With the MLS regular season winding down teams are positioning themselves for the playoffs.  Check out the match schedule for this weekend.

Saturday, September 6

Chivas USA at Toronto FC 4:00 p.m. (TeleFutura, DK, MLSLIVE.tv) 

• Just a week after Chivas USA nabbed a victory on Atiba Harris’ last-minute tally, the teams square off again at BMO Field.
• Absences due to national team duty affect both teams, but more so Toronto, whose roster depth will be put to a severe test.
• Chivas USA has won all three contests against Toronto FC the past two seasons, scoring three of their six goals after the 75th minute of those games.
   
  New England Revolution at Columbus Crew 7:30 p.m. (HDNet) 

After its second come-from-behind victory over FC Dallas in three weeks last Saturday (Aug. 30) in Frisco, Texas, the first-place Crew returns home this week to take on the New England Revolution this Saturday (Sept. 6) at Crew Stadium. The match features a Crew squad (12-6-4, 40 pts.) that is currently riding a three-game winning streak which has moved it into first-place overall in MLS, while New England (11-6-5, 38 pts.) visits Columbus sitting in second place overall in the League, just two points behind the Black & Gold. Columbus is now just one win away from matching its post-shootout era (since 2000) record for wins in a season set in 2001.

Saturday’s match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised live nationally on HDNet, as well as on the DirectKick package, and will air locally on ONN, with Dwight Burgess and Bill McDermott calling all the action, with Katie Witham providing sideline coverage. The game can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN with Neil Sika and Dante Washington behind the microphone and on-line at theCrew.com and MLSNet.com, as well as in Spanish on La Que Buena 1550-AM with Eduardo Carvacho and Benny Pietrangelo on the call.

New England enters this weekend’s showdown after drawing with the Los Angeles Galaxy, 2-2, last Saturday (Aug. 30) at home. In the match, Taylor Twellman gave the Revs a first-half lead, but goals in the 33rd and 55th minutes by Landon Donovan pushed L.A. in front, 2-1. Shalrie Joseph then scored the game-tying goal in the 71st minute to earn New England a point. As a result, New England is now unbeaten in its last three league matches with a record of 1-0-2, thanks to a win over D.C. (8/20) and a draw with Toronto (8/23). The Revs travel to Columbus led by the trio of Adam Cristman (6 goals), Steve Ralston (6) and Taylor Twellman (5), with Ralston also leading the squad in assists with five on the season. In addition to MLS action, New England also recently wrapped up its participation in the 2008 CONCACAF Champions League play against Joe Public FC. Joe Public downed the Revs last night (Aug. 2), 4-0, in the return leg of the Champions League opening round match-up at Gillette Stadium. With its previous 2-1 victory over New England at home, the club from Trinidad & Tobago advanced in the competition by an aggregate score of 6-1.

The Crew enters Saturday’s match after claiming sole possession of first place last Saturday (Aug. 30) with the win at Dallas. The Black & Gold now has 40 points in 22 matches this season and has surpassed its final point total (37) for the entire 2007 season. Last Saturday's match was nearly identical to the match played between the Crew and FC Dallas just two weeks prior at Crew Stadium, which resulted in a 2-1 comeback victory for Columbus. Much like that Aug. 16 match, the Hoops took a first half lead thanks to a goal by former Crew forward Jeff Cunningham, but once again, Crew playmaker Guillermo Barros Schelotto led the Black & Gold on a furious comeback as he assisted on Alejandro Moreno's goal in the 37th minute and Eddie Gaven's game-winning tally in the 40th minute to give Columbus three points on the road. The Crew will be without the services on Saturday of Frankie Hejduk (U.S.A.), Alejandro Moreno (Venezuela), Duncan Oughton (New Zealand) and Ricardo Pierre-Louis (Haiti), who will all miss the match vs. New England due to call-ups for World Cup Qualifying with their respective national teams. Defender Danny O’Rourke, however, returns from a one-game suspension for caution accumulation. 

• This top-of-the-table clash will impact the race to the Supporters’ Shield for best regular season record in MLS.
• Two players often mentioned as MLS MVP candidates – Shalrie Joseph of the Revolution and Guillermo Barros Schelotto of Columbus – go head-to-head.
• New England is struggling with injuries to multiple forwards and comes off a home match against Joe Public of Trinidad & Tobago in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
• In their first meeting on May 24, New England’s Kheli Dube converted the rebound of Shalrie Joseph’s penalty kick in the 89th minute and the Revolution emerged 1-0 victors.
   
  New York Red Bulls at Chicago Fire 8:30 p.m. (FSC, FSE) 
• Red Bulls Coach Juan Carlos Osorio returns to Chicago for the first time since leaving the Fire for New York last December.
• Chicago dismantled New York, 5-1 at Giants Stadium on May 25.
• New York is undefeated in its past six games.
• If the Red Bulls can hold Chicago scoreless for the first 12 minutes of this contest, they will set the season high in MLS for longest shutout streak. New York has not allowed a goal in 344 minutes.

D.C. United at San Jose Earthquakes 10:00 p.m. (DK, MLSLIVE.tv) 

• Including the inaugural MLS match, United has struggled in San Jose, going 2-5-4 at Spartan Stadium from 1996 to 2005. United’s most recent victory in San Jose was June 3, 1998.
• Englishman Darren Huckerby has been a revelation for the Quakes. He has three goals and three assists in six games.
• San Jose has a chance to extend its unbeaten streak to eight games, which would be the longest in MLS this season.
• Argentine playmaker Marcelo Gallardo returned to action for D.C. on Saturday after missing two months due to hernia surgery.

Real Salt Lake at Los Angeles Galaxy 10:30 p.m. (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

• The Galaxy hopes to break out of a 10-game winless streak and earn Bruce Arena his first victory as coach.
  Real Salt Lake seeks to improve upon its woeful road record 1-8-1.
• Landon Donovan is scoring a jaw-dropping 0.89 goals per game, the fifth highest single-season rate in MLS history behind Stern John (0.96 in 1998), Mamadou Diallo (0.93 in 2000), Carlos Ruiz (0.92 in 2002), and Roy Lassiter (0.90 in 1996).
• Javier Morales continues to dissect defenses with accurate long passing; his 10 assists and David Beckham’s eight rank second and third, respectively, among MLS leaders.
   
  Sunday, September 7

Kansas City Wizards at Houston Dynamo 3:00 p.m. (TeleFutura) 

• Houston has won three of its past four MLS games, including Saturday’s big victory over the Chicago Fire.
• Kansas City is winless in three games, but looks to capitalize on Houston’s missing players due to national team duty. The Dynamo will be without goalkeeper Pat Onstad (Canada), midfielder Dwayne De Rosario (Canada), Brian Ching (USA) and Ricardo Clark (USA).
• Kansas City’s offense ranks 12th in the League with 23 goals scored, while Houston’s defense ranks second in the League with 26 goals against.