Annual YMCA Game

Call them the bananas, call them the Village People, call them traffic cones, or call them the Crew. Whatever you call them, they're in town to play the Rapids tomorrow night. Columbus is the top team in the East but are level on points with the Rapids. The last two times Colorado has played a team from the East they were on top of the table and the Rapids beat them. Let's hope that streak continues. Game time tomorrow is at 7:30, with the tailgate starting at 5:30. The match will be nationally televised on FOX Soccer Channel.

Injury Report:

OUT: FW Conor Casey (L Achilles tear)

PROBABLE: FW Omar Cummings (R ankle sprain); FW Macoumba Kandji (L knee ACL tear); GK Matt Pickens (R groin strain); MF Jamie Smith (R hamstring strain)

Disciplinary Report:

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

We may see MLS Cup hero Macoumba Kandji back this week! Let's make sure we give him a huge welcome back if he does get int the game. The Crew are much more beat up than us, which is a nice change. My guess at the starting lineup looks pretty familiar:

Pickens

Kimura - Wynne - Marshall - Moor

Mullan - Pablo- Larentowicz - Smith/Thompson

Nyassi - Cummings

Clearly our best XI right now. Why do anything else?

Key To Look For: The defenses. The Rapids have one of the worst defenses int he league, while Columbus has one of the best. However that's reversed when considering the offenses. If the Rapids can crack the Crew defense while shoring up their back line they should get a victory.

Prediction: 1-0 win, goal by Cummings. Columbus defense is good, but the speed to Cyanide will break it once. I think the Rapids defense is starting to get itself back under control and the home field advantage (both in fans and altitude) will be enough to keep a week Columbus offense off the board.