Major League Soccer Preview, Picks, Final Kick: Galaxy, Real Salt Lake Battle For Supporters’ Shield

As MLS enters its final week, the biggest regular-season prizes are still in play: the Supporters’ Shield and the top seeds in both conferences.

Unfortunately, MLS in all their wisdom didn’t bother to schedule all the games on the same day, let alone in overlapping time slots so that no team is assured of their fate before playing.

The Galaxy might kick off on Sunday having already clinched the Shield if Real Salt Lake loses to Colorado the day before. Columbus may start play on Sunday either being locked into the second seed in the East or be playing for a chance for the top spot, depending on the Red Bulls’ Friday result.

In other words, what has the potential to be a compelling final week of MLS could have all the drama sucked out of it before the final day even begins.

If all works out perfectly, though, we could have seven of nine matches that at least affect the playoff seeding order, starting with Wednesday’s match and carrying all the way through the final game on Sunday.

As middling as the Earthquakes’ periphery statistics are (+1 goal-differential, negative shot-differential), they still have a chance to finish with the fourth most points in all of MLS if they can win their final two games this week. Goats forward Alan Gordon will serve the second part of his two-game suspension and it’s currently unclear whether Justin Braun play after missing last week’s game with a concussion, although he did resume practice this week. Without their two starting forwards, the Goats looked pretty punchless for much of the match, so any chance of beating the Quakes probably is reliant on Braun’s availability. Although the Goats won the first matchup between these teams, Braun is the only one of the three Chivas goal-scorers still on the team. Pick: Wondolowski 1, Chivas USA 0.

After slipping at Philadelphia last week, the Red Bulls can still clinch the top spot in the East with a win over another Northeast rival. The Revs are riding a two-game win streak that equals their longest of the season. With just eight points on the road all season, it seems a little much to ask of the Revs to pull out a result. The Red Bulls are also trying to tie the record for largest single-season turnaround, coincidentally set by the 2000 MetroStars which was also the only time the New York franchise has finished atop its conference in the regular season. Thierry Henry should be back in uniform after being given last week off. Pick: Red Bulls 3, Revolution 0.

The Dynamo are the midst of first losing season since making their home in Houston at the start of 2006. After a particularly bad stretch that saw them lose six of seven, they’ve claimed seven points in their last four including a win last week at playoff-bound San Jose. The Sounders will be without the services of Fredy Montero, who is out with yellow-card accumulation and you can expect to see several nonregulars in the lineup. Those backups have proven capable in U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League, though. A win could catapult the Sounders into the No. 3 spot in the West and give them a chance to host the conference finals, while a loss could leave them as low as the No. 8 team. Pick: Sounders 2, Dynamo 1.

The only intriguing thing about this match is the retirement of one of the greatest MLS players ever: Jaime Moreno. If you’re not the sentimental type and a fan of neither team, there’s really no reason to pay attention. Also worth noting, United need six goals just to tie the MLS record for fewest goals in the season. Pick: DCU 1, TFC 1.

It has been a rough slog for the Wizards. They started the season awfully, put together a solid run to get back into the playoff picture and seemed to just ran out of gas down the stretch. There are a lot of good, young pieces here and if Omar Bravo actually ends up playing here, there’s reason to like their chances next season. Right now, though, it’s got to be tough to get up for a game like this after playing so many high-leverage matches over the past five weeks or so. The Quakes might not have much to play for either since a higher seed in the playoffs is not necessarily to their benefit. This might not be the prettiest game. Pick: Quakes 1, Wizards 1.

This is the third straight season these two teams have met in their final games of the season. Unlike the last two no playoff berths are on the line. There are two pieces of hardware up for grabs, though. RSL needs at least a point to have any chance at winning the Supporters’ Shield (they currently trail the Galaxy by one point). The Rocky Mountain Cup is also in play, having been won by the Lakers in each of the past three seasons. The two teams tied the first leg 1-1. RSL will be one of the top two seeds in the West regardless of the outcome in this game, while the Rapids could be placed anywhere from fourth to eighth overall. Pick: RSL 2, Rapids 1.

What happened to the Fire? This was a team that didn’t exactly blaze out of the gates, but seemed to pick up steam at the midway point and was poised to make a real run with the addition of Nery Castillo and Freddie Ljungberg. Next to TFC, this has to be considered one of the bigger disappointments this season. This will likely be the last game the last original member of Fire, CJ Brown, will play. It could also be the last game Carlos de los Cabos coaches for the Fire, although he’s only been around for a year. Pick: Chivas USA 1, Fire 0.

There’s not a lot left to say about the Crew’s downward spiral that hasn’t already been said. William Hesmer’s miracle goal may have salvaged a point from Toronto FC, but it also ran the Crew’s winless streak to six matches. They have won just four matches against playoff teams and just one of those wins was on the road. It’s not looking very good for their playoff hopes, but if they are going to turn it on, this is probably the week to start. They need something positive to hang their hats on and a seven-match winless streak is not a good start. Unfortunately, the Union seem perfectly fine playing the spoiler. Pick: Crew 1, Union 1.

Let’s all just hope RSL gets a result on Saturday so that this game actually means something. Assuming there’s something on the line, this could be fun. It might even be a first-round playoff preview. The Galaxy can answer a lot of others’ -- and their own doubts -- with a strong showing against the Hoops. Dallas, similarly, could use a feel-good performance of their won. Without Kevin Hartman their defense has not looked the same. How -- and if -- Hartman returns could tell us a lot about how much of a contender the Hoops are capable of being. Pick: Galaxy 2, FCD 2.