When the Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy begin their Western Conference Final series Sunday night at StubHub Center, there will be a ton of stars littered across the pitch. 

Although most of the high-profile names reside in the attacking end of the pitch for both sides, one key figure will be looking to stop the dangerous LA attack. 

Seattle right-back DeAndre Yedlin has experienced a meteoric rise to stardom triggered by his electric display for the United States at the 2014 World Cup. The 21-year-old captivated potential suitors with his recovery speed and abilities moving forward. Before the summer transfer window closed, Yedlin inked a deal with English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. 

Since signing up to play for Spurs in the summer, Yedlin has seen a bit of a drop-off in form. He hasn't played as bad as the likes of Matt Besler since returning from Brazil. But there is plenty of room for improvement ahead of the two crucial games with the Galaxy. 

Yedlin has been employed in more of a defensive role lately. Throughout the home-and-home series with the Galaxy to end the regular season, and during the Western Conference semifinal series with FC Dallas, he was occupied by his defensive responsibilities. 

Defending was Yedlin's weak spot, as the Galaxy let us all know in their 3-0 win at CenturyLink Field on July 28. Since being exposed by Bruce Arena's side, Yedlin has improved on his marking abilities. 

However, his improvement on the defensive side of the ball has hampered his progression moving forward at times. To be fair to Yedlin, he does not have to surge forward all the time due to the strong wing play of Lamar Neagle and Marco Pappa. 

Against the Galaxy, the contributions made by Neagle and Pappa could be limited due to the terrific full-backs LA has in Robbie Rogers and A.J. DeLaGarza. Rogers shifted to left-back in the middle of the season and has turned himself into one of the best defenders in the league. DeLaGarza normally lines up at center-back, but he had a ton of success on the right in the 5-0 blowout of Real Salt Lake. 

With the two LA full-backs ready to shut down the Seattle wingers, Yedlin must be prepared to bomb forward more to create some panic in the LA defense. If he does that with success, the Sounders could take a commanding lead back home for the second leg. 

If Yedlin does find the right time to attack on the right wing, he must do so while protecting the ball at his feet. He is still susceptible to committing a bad turnover or two, a trait that was brought back into the spotlight against Colombia on Friday. 

For the second half of that game, Yedlin was moved up on the right flank to provide the United States' attack with more of a threat moving forward. His speed was an issue for the Colombian defense on a few occasions, but he negated his impact with careless giveaways which led to dangerous counters. 

Just like Colombia, the Galaxy will take advantage of the defensive lapses by the defender. Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan only need one pass to start a terrific attacking move. Add in the influence of Marcelo Sarvas and Juninho in the middle of the park and you have a Galaxy team ready to pounce in an instant. 

If the Seattle right-back is allowed to surge forward in attack and does commit a turnover, he will have to turn on the jets in order to get back on defense. Unlike Friday's international match, Yedlin will not have a sturdy defender to rely on to stop an incoming move if he turns the ball over. 

Yedlin may be helped a bit by the presence of the experienced Brad Evans in front of him if he gives the ball away. But if the Galaxy attackers get past Evans, there will be no one there to stop them unless Yedlin recovers well with his speed. 

There are very few weaknesses in Sigi Schmid's side, but the open space on the wing when Yedlin moves forward is one of them. How Yedlin contains the counter after sprinting back could determine the outcome of the match. 

The 21-year-old will also be under some scrutiny after turning in an average performance Friday for the United States. Every move he makes leading up to his eventual permanent switch to Tottenham will be dissected. If he wants to succeed in Europe in the coming years, Yedlin will need to prove he can deliver a well-rounded performance in a big game Sunday.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. 

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Following each of his team's three playoff games, New York manager Mike Petke has been praised for his use of Peguy Luyindula in the attacking part of the midfield. 

If the Red Bulls are to come away with a victory over the New England Revolution in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Final, it will be his other change in the middle of the park this season that will steal the headlines.

For the September 11 showdown with rival D.C. United, Petke opted to move Eric Alexander in from the wing to sit next to Dax McCarty. Since the pair have been together in the midfield, the Red Bulls have won seven of their last league 11 games. That streak includes two wins in three playoff games. 

