Crew, Wiz to battle for playoff lives

Soccer Betting Lines

09/14/2007 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Saturday's Major League Soccer fixture between the Kansas City Wizards and the Columbus Crew features two struggling team battling for their playoff lives.

The Wizards have just one win in their last six league fixtures thanks to a surprisingly inconsistent offense over that stretch. The Wiz had established themselves as one of the premier offensive clubs in the league through the first two-thirds of the season, but aside from their 3-2 win over Chicago on Aug. 22, have failed to score more than one goal in a game since July 29. That includes being shut out three times during that span.

As bad as the Wizards are struggling, the Crew are in worse shape. Columbus has failed to earn a win since July 22 while also being shut out three times during their current six-game winless streak. To make matters worse, leading scorer and the teams maestro from the midfield - Guillermo Barros Schelotto - is suspended for Saturday's game because of yellow card accumulation. Also suspended is defender Frankie Hejduk, meaning the team will be weakened in the back and on the flanks as well.

Because of both teams' respective struggles, they are battling just to make the '07 MLS Cup playoffs, with the Crew currently tied for ninth - on the outside looking in at the eight team playoff field - and the Wizards hanging onto the seventh spot, just five points clear of the Crew.

"It's not easy. We've made it difficult for ourselves, but the one thing we're not going to do is give up, and mathematically, things are still there and the way this league is, in a week things can turn around," Crew coach Sigi Schmid said. "So, now it's a matter of us going to Kansas City and Toronto (on Sept. 22) over the next two games, and every game is the same for us, whether home or away, we just have to get maximum points every time we step on the field, and hope that others start knocking each other off."

The Crew are coming off a 1-0 loss to the team ahead of them in the eight spot - the Chicago Fire - last weekend. Paulo Wanchope scored the late game-winner to vault the Fire past Columbus in the Eastern table.

"Obviously, this was an important game," Schmid said of the loss. "It was a pivotal game. I can't fault our guys for their effort; I thought their effort was good. I thought we created more on the run of the play, but at the end of the day, they got the goal. Obviously, it's big points today and it bounced their way."

Kansas City had a better outcome in its last fixture, a 1-1 draw at defending MLS Cup champions and Western table leading Houston.

"I thought it was a good overall performance," Curt Onalfo said. "I thought the first half was very good. I loved the fact that we created all the way and got ourselves a goal in the 45th minute."

Leading scorer Eddie Johnson got the team's lone goal, and after a slumping during the current streak, has now scored in consecutive games, giving the Wiz hope. It's no secret that when Johnson is on his games, the Wizards are one of the most dangerous teams in the league.

The Wizards have also been giving up their fair share of goals in recent fixtures, but veteran goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, who is nine saves away from 1,000 in his MLS career, thinks that will be corrected as the season winds down.

"I really believe the goalkeepers who have the most success are those who find themselves peaking at the right times of the year and really allowing their team to rally behind them," he said. "I really want to make sure that once the playoffs start, that that's when I'm playing my best soccer."

After Saturday's fixture Kansas City faces a tough challenge at CD Chivas USA next Saturday while Columbus travels to Toronto the same day.