The Los Angeles Galaxy look to send Landon Donovan out a champ, as LA hosts England for the MLS Cup Title.
The Galaxy has four MLS titles to their credit, and look to add one for the thumb, while New England looks to hoist their first ever MLS Cup Trophy.
New England has gotten here on the strength of their offense, as you would know if you have been reading our previews and watching the matches. They have traveled in both playoff rounds and won both away matches, scoring six goals that contributed to the new aggregate playoff system.
However, there will be no aggregate today. There will be one match that decides the MLS Cup, so there is nothing else for the players to save their energy for. All the year’s hard work, sweat, and tears of a long campaign will be decided in 90 minutes, unless of course we need more time than that to crown someone.
It was announced this week that Robbie Keane is taking home the MLS regular season MVP, and it is deserved. Keane came in 3rd place overall in goals scored with 19, and had teammate Zardes is right with him at 16, so those two were certainly the best tandem in the regular season. Keane has not contributed to the scoring sheet much in the post-season, but his presence alone makes the difference.
New England has three players with multiple goals scored in the post season, and they are simply the hottest club coming in the MLS. The Revs have only tasted defeat once since Aug. 2, and we are in December playing for the finals now. That is four months of quality soccer and constant results along the way.
LA stumbled into the playoffs and was not playing its best soccer as the playoffs began, but have played well enough to get here, despite the 2 – 1 loss to Seattle on the away leg of the Conference finals. The one away goal aggregate was all that was needed to get them through to the finals.
All-time MLS Meetings: New England Leads All-time Series at 13-12-9
1×2 3-Way Lines:
New England +450
Los Angeles -160
Draw +275
Handicap/Spread Odds:
New England +1 -130
Los Angeles -1 +110
Total O/U 2.5:
Over -125
Under +105
Quick Analysis:
What have we done with New England all through the post-season? This might be a quick analysis, because even though LA may hold of a bit of a defensive edge, no one is going to simply shut down the Revolution.
Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that LA can actually score too, and we did cash the Over 2.5 in the Seattle / LA 2nd leg.
Prediction:
To the net we go, because there is too much on the line for these two to sit back and wait for it come to them. We all know what New England can do upfront, and that is plenty. Lee Nguyen is so patient, and looks so comfortable with a ball at his feet, and never seems rushed or out of control.
Jermaine Jones might have the biggest impact on this match, and it might not even be a lot on the score sheet, but it will come in the form of physical, active play. He loves to get dirty and has the experience to know how to play in big games. Charlie Davies leads MLS with four goals scored in the playoffs, tied with New York’s Wright-Phillips, and Landon Donovan sits right behind him with three goals.
We know there is going to be scoring, and we will play it accordingly. Pick: Over 2.5 at -125 for a 2 – 1 minimum scoreline to cash our last ticket of the MLS Season.
