MLS Cup Final Preview

Hey all, this is my first post as a contributor here on Soccer City FC. Let me know what you think.

The MLS Cup final is set to become one of the most exciting matches of the season. There's only one way to really explain what will happen on Sunday: expect the unexpected.

The match will feature the Columbus Crew against the New York Red Bulls. The Crew finished the season at the top of the Eastern Conference table with 57 points while the Red Bulls finished 5th on the table with 39 points.

The Crew come into the match with most of the momentum. They defeated the Chicago Fire in the semifinals and are looking to defeat NYRB. The Red Bulls, on the other hand, have been barely getting by since they made it to the playoffs. Thanks to luck and poor finishing, they were able to defeat Real Salt Lake in the semifinals.

Here's a few things each team needs to do if they want to take home that awesome looking trophy.

Columbus Crew:
1. Make good use of Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The Crew is only as good as Schelotto is good. A candidate for the MVP award, he has almost single handidly carried the Crew through to the final. If Columbus want to score goals, they will have to get the ball to Schelotto and allow him to feed others goals.
2. Keep Juan Pablo Angel at bay. Just as Schelotto is the go-to guy for the Crew, Angel is the go-to guy for the Red Bulls. In fact, he will be the most dangerous player on the pitch. He can score goals and allow others to score goals. If the Crew have any chance of winning, they must shut down Angel. Here's a disheartening fact for Columbus: in 3 games against the Crew, Angel has scored 3 goals.

New York Red Bulls:
1. Create a solid defense. The Red Bulls have steadily improved on their defense. In fact, the defense was a factor in their semifinal win over Real Salt Lake. I don't think they need to worry too much about goalkeeper Danny Cepero. On his debut (against the Columbus Crew) he scored a goal from an 80-yard free kick and has kept a clean sheet in his last two matches. The defensive line needs the most work.
2. Get Dave Van den Bergh involved. While Juan Pablo Angel is the biggest name on New York's roster, Van den Bergh is also a key figure. When he plays well, New York tends to do well also. If he plays as well as people say he can, Columbus will have to step it up on defense and account for mulitple attacking threats.

Prediction:
All signs point to a very physical and fast tempo match. Right now, the momentum looks to be in favor of the Crew. However, the Red Bulls have made their season look like a Hollywood movie. I'm predicting the final score to be New York 2 - Columbus 1.

Thomas also writes about soccer at Bleacher Report.