Rapids In Philly To Face Cheesesteaks

Well they also have to play the Union, but I'm guessing that at least a couple of the guys will take the opportunity to try a cheesesteak. Its somewhat of a homecoming for the Ginger Ninja as he went to high school and college in the Philly area. The Rapids get the honor of being FOX Soccer Channel's Game of the Week tomorrow night, kickoff is at 5:30. Class VI and the Pid Army will be gathering at the Streets of London for this one.

Injury Report:

OUT: FW Conor Casey (L Achilles tear)

PROBABLE: FW Omar Cummings (R ankle sprain); FW Macoumba Kandji (L knee ACL tear); MF Brian Mullan (lower back spasms); GK Matt Pickens (R groin strain); MF Jamie Smith (R hamstring strain); DF Anthony Wallace (R quad strain)

Disciplinary Report:

SUSPENDED AFTER 2 MORE CAUTIONS: MF Ross LaBauex; MF Jeff Larentowicz; DF Tyrone Marshall; MF Pablo Mastroeni; DF Drew Moor; MF Sanna Nyassi; MF Wells Thompson; DF Anthony Wallace

Good to see Kandji moving up to the probable status, but I'm guessing we won't see him until next week. Smith is always a question mark of course. Philly is only missing one player so they'll have the advantage there. My guess at the starting XI:

Pickens

Kimura - Wynne - Marshall - Moor

Mullan - Pablo- Larentowicz - Smith/Thompson

Nyassi - Cummings

Any other lineup than this one makes no sense at this point. Put our best XI out there and play.

Key To Look For: Does Smith tinker with the lineup or does he give us the best chance to win? His decisions have been hit or miss the last couple of weeks, let's hope he settles down.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Cummings. Philly is a good team, but I''m not sure they're as good as some people are making them out to be. We're equal on points (but Philly has 4 games in hand) but the Union leads the weaker Eastern Conference. They have the second best defense in the league but I think the speed of Nyassi and Cummings can pull it apart. I still have no faith in our defense getting a shutout though.