Western Conference Final Preview: Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo

The Major League Soccer season heads down the final turn this weekend, and with just three games remaining, the stakes are high. Friday night at the Home Depot Center, the Los Angeles Galaxy host the Houston Dynamo with a trip to Seattle and a spot in the MLS Cup final on the line.

It's a tale of two clubs over the past four-five seasons: one has been a proven winner, and is in search of their third cup in the past four years. The other, despite bringing in perhaps football's most recognized name in David Beckham, hadn't made the playoffs since 2005 before the arrival of the best coach in American soccer history, Bruce Arena turned things around.

Both sides are widely regarded as contesting the "real" MLS Cup tonight, given that the Western Conference produced the majority of the playoff teams. But they'll both have a real battle on their hands tonight in California.

A recurring theme in the playoffs has been parity, and making it difficult to differentiate between two teams about to play each other. Tonight is perhaps the best example -- two great coaches, two (relatively) deep rosters, two solid goalies, etc. The variables then? What is going to change the course of the match?

Once again, it comes down to individual players, and who holds the advantage there. Of course, knee-jerk reactions favor Los Angeles, with Beckham and Landon Donovan. Whoever steps up with the game on the line will certainly enjoy a trip to Seattle the following weekend. That doesn't make Houston chumps, however, as Brian Ching provided the once-in-a-lifetime moment against Seattle to bring them to this game. Stuart Holden is no slouch either, and the pace of Dominic Oduro could terrorize a Galaxy defense that tends to be rather lead-footed. Oduro's finishing isn't anything to write home about, mild reassurance for Omar Gonzalez and Gregg Berhalter.

Defensive slip-ups come at no higher price in the playoffs, so Gonzalez and fellow rookie AJ DeLaGarza must follow the lead of veterans like Berhalter. A steadying presence like him will be important over these 90 minutes.

Here are some match-ups to watch tonight:

*Speed of Oduro vs. lurching backline. Already covered, though worth mentioning again. Pace troubled the Galaxy backline, for as steady as they are there susceptible to speedy players. Given Oduro's frustrating finishing ability, it also wouldn't be surprising to see him starting the bench and brought on if Houston needs to score.

*Ricardo Clark vs. Donovan/Beckham. Two national teammates go toe-to-toe, and Beckham is added because he's been deployed centrally -- right in Clark's territory. An interesting tactical approach for Kinnear in this one would be to man-mark Beckham with Clark to stymie service to Donovan and the Galaxy attack. Cut them off there, and you're one step closer to winning.

*Brian Ching vs. Omar Gonzalez. Though I expect Berhalter to check down on Ching, the old vs. new battle of Ching and Gonzalez should be interesting to watch. The rookie has the stature to deny the Hawaiian those long balls, but can Ching use his experience in his favor?

*Donovan Ricketts vs. Pat Onstad. I do realize the goalies don't go up against each other -- but think about it. Each time a huge save is made, it changes the face of the game. So who will come up bigger: the aging Canuck or Reggae Boy?

Prediction: Los Angeles, 2-1