DCU Primer: Ask me no Kljestans, I’ll tell you no lies

DC United fans on the east coast might need to take a nap on Saturday afternoon to make sure they stay up for the 11pm EST kickoff of the match between the East’s and West’s best, DC United and Chivas USA.

In case you didn’t know, Chivas are pretty good. Their 7-1-1 record is good for 22 points and an eight point cushion on Seattle, who are 2nd in the West. The Goats are not the most potent side offensively. They’re scoring 1.33 goals per contest, a number that plants them firmly in the middle of the league in that statistic. The leading goal scorer is, surprisingly, Paulo Nagamura (3 goals), and they’re not exactly star-laden in the category of attacking players. What’s keeping them in front, as was chronicled earlier this week in MLS Statistical Analysis, is the defense, specifically goalkeeping. In nine matches, Chivas have allowed just three goals, and have not allowed more than one goal in any match. Zach Thornton has faced just 40 shots on his goal this season, just over 4 per game. Again, Chivas are pretty good. That said, United will be buoyed by the fact that US National Team regular Sacha Kljestan will miss this match due to yellow card accumulation.

DC will be looking to extend their five-match unbeaten run in the league on Saturday. Better than the news that Kljestan is out is the news that the DCU infirmary is mostly empty. Midfielders Ben Olsen and Andrew Jacobson are “probable,” and their appears no other news on the injury front to relay. Milos Kocic did not travel, so the likely starting goalkeeper is Louis Crayton. If the Chivas defense is the immovable object, the DCU attack may just be the irresistible force. The offense’s 15 goal tally on the season is the most in MLS, though their goals per game tally (1.67) is only good for 3rd due to having played more games than the other high-scoring teams. In case you haven’t figured it out, focusing on this is better than focusing on the Chivas offense v. DC defense/resistible force v. movable object battle.

In terms of expectations, to say I’m expecting all three points is a far cry from reality. Do I think we have enough offense to get at least one against Thornton and the Chivas defense? Yes. Do we have enough defense to stop Chivas from getting two? I’m not entirely convinced. Would 1-1 be a great result from my perspective? Yes.