We weren't able to see just how effective the duo could be in the match against D.C. due to United's loss of Fabian Espindola to a red card in the 32nd minute. However, the midfield pairing did show plenty of promise in the 1-0 victory at Red Bull Arena. 

Ever since, Alexander and McCarty have been called upon to man the holding-midfield positions, while Luyindula and Tim Cahill have been employed in the attacking role of the 4-2-3-1. 

During the 11-game span, the New York midfield pair has rarely suffered setbacks. The two regular-season losses in that span came at the hands of the LA Galaxy and Columbus Crew. Alexander was not in the starting 11 for the match against LA. New York also drew with Philadelphia on a wet day at PPL Park three days after the win over D.C. 

Other than those three slip-ups, New York has been on fire on its way to the Eastern Conference Final. When they take the pitch Sunday afternoon, Alexander and McCarty will face their toughest test yet as a duo in the form of Lee Nguyen. 

Nguyen has helped carry the Revolution to this stage of the playoffs by scoring 20 goals and assisting on another three New England strikes. All the United States international has needed is a moment of brilliance or pocket of space to take advantage of opposing defenses. 

Some thought Nguyen would have an issue dealing with Columbus' defensive midfield pairing of Tony Tchani and Wil Trapp. But that concern was eliminated thanks to the high press employed by New England manager Jay Heaps. 

In two meetings during the regular season with the Red Bulls, Nguyen did not go up against the newly formed midfield partnership of Alexander and McCarty. In the two losses to New York, Nguyen failed to score despite firing off six shots. 

Few teams were able to have the success containing Nguyen this season that the Red Bulls had, which already gives Petke an advantage heading into Sunday's first leg. Now that Petke has the perfect pairing in place to stop opposing attacks, Nguyen's influence on the game could diminish even more. 

The biggest issue for the Red Bulls will be dealing with the pressure New England will bring from all angles in its attacking third. To nullify the success of the press, Alexander and McCarty will have to control the possession battle. 

McCarty leads the Red Bulls in passes per game with 59.6, while Alexander is third on the list at 40.2. The midfielders are no stranger to gaining a stronghold in the possession battle, which could give them an upper hand against Nguyen. 

The two New York midfielders are also strong at passing in tight space, as McCarty leads the team with 46.6 accurate short passes per game. Alexander is third on the team with an average of 32.3 in the same category. If they can play well in tight spaces, it will limit the number of turnovers in their own half. 

Playing a prolonged game of keep away to start the match won't hurt the Red Bulls at home, but at some point they will have to surge forward in attack. Although they have plenty of weapons up front like Thierry Henry, Lloyd Sam, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Luyindula, McCarty does creep forward on occasion to add an extra element to the group.

When McCarty does run further up the pitch, Alexander must keep an eye on Nguyen at all times as the New England player looks to spring the counter. If the 26-year-old can contain the threat on the counter, he could help take Nguyen out of his element. 

To further add to the misery of the visiting Revolution, McCarty must be a menace to Jermaine Jones when New England looks to counter off a turnover. If he is far enough forward to pressure Jones into a bad pass, McCarty must step in and cause some discomfort. 

If McCarty and Alexander can keep a high energy level, and keep Nguyen out of the game for 90 minutes, New York could head into the second leg with a comfortable lead on aggregate. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

All statistics obtained from WhoScored.com and MLSSoccer.com. 

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FC Dallas selected goalkeeper Dan Kennedy with the first overall pick in the Chivas USA dispersal draft, which had just seven players chosen in the first round, per MLSSoccer.com. The complete results can be found on MLS' official website.

New York City FC picked 20-year-old midfielder Matthew Dunn with the second selection. Forward Thomas McNamara, who was impressive early in 2014 before suffering a season-ending knee injury, was DC United's fourth overall pick. 

Defender Danny Toia (sixth, Montreal Impact), midfielder Caleb Calvert (eighth, Colorado Rapids), Kristopher Tyrpak (ninth, San Jose Earthquakes) and Marco Delgado (14th, Toronto FC) were the only other players that were picked in the draft.

