PREGAME: CHIVAS @ RBNY

By: Dave Martinez | July 26th, 2007

Ah . . . CHIVAS is visiting the SWAMP for an ESPN2 SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN!

COME ON DOWN!

Remember, Chivas and Red Bull have ALOT in common . . . .

Need I say More?

OVERVIEW:

Both teams are some what at “full strength,” though the loss of Jeff Parke and Waterboy may prove costly to the Bulls. How will they compensate? What will be the formation? Will Van Den Bergh get a nod again? Will Dane Richards show more skill to go along with his flash? Or is Bruce going to sit him down for this one? And what of Mathis for this game? With Angel and Altidore up top, is Woly completely out of the picture?

Chivas has a full roster at its disposal, spearheaded by an All Star snubbed Maykel Galindo, a refreshed Kljestan, a solid midfield with Mendoza and Marsch, and a solid backfield, lead by Guzan. Not exactly an easy team to overcome. Lots of skill on the pitch.

MATCH UPS:

ANGEL and ALTIDORE v. BRAD GUZAN

JP Angel is back from a frustration laden Red Card. He will most likely rejoin Jozy up top, to face one of the leagues best in Brad Guzan. Guzan can turn a variety of tricks guarding that net. In general, our boys are looking at a very tough challenge.

Brad Guzan will get the best of both men if there isnt someone that can feed them the ball. That is why i feel Dane Richards should be sat down for one game, give Freeman the freedom to run up and down the line to do Richards job, have Schopp play on the right, with a slight tendency for the middle. The left wing will feature Mathis or VDB, which at this point, would be a toss up for Arena.

We have to strike early and often if possible. If this game drags on into a goalkeepers duel, then the advantage may be on the more rested Chivas team.

MAYKEL GALINDO and ANTE RAZOV v. OUR CENTERBACKS

With no Jeff Parke, our guys will be forced to step up the action. It is for this reason, and this reason only, that I feel we need Dema starting this game at Destroyer. According to Bruce Arena, Dema is ready to roll. But I get the feeling we will be seeing more Joe Vide for this game.

My worry is that Vide and Reyna will not scare our opponents into running the middle. Dema, much like Olsen does for DC, makes it much harder to enter that area without leaving with a bruise or contusion. We need Dema there.

The Projected Lineup (as per Ives):

—————–Angel———-Altidore————–

Mathis—————————————–Richards

—————–Reyna————-Vide—————–

Golthwaite————————————Freeman

—————-Mendes———-Stammler————

————————-Conway————————-

Not a bad lineup, and as Ives says, it will help to contain Mendoza a bit more. But we need to find ways of scoring points here, and I dont think Mathis will be that great a liability against Francisco. Here is my suggestion:

==========ANGEL=========ALTIDORE=========
MATHIS============================SCHOPP
=========REYNA=========DEMA=============
==GOLDIE===MENDES===STAMMLER====FREEMAN=
===============CONWAY==================

Though I would be thoroughly entertained by a 3-5-2, this lineup against a high octane, very sound Chivas team may be our best bet. i am sorry, but DVB has just lost lots of points in my book. This may be the way to go, letting Mathis and Schopp move middle from time to time, and letting our D wings run it up.

Remember the small stature of Razov and Galindo. If a centerback combo of Stammler and Mendes can contain them, take away headers, and force them outside of the box, I think we can actually take advantage. Had we been playing FC Dallas with no Jeff Parke, it would be another story.

ADVANTAGE: BULLS

MARSCH v. REYNA

Though they will rarely see much of each other, I would love to find out who would be the better distributer in the D-Mid roll. Marsch has had an excellent season in that aspect. Lets see how two of MLS best in that position fair tonite.