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Last Word SC MLS Pick ‘Em: Week 29

In addition to this week's MLS games, Sporting KC host the New York Red Bulls in the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final. Who are our writers picking?

Major League Soccer continues to race towards the playoffs. With just over a month left in the regular season, teams are in the midst of either consolidating their postseason positioning or just trying to sneak in. But this week, two teams are seeking a trophy of another sort. On Wednesday, the final of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup takes place as Sporting KC hosts the New York Red Bulls.

The two sides come into Wednesday’s game with contrasting fortunes in championship matches. Sporting has two MLS Cups to their name and are looking for their fourth U.S. Open Cup trophy. On the other hand, RBNY have made the final of both competitions just once (U.S. Open Cup, 2003, MLS Cup, 2008). On both occasions, they came out on the short end of the stick. So Wednesday is certainly an opportunity to make history.

Two midweek MLS games are also on tap. Atlanta United plays their fourth straight game at home against a reeling LA Galaxy team. The Five Stripes are just a week removed from an epic 7-0 blowout of the New England Revolution. That result was essentially the final straw for Jay Heaps, as the club fired him on Monday. Another team in blistering form also plays at home on Wednesday as Toronto FC hosts Canadian rival Montreal Impact.

This weekend’s slate of action is interesting in that almost every game pits teams above the red line against teams below it. The only match that doesn’t fit this profile is Columbus Crew SC‘s home game against the Red Bulls. But that’s not to say there are a bunch of meaningless games. Teams such as Real Salt Lake, Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas can reignite their playoff hopes with wins.

Matt put in the performance of the week, getting nine out of 13 picks correct. It puts him all alone in third place, just four behind Daniel. Speaking of four back, that’s John’s overall lead at this point as Daneil beat him out 8-7 in week 28. As of right now, our writers’ panel has predicted a grand total of 326 games. Despite that huge number, only nine points separate first from last with just a handful of weeks left in the regular season.