It’s been an interesting season in MLS and without David Beckham who was on loan with Serie A side AC Milan since January. On Thursday, the English star will make is return to the Los Angeles Galaxy as they take on the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer. Here’s a full preview of the match.
Los Angeles Galaxy at New York Red Bulls – Major League Soccer – Thursday – 8 PM EST – Fox Soccer Channel – David Beckham returns to MLS as the Galaxy look to continue their hot streak against a struggling NY Red Bull side. LA has won their last three games, 4 out of 6, and only 2 losses since the beginning of April. In June and July the Galaxy have only conceded 2 goals and sit just outside one of the last playoff spots. New York on the other hand has consistently been bad and have a league low 15 goals for and league high 30 goals against. Even though they have possibly the best pure striker in MLS, Juan Pablo Angel, the Red Bulls are usually unable to provide much offense.
How will the Beckham/Donovan feud play out? – Landon Donovan was quoted for an upcoming book that he thought David Beckham was not a great teammate or leader while in MLS to which the Englishman replied that the comments were “unprofessional”. It’s clear there was some tension between the two but can they put that behind them on Thursday? Both are top players in the league and while Donovan’s comments were harsh, it’s clear that Beckham’s stay in MLS has had mixed results. While its improved interest in the Galaxy and Major League Soccer, the results on the pitch have been very poor. The team has yet to make the playoffs since he’s arrived but if they were able to make a run this season it could turn things around. Some will want to make this a bigger deal than it is but both players will put it behind them and should have a solid 2nd half of the season.
Predictions – Thursday’s game will likely result in a tie but could go either way. MLS is very hard to predict from week to week and anything can happen. If Beckham can fit in with the team right away he should provide service for Edson Buddle and Donovan that will give the Red Bull defense lots of trouble. However the Galaxy can be prone to lapses themself. Prediction – 2-2 Draw
| 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs | |
| 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs (Wild Card) |
Western Conference | |||||||||
| Club | Pts | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston Dynamo | 31 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 22 | 12 | 10 |
| 2 | Seattle Sounders FC | 28 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 26 | 16 | 10 |
| 3 | Chivas USA | 27 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 6 |
| 4 | Colorado Rapids | 24 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 20 | 3 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 24 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 18 | 1 |
| 6 | Real Salt Lake | 20 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 23 | 18 | 5 |
| 7 | FC Dallas | 17 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 20 | 26 | −6 |
| 8 | San Jose Earthquakes | 13 | 16 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 19 | 31 | −12 |
| 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs | |
| 2009 MLS Cup Playoffs (Wild Card) |
