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Red Bulls-Chivas USA Preview

Sep 25, 2009 - 6:40 PM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

New York (4-17-5) at Chivas USA (11-9-4), 10:30 p.m. EDT

Chivas USA is looking to earn victories as it tries to secure its fourth consecutive postseason berth.

Facing a New York Red Bulls club that hasn't won on the road in nearly a year and a half could help the team's playoff push.

Chivas looks for its third consecutive shutout victory at The Home Depot Center on Saturday night when it hosts the Red Bulls, who have played better since interim coach Richie Williams took over last month.

Chivas USA (11-9-4) played to a scoreless draw at Seattle last Saturday and kept pace with the Sounders, who are a point ahead of Chivas for the fourth spot in the Western Conference.

Despite midfielder Marcelo Saragosa getting sent off in the 71st minute with a red card, Zach Thornton earned his league-leading 10th shutout by making six saves. He moved ahead of San Jose's Joe Cannon for second all-time with 68 clean sheets.

"We've started to play well defensively, and we were fortunate to keep them off the board," said Thornton, who leads MLS with a 0.78 goals-against average.

Thornton made two saves in a 2-0 victory at New York on Aug. 15. It was his first game against the Red Bulls since Chivas acquired him from New York on Aug. 1, 2008.

If Thornton's right quadriceps injury keeps him out Saturday, Jon Conway could start for Chivas against his former team.

Chivas acquired Conway from New York on Sept. 11 for a fourth-round pick in 2011. Conway, the Red Bulls' all-time leader with a 1.36 GAA, made his Chivas debut Wednesday in a 2-0 loss to Chivas de Guadalajara in a friendly at the Rose Bowl.

"We didn't have quite enough guys to play one team in the first half and one team in the second half," Chivas USA coach Preki said. "Apart from that, we got to see some of the new guys."

Chivas, though, lost midfielder Bojan Stepanovic, who was carried off the field with a knee injury.

"His kneecap slid to the side," Preki said. "It didn't look really good. Hopefully, he recovers fast and we'll have him soon."

The Red Bulls (4-17-5) open a stretch of three straight road games with leading goal scorer Juan Pablo Angel expected to be in the lineup after missing the last two contests with a sprained right ankle.

Angel, who has nine goals, missed the previous matchup with Chivas USA with a concussion. He needs one score to move past Clint Mathis (45) for most goals in all competitions in franchise history.

Starting in place of Angel, John Wolyniec scored the equalizer in the 69th minute as the Red Bulls closed out a 2-2-1 stretch at home with a 1-all draw against New England on Sept. 18. Wolyniec, though, sprained his left ankle on the play and is not expected to be on the field Saturday when New York tries for its first road win since May 2008.

The Red Bulls are riding an MLS-record 24-game winless streak away from home (0-18-6) since a 2-1 victory over Los Angeles. They've been outscored 47-11 during this stretch.

New York, however, is 2-1-1 since Williams took over for Juan Carlos Osorio on Aug. 21.

"I think we're more organized, the guys have a good idea of what they need to be doing," Williams told the Red Bulls' official Web site. "We have got four games left and we're going to try and get three points from all the games."

Chivas USA defeated New England and Toronto FC by 2-0 margins in its last two matches at The Home Depot Center. The club has allowed a league-low eight goals at home.