The best selection of the day probably goes to Toronto, who picked the 19-year-old Delgado at 14th overall. The homegrown player made 37 appearances in MLS with Chivas and is a valuable option for head coach Greg Vanney. The youngster can play out wide or in any central-midfield position.

It will also be interesting to see what Dallas does with Kennedy. They currently have Raul Fernandez and Chris Seitz on their roster, who were both solid when given the nod by head coach Oscar Pareja. It could be a plan in case the Hoops cannot protect all of their goalkeepers in the expansion draft next month.

That draft will be on December 10, when New York City and Orlando City will participate in the expansion draft. Orlando passed with their selection on Wednesday, clearly not wanting to make any picks until next month.

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Americans love their sporting events to be star-filled and with plenty on the line, whether it is the Super Bowl, NBA Finals or Final Four. The 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs certainly fit that bill. 

Notable names like Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and Thierry Henry are recognizable to even the most casual fans, and they will be leading the way for their respective teams in the conference championships.

With that in mind, here is a look at the schedules and some predictions for the Eastern and Western Conference Championships. Both series feature two legs, one in each location, and the team with the better goal differential advances to the MLS Cup.

Eastern Conference Championship

A New York vs. Boston/New England clash in the postseason just feels right. This time it’s not Derek Jeter against Pedro Martinez or Tom Brady against Eli Manning, but the New England Revolution against the New York Red Bulls.

The Revolution have beaten the Red Bulls in all three MLS Cup Playoffs series in which they faced each other, but that was back in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Considering that neither team has ever won the MLS Cup, there is sure to be a level of urgency in place during both legs.

New York actually won both matchups during the 2014 regular season and was the only team in the Eastern Conference that New England did not beat. A major reason for that was the attack of Bradley Wright-Phillips, who led the Red Bulls with 27 goals, and Henry, who scored 10.

New England’s leading scorer in 2014 was Lee Nguyen with 18.

To make the historical matters even worse, the Revolution have never won at Red Bull Arena since it opened in 2010 and sport a 0-5-1 all-time record there. That may not be as important as the performance on the field, but it may be in the back of the players’ minds if things take a turn for the worse early.

Brian O’Connell of ESPNBoston.com pointed out one important thing to watch from New England’s perspective:

Andrew Farrell’s status. The sophomore defender missed the second leg of the Conference Semifinal with a right leg injury suffered during training. While reserve wingback Kevin Alston played well in place of Farrell, the Revolution will need their first-choice right back against the Red Bulls. New York’s potent attack is predicated upon its use of the wings, and the Revolution will need their best options to man the flanks.

While past results would seem to indicate that the Red Bulls are going to win this series, the Revolution are red hot and sport a 8-1-1 record in their last 10 games. Much of that can be attributed to Jermaine Jones, who was not on the field in either of the Red Bulls’ two head-to-head wins during the regular season.

New England is 10-1-1 since Jones joined the team in late August, and his presence in the midfield makes it much more formidable on both ends. With Jones leading the way, the Revolution will capitalize on their recent momentum and play their way into the MLS Cup. 

Prediction: New England wins.

Western Conference Championship

You would be hard-pressed to find better storylines for a playoff series than the ones present before the clash between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders.

These were the best two teams in the regular season. Dempsey will be on one side, and Donovan will be on the other, and they are arguably the two biggest soccer stars in the history of American soccer. The Galaxy are one of the all-time historically great MLS franchises, while the Sounders clinched the Supporters’ Shield on the last day of the season this year.

Galaxy forward Alan Gordon commented on how much his team wanted to play the Sounders again after narrowly missing out on the Supporters’ Shield, via Scott French of MLSsoccer.com: “We were kind of hoping for this. It’s going to be a good series, similar to what we saw a couple weeks back, and may the better team win.”

The teams even went 1-1-1 against each other during the regular season.

Dempsey may be the most recognizable name for Seattle, but Obafemi Martins led the team with 17 goals. The same goes for Donovan and the Galaxy, considering Robbie Keane led the way with 19 goals. 

One x-factor that is worth keeping an eye on is Osvaldo Alonso’s health. He is a crucially important midfielder for the Sounders and often sets up attacks with accurate and timely passes. Don Ruiz of The News Tribune provided an update:

While these teams appear evenly matched on paper, Seattle’s defense has been impressive recently.

