Galaxy aims to overcome "12th man" at United

Soccer Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena has plenty of fond memories from RFK Stadium, where he brings his team to face D.C. United on Sunday.

Arena guided United to three successive MLS Cup final appearances, winning two of them, and he will be hoping to leave the nation's capital with three points as the Galaxy tries to extend its lead atop the Western Conference table.

L.A. sits six points clear of Real Salt Lake in the West entering the weekend, but they will be trying to rebound from only their second loss of the season as they fell 2-0 to the New England Revolution last time out.

Both of the teams losses this season have come away from home, and Arena is expecting another tough contest on Sunday at RFK in front of a crowd that he says can act as "a 12th man for D.C. United."

"It's a great environment," he told mlssoccer.com. "When they have a good crowd in that stadium it rocks. Over the years it's gotten beat up a little bit and it is getting on in years, but when you step on the field it's still a special place for a game in MLS."

United will be hoping for a big boost from its home supporters, who have seen just two wins in eight home games this season.

The team is just one point clear of last-place Philadelphia prior to Saturday's action in the Eastern Conference, and they will be playing only a few days after losing 1-0 to Seattle Sounders FC on Thursday.

Roger Levesque scored in the 89th minute for Seattle to hand D.C. only its second loss in seven games, and head coach Curt Onalfo feels as though his side took a step back after making good progress in previous weeks.

"It's the grind of MLS; we took a whole bunch of steps forward, tonight we took a step back," Onalfo told mlssoccer.com following the defeat. "Is it the end of the world? It kind of is in my mind a little bit but we've got to lick our wounds and just keep progressing. We have a big game at home against the Galaxy, which is the best team in Major League Soccer at this point. And like I said earlier in the year, we have to learn from this stuff."

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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