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Major League Soccer’s Week 6 fixture list sees five clubs go on a bye week (Chivas USA, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution, Los Angeles Galaxy & Seattle Sounders) but still has some interesting matches taking place.
The main match that stands out is the first weeknight match of the season between two Eastern Conference MLS Cup hopefuls. Coming off a bye week, DC United travel to the intimidating atmosphere of Sporting Park for a Friday night clash against a buoyant Sporting KC club fresh off ending the Montreal Impact’s perfect start to the season.
DC United @ Sporting KC
The first aspect of this match that really stands out is the contrast of styles. Sporting KC are well known for their high pressure style and a possession game focused on smothering teams into either playing wayward passes or giving up possession from a deep position. DC United are at their best when staying compact down the middle of the pitch, soaking up pressure and hitting back on the counter attack with pace and width.
Peter Vermes saw some of his new players struggle to adapt in the first few matches of 2013, both those that are new signings in Claudio Bieler and Benny Feilhaber but also players adjusting to new roles and increased playing time such as Uri Rosell. However, the light bulb finally clicked in their last match against Montreal Impact and SKC looked to have found themselves both on the score sheet after having been held scoreless in the previous two matches and in their general playing style.
SKC deploy a 4-3-3 formation and put a strong emphasis on defensive communication and playing the ball out of the back. The back four and keeper combination of Chance Myers, Aurélien Collin, Matt Besler, Seth Sinovic and captain Jimmy Nielsen proved themselves to be the best in the league last season when they conceded a league low 27 goals. Although they experienced early season struggles, most notably in the first half against Philadelphia and for the majority of the game against Toronto FC, the performance against the Impact prove that this team might well be beginning to click into gear.
DC United under coach Ben Olsen play a 4-2-3-1/4-4-2 diamond formation with the focal point of the squad being Canadian international Dwayne De Rosario. His role in combination with Chris Pontius will be an even bigger factor considering the loss of Nick DeLeon for six weeks with a hamstring strain. In place of DeLeon, much will be expected of young Brazilian DP signing Rafael and another Canadian international in Kyle Porter. Both players provide speed and relentless energy that could cause the Sporting KC defensive unit problems and frustration at not being able to patiently build out of the back.
Amongst the individual match-ups to take a look at is Uri Rosell vs. Perry Kitchen. Both players have vital roles as the deep lying playmakers within their respective sides. Howeverm this is where Sporting KC might well have an advantage. Having Paolo Nagamura within the side gives the hosts a player that can shadow Kitchen from a defensive perspective and cover for Rosell at times when in Kansas City are in possession of the ball, so the Spaniard can exploit angles and play a variety of passes to the likes of Graham Zusi, Claudio Bieler, CJ Sapong and Benny Feilhaber.
Here’s how I see both teams lining up in this match:
Sporting KC:
DC United:
Prediction:
Sporting KC 2-1 DC United
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