MLS Preview: Toronto, RSL look to continue undefeated home records

Posted Jul 24, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Jul 24, 2010 at 05:23 AM

Toronto tries to maintain its undefeated home record, as does Real Salt Lake as it tries to gain on Los Angeles in Saturday’s Major League Soccer action.

DALLAS (6-2-7) AT TORONTO (6-5-4): The Reds have gone 5-0-3 at home this season, but that record will be tested by an FC Dallas side that is in good form and has only lost once on the road in seven road games.

Brek Shea played a key role in Dallas’ 2-0 victory against Real Salt Lake last Saturday, scoring the opener and then provided the assist for Atiba Harris’ third goal of the season. The Hoops are now undefeated in their last six games, going 4-0-2 in that span.

Toronto thought it had earned a point on the road against Philadelphia last Saturday, only for Sebastian Le Toux’s stoppage-time penalty to grab all three points for the Union. The Reds are still comfortably in third position in the East, but with a game in hand on Columbus and New York would like to gain ground on the top two teams in the conference.

HOUSTON (5-7-4) AT COLUMBUS (9-3-4): The Dynamo have had two weeks away from MLS since their 0-0 draw with the Crew, extending a six-game winless streak in the league. But in that time off, Houston earned two wins and a draw to win its group and advance to the SuperLiga semifinals.

Columbus put in a strong performance last week against New York, earning a 2-0 victory that extended its lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to five points. They will be without defender Frankie Hejduk on Saturday, though, after his red card against the Red Bulls. 

CHIVAS USA (4-9-2) AT REAL SALT LAKE (9-4-3): Salt Lake will try to rebound from defeat at Dallas and try to extend its undefeated streak at Rio Tinto Stadium to 19 games against the bottom team in the Western Conference.

Chivas USA won the midweek lottery for former United States Under-20 standout Sal Zizzo, but he is unlikely to make his first start for the club. The Goats will also be without U.S. defender Jonathan Bornstein, who is expected to miss two weeks with a knee injury suffered during last Sunday’s SuperLiga game against Houston.

RSL has missed captain Kyle Beckerman for the past two months with a knee injury, but after three weeks of training he is expected to make his return to the line-up tonight. It has also outscored its opponent 20-5 at home this season, making it appear a tall order for the Goats to gain revenge for their 2-1 defeat at the Home Depot Center when the sides first met this season.