not looking forward to the game at all. You can be as positive about our club as much as you like and you can all jump on the "Get behind Benitez" band waggon but the facts and results are there in black and white and cannot be ignored.
It's simple this afternoon it really is. If Chelsea are to have any chance of putting up a challenge for the Premier League title this season, we simply cannot afford to lose against Stoke this afternoon. If we do, then we have to be realistic here and focus on finishing in the top four to get back into the Champions League next season!
Much of the focus will be on whether or not John Terry will return to first team action this weekend against Villa. Terry didn't fly to Japan for the World Club Cup, staying back at Cobham to work on his fitness. He travelled to Leeds in midweek but played no part in the game.
D.C. United is currentlyon a four-game losing streak and in spite of the offense finally coming to life in last weekend's 3-2 loss at home to the Philadelphia Union, the confidence that rode underdog United to the Eastern Conference finals last season has all but eroded. For most of United's dreadful start to the 2013 [.
I think it's safe to say that D.C. United's early season offensive production has been in a word... Offensive. One goal scored in three matches with only the 1-0 home opening win two weeks ago against Real Salt Lake being the only evidence that United has played some attacking soccer through three weeks of the [.
Second leg away to Inter and the quarter finals beckon. All we have to do is prevent complacency from getting the better of us and remain within two goals of Inter. Three if we score an away goal. Inter had chances in the first leg, they just failed to put them away, Spurs also had more chances that we should have put away so I can definitely see goals, and can't see past Spurs progressing.
Long time visitors to this site may remember the post match article after we beat Inter 3-1 at The Lane back in 2010. (If you aren't or don't, it's here.) Lots of comments from Italian Inter fans that Bale had raped them. Well, either Inter fans are obsessed with rape, or the night Bale destroyed Maicon is still painfully fresh in their memories, because the talk of Bale based rape is occurring once more.
Liverpool have been handed a tricky tie against mega-rich Russian side, Zenit Saint Petersburg in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League.The Merseyside club have already competed in Russia so far this season, having drawn Anzhi Makhachkala in the group stages.
The game at Anfield promises to be an entertaining one. Both teams are in form and clawing their way up the table. Liverpool's rich vein of form reflects the upbeat mood on their forums ahead of this game. Most of their fans reckon they will be able to out score us which will remove the need to concentrate on stopping the in form Bale.
Liverpool might be favourites to bounce back against Norwich after their defeat to Manchester United last weekend, but the form of the Canaries and a few key issues for Liverpool should make this a closer encounter than the bookies anticipate. Concern continues to grow over Fenway Sports Group's ownership of the club; Liverpool's owners have released two players and so far only brought Daniel Sturridge in during a window where they were supposed to be adding to an already thin squad.
Ahead of Liverpool's clash against Fulham at Anfield here are 6 key factors you should be looking out for.
Fulham's away record
It's not really a secret that Fulham are terrible away from home and pretty hard to beat in their own backyard. In keeping with that they've not won once in the last six away games.
Arsenal have been a strange creature in recent months. Putting five goals away against West Ham and Reading, seven goals against Newcastle, but then struggling to beat Villa, Stoke and Southampton. Not to mention getting beat 1-0 by Blackburn in the cup and being pretty much knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern.
Fresh after the defeat to Leeds on the weekend, Tottenham travel to Carrow Road to face a Norwich side that have also just sustained a cup "shock" getting knocked out by non league Luton. At least we have some good league form to fall back on. Spurs unbeaten in seven, Norwich winless in six, it's a foregone conclusion isn't it?
Right, extended Christmas blogging break over, lets get back into this. QPR v Spurs then. Or Redknapp Rangers v AVB Hotspur as the media are billing it.
I don't buy into all this "Redknapp knows our weaknesses" hype the media are pushing. Any manager with half a brain can pick out a team's weaknesses and strengths, it's having the players to be able to exploit the weaknesses whilst containing the strengths that matter.
