Halloween is just around the corner and it was a week of fright for our EPL Picks! Speaking of fright, sorry to all of our British readers that had to witness the Tampa Bay Bucs. For the first time this season, the Yoder Bros were kept under .500 for the week. Dr. Yoder actually picked up some ground on the rebel children by picking upsets Wigan and Birmingham to come through. This week, we'll try to rebound and also give you our thoughts on the MLS Playoffs! Away we go...
Last Week's Results:
Mr. Yoder II: 1-5-4 7 pts
Mr. Yoder I: 2-4-4 10 pts
Dr. Yoder: 3-3-4 13 pts
Total Standings:
Mr. Yoder II: 54-27-15 177 pts
Mr. Yoder I: 52-29-15 171 pts
Dr. Yoder: 49-32-15 162 pts
Tottenham (6-3-1) @ Arsenal (6-2-1)
The North London Derby takes center stage this week with its early Saturday kickoff. Both teams come off disappointing results last week (TH L v Stoke, Arsenal T v WHU). They sit tied for 3rd on the table currently. This might not equal their 4-4 classic last year, but Spurs will get a late goal again, this time to win.
Y1: Spurs Y2: Arsenal Doc: Arsenal
Chelsea (8-2-0) @ Bolton (3-4-2)
Chelsea destroyed Blackburn last week while Bolton got the surprising win over Everton. I'm guessing we'll see something closer to the former this week...
Y1: Chelsea Y2: Chelsea Doc: Chelsea
Hull City (2-6-2) @ Burnley (4-6-0)
Hull and Pompey played perhaps the worst game in recorded Premier League history last week, luckily I wasn't scarred by the experience. Burnley found their spotless home record spoiled by Wigan, but they'll bounce back.
Y1: Burnley Y2: Burnley Doc: Burnley
Aston Villa (5-2-2) @ Everton (3-4-2)
Ok, so maybe Everton's climb back up the table is going to take longer than anticipated, or it might not happen at all. This fixture last year was another breathless affair with Ashley Young the late hero. Villa to take it at Goodison.
Y1: Villa Y2: Villa Doc: Everton
Liverpool (6-4-0) @ Fulham (3-4-2)
Liverpool saved their season with that huge 2-0 win over Man U on Sunday. But, it will only really be saved if they continue on and beat Fulham this week. Injury concerns abound for the Reds with Gerrard and Glen Johnson ruled out for the encounter. But, if El Nino is healthy, that may be all they need.
Y1: Liverpool Y2: Liverpool Doc: Liverpool
Wigan Athletic (4-5-1) @ Portsmouth (1-8-1)
Wigan continues to pick up impressive road wins, this time winning at Turf Moor. The trip to Fratton Park won't be as tough. With the boardroom on the South coast in shambles, don't expect the on-field product to be inspired.
Y1: Wigan Y2: Portsmouth Doc: Wigan
Wolves (2-5-3) @ Stoke City (4-3-3)
Well done Stoke. Followers of the picks know that I'm high on the Potters, and the win at WHL showed exactly why. That could be a season defining win with Stoke staying in the top half of the table. Expect them to deal with Wolves pretty easily.
Y1: Stoke Y2: Stoke Doc: Stoke
West Ham Utd. (1-5-3) @ Sunderland (5-4-1)
Sunderland has the look of a team that will continue to balance great results with poor ones throughout the season. For West Ham, a draw with Arsenal might lift spirits, but they need much more than a point at a time to ease those relegation fears.
Y1: Sunderland Y2: Sunderland Doc: Sunderland
Blackburn (3-5-1) @ Manchester United (7-2-1)
Man U gets a nice chance to bounce back against a Blackburn team that never looks like it even wants to play on the same pitch as the Big 4 teams. Expect an angry, intense United team to come out on Saturday and regain the mojo after last week's loss at Anfield.
Y1: Man U Y2: Man U Doc: Man U
Manchester City (5-1-3) @ Birmingham (3-5-1)
Man City can't afford to keep drawing games if they want to put up a serious title charge this season. City are down to 6th on the table and with a EPL season that looks like a number of teams can be in contention throughout the year, these are the games that define seasons. Birmingham has put up a respectable first 9 games to their campaign, but City are favored in this one.
Y1: Man City Y2: Man City Doc: Man City
Aston Villa @ West Ham (Wednesday)
A bonus Wednesday pick! Looking into the crystal ball... Villa continues their fine form from beating Everton while the fears around West Ham come to a fever pitch.
Y1: Villa Y2: Villa Doc: West Ham
MLS PLAYOFFS
Well, we managed to correctly predict 5 of the 8 playoff teams from all the way back in June (pretty good when you consider our American sports predictions...). We haven't touched on the MLS season in a while here at RSS, but the end of the season proved to be dramatic with teams fighting down the stretch to get into the postseason. 5 teams were able to get in from the West, and 3 from the East, a reverse from last year. The Crew go in winning their 2nd Supporters Shield in a row and are also looking for their 2nd straight MLS Cup. The stars are all out in this postseason: Beckham, Donovan, Blanco, Schelotto, Holden and countless more. Before we preview each 1st round matchup, let's tell analyze each team's chances at listing the trophy by analyzing Pros and Cons for each team.
EAST
1) Columbus Crew 49 Pts
Pros: Supporters Shield winners... Reigning League MVP Schelotto healthy... Have the deepest team in the league... Homefield advantage throughout the playoffs... Defending champions.
Cons: Is star defender Chad Marshall knee's going to be in shape... Only one goal in MLS this month... Propensity to give up late goals... Rookie head coach Robert Warzycha in first postseason... Lost 2 straight home games.
2) Chicago Fire 45 Pts
Pros: Blanco... McBride... Revenge factor from last season vs Columbus... Experienced roster... history of success vs New England in the playoffs... sending Blanco out a winner
Cons: Distraction of Blanco's announcement that he's returning to Mexico... key players are very, very old... 4-4-4 in the 2nd half of the season... more draws than wins this season
3) New England Revolution 42 Pts
Pros: Shalrie Joseph... Steve Nicol... it's cold in New England this time of year... dark horse of the field... I'm trying here...
Cons: Lack of success vs Chicago... fewest number of goals scored from playoff teams... lowest goal differential amongst playoff teams... injuries to key players... lack of scoring punch up front
4) Real Salt Lake 40 Pts
Pros: Highest scoring team in the playoffs... made last year's conference finals... NYRB made MLS Cup Final as crossover Wild Card last season... beat Columbus 4-1 at home this season
Cons: 2-11-2 road record... 2-3-1 in their last 6... 0-5-1 in games in the Eastern time zone... lowest numbers of points of any playoff team...
WEST
1) LA Galaxy 48 Pts
Pros: Donovan and Beckham... Bruce Arena's coaching.... vastly improved defesne... star power finally matched by on-field product... unbeaten in October... champs of the superior conference
Cons: Is there too much pressure... is Donovan a big game player... is Beckham more focused on AC Milan and Posh... lack of postseason experience
2) Houston Dynamo 48 Pts
Pros: Maybe the most talented team in the league... Ching, Clark, Holden are national team stars... 2-time MLS Cup Champions... Best GD in the West... unbeaten in last 5 games
Cons: 0-2-2 vs Los Angeles and Columbus... can Pat Onstad hold up in goal... disappointing CONCACAF result... Mexican signing Luis Landin has only 1 goal... 0 goals in first playoff game
3) Seattle Sounders 47 Pts
Pros: Huge homefield advantage... Sigi Schmid... Freddy & Freddy... Kasey Keller... Drew Carey... ended Columbus' home unbeaten streak... US Open Cup Champions
Cons: First time in the Playoffs... duh, they're an expansion team... held scoreless at home in 1st leg... only 2 scorers with more than 5 goals... injury questions... questions about Ljungberg's future...
4) Chivas USA 45 Pts
Pros: Sasha Kjlestan... get to play both first round games at home.... Zach Thornton has been a revelation in goal... as has Preki as a coach...
Cons: Sasha Kjlestan... get to play both first round games on the road... 0-2-1 vs the Galaxy this season... who will score goals for Chivas?
1st Round Matchups
Crew vs RSL
-The 5th seed from the West becomes the 4th seed in the East. If Columbus gets through the first leg unscathed, they should easily handle RSL at home. Watch and see how Columbus finishes in front of goal; they have a lot of options up front, but the scoring touch has gone missing in the last month. The Crew haven't been lighting the world on fire recently, but this team has the skill and experience to get by the upset-minded Western Wild Cards. PICK - Columbus
Fire vs Revs
-It seems like these two teams square off in the postseason every year. Chicago isn't getting any younger and the magic of Blanco and McBride doesn't quite seem like it's there as in recent years. Toyota Park in Chicago isn't exactly a fortress for the Fire this season. New England has what it takes to shutout Chicago over the two game series and pull of the upset. PICK - New England
LA vs Chivas
-The Clasico (gotta love MLS trying to turn this into Boca v River or Man U v Liverpool), while feeling a little contrived, is pretty compelling. There has been an actual rivalry built up between these two teams over the past couple seasons. The key will be if David Beckham can keep his cool over the 2 game series. With both contests at the Home Depot Center, expect this to be as close as it can be. In 3 games this season, LA was 2-0-1, with only 2 total goals scored between the teams! Expect a moment of brilliance from Donovan or Becks to make the difference. PICK - Galaxy
Houston vs Seattle
-Well, we already have the luxury of knowing that Houston was able to hold Seattle to a 0-0 draw at Qwest Field and go home just needing a win to move on to the Conference Finals. Surprising that a game between 2 high powered offenses would end in a stalemate. Even though Houston is heading home, you can't discount Sigi Schmid's coaching ability. Ever since Seattle came into the league, there has been a sense of destiny about them. In an upset, Seattle goes into Houston next week and gets a road win. PICK - Seattle
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