DeAndre Yedlin has spearheaded shutout efforts on that side of the field against Los Angeles to clinch the Supporters’ Shield and Dallas to reach the Western Conference final. As long as Yedlin stays disciplined and prevents the Galaxy’s attack from capitalizing on chances, Seattle will maintain its defensive momentum.

That will be enough to advance to the MLS Cup. 

Prediction: Seattle wins.

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New York City FC debuted their "new" kits, and they look unsurprisingly familiar. 

They look almost exactly like Manchester City's kits. 

This, of course, makes perfect sense. After all, Manchester City owns New York City's newest Major League Soccer franchise, although few expected NYCFC to practically replicate City's kit. 

The club hardly hid its aspirations, calling it "city blue," and has "NYCFC" on the inside neck and inaugural season on the lower part of the shirt. 

"It's a perfect jersey for our first year," David Villa told the team's official website. "We hope it brings a lot of luck and a lot of success." 

[Twitter]

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In Major League Soccer’s 19 years of existence, it’s hard to remember a year in which the MLS playoffs offered this much excitement.

Of course, there were the big scorelines, particularly in the LA Galaxy-Real Salt Lake and New England Revolution-Columbus Crew matchups, but the comparatively cagey series between the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United in the East and the Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas in the West were thrillers as well.

Check out all the highlights and get a preview of what’s to come in the MLS conference finals in this week’s edition of “5 Things We Learned from MLS.”

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It's Inside Manchester City Week at Bleacher Report and Day 3 brings a look at how City's sister club, New York City FC, might line up next season.

More from Inside City Week—Dzeko exclusive, Angus Gunn exclusive, Toni Duggan exclusive, City launch new app, Best City Academy Stars

It is an exciting time in New York as new MLS franchise New York City FC is nearing its first official season. The Manchester City-inspired club has already made a few big signings ahead of the 2015 season and there are more expected to join.

As of this moment, NYCFC officially has six players on their squad. That certainly isn’t enough to field a squad next season, let alone a lineup for their first match. But the club is hard at work trying to fill the rest of the squad with quality footballers.

In this article we will try to predict what NYCFC’s starting lineup will look like when the 2015 season kicks off. Granted, with only six players on the squad, the possible lineup will rely on players rumored to be on the club’s radar in recent months.

Also bear in mind that this predicted lineup will be based heavily around the players that are already a part of New York City FC. Based on the players available, we will be using a 3-4-3 lineup, though at this point any lineup is pure conjecture.

As always, feel free to get involved in the discussion in the comment section below and tell us how you would like to see NYCFC line up in their first MLS season!

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The Columbus Crew were eliminated from the MLS playoffs after a 7-3 aggregate defeat to the New England Revolution in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. However, despite being knocked out of the postseason, the Crew is set for a successful campaign in 2015 and in the coming years.

Even before Columbus rebranded, there were signs that ownership was willing to make the Crew serious competitors in MLS. They signed defender Emanuel Pogatetz to replace the outgoing Giancarlo Gonzalez and then inked Kei Kamara shortly thereafter. There's also been rumours that Atalanta striker German Denis might arrive next season, according to MLSTransfers.com. 

The ambition that the club is showing is a great sign for fans, especially now that the Eastern Conference won't contain Sporting Kansas City and the Houston Dynamo beginning in 2015. Therefore, the Crew could realistically compete for first place providing they stay competitive in the transfer market.

Columbus already has a solid coach in Gregg Berhalter, who is one of the best young coaches in the league. Despite some struggles early in the campaign, Berhalter led the Crew to 10 wins in their final 15 games of the regular season, which ultimately resulted in their third-place finish.

The ability to steer the club away from disaster and guide them into the playoffs was a great thing for Berhalter. He never lost confidence in his side and was able to get them on the right path. It’s very important for a coach to handle the bad runs of form and overcome them in the end.

The squad has a hole or two but is already solid. The Crew has arguably the best holding-midfield duo in Wil Trapp and Tony Tchani. Captain Federico Higuain is a top-tier attacking midfielder in MLS and is surrounded by solid wingers Justin Meram and Ethan Finlay.

The defense is strong with Pogatetz, Michael Parkhurst, Tyson Wahl and Waylon Francis, but Columbus could consider a full-back upgrade.

The Crew should be excited. They haven’t seen this level of optimism since 2008, when they won 17 of 30 matches en route to an MLS Cup win under ex-head coach and current Seattle boss Sigi Schmid. They boasted the best attack of any other team that year, conceding the third-fewest amount of goals.

Columbus nearly replicated those entertaining performances from 2008 during the 2014 season. However, since they're in a small market, they didn't get a lot of recognition. The elimination from the playoffs didn’t help in attracting neutrals, but they should soon change their minds.

If the Crew can sign a striker and possibly an extra full-back, they would be in very good shape. Jairo Arrieta has only scored 17 goals in 67 appearances since joining Columbus, and Aaron Schoenfeld is a formidable striker but cannot play up top by himself. Adding someone like Denis would guarantee goals.

Their only competition in a revamped Eastern Conference is the Revolution, D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls, so finishing in a playoff spot has to be the minimum expectation at this point.

A season similar to 2008 can be repeated again if ownership helps Berhalter improve the team. If so, Columbus will be a threat in MLS next year.

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Although the conference semifinal round of the MLS Cup Playoffs provided plenty of drama, there was only one upset. The New York Red Bulls ousted the East's top seed, DC United, after having already survived the knockout round.

So New York should be riding a wave of confidence into a conference final clash with the New England Revolution. On the other side of the bracket, it's a star-studded matchup between the Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles Galaxy for a spot in the title game.

Let's check out the schedule for the penultimate round of play in the 2014 MLS season. It's followed by a preview of both conference finals and predictions for which clubs will advance to play for the trophy on Dec. 7.

Conference Championship Schedule

Series Predictions

East: New York Red Bulls vs. New England Revolution

The Red Bulls are a battle-tested group. They survived the knockout match thanks to a Bradley Wright-Phillips goal in the 90th minute to eliminate Sporting KC. Then they dealt with plenty of tension in the second leg against DC United before Peguy Luyindula scored to give them some breathing room.

Those two players have accounted for all five of the team's playoff goals. Yet, it's the strong play of Thierry Henry that's sparked the late surge. He provided the delivery for Luyindula's deciding tally in the last round, which prompted Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated to highlight the veteran's success:

Though New York's attack seems to be clicking, the back line will be the group in the spotlight in this round. The Revolution are coming off a series that saw them score seven goals over two matches against a Columbus Crew side with a strong defense.

Lee Nguyen has led the charge with 20 goals between the regular season and the playoffs. But it's a deep group that received another weapon in the form of Jermaine Jones. Just like he's often been for the U.S. national team, Jones is a key emotional leader for New England.

Ultimately, the key for the Red Bulls is the first leg at home. They can't let the Revolution score a 4-2 win like they did against Columbus, which is nearly insurmountable given the away-goals rule. As long as they can avoid that, they have a very good chance to advance.

Prediction: Red Bulls 4-3 on aggregate

West: Seattle Sounders vs. Los Angeles Galaxy

Having failed to score on the road, the Galaxy returned home for the second leg of their clash with Real Salt Lake under serious pressure. They alleviated it pretty quickly thanks to goals by Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane, showcasing the championship form of years past.

Donovan ended up scoring a hat trick in the 5-0 win. His career will come to a close whenever Los Angeles' season ends, but he's showing he has a little magic left to provide. He explained to Mike Foss of USA Today that he's always been concerned about the game, even if it didn't show.

"I hope people know how much I cared," Donovan said. "I haven't always comes across as someone who cares publicly, but I think people see how much I care when I play."

That drive was on full display in the second leg. He'll need to put together a few more throwback performances if his side is going to get by fellow national team stalwart Clint Dempsey and the Sounders, which edged FC Dallas in the last round.

Seattle must find a way to get its attack going. It scored just one goal over two matches against Dallas. A more efficient DeAndre Yedlin moving forward along with more involvement for players other than Dempsey, who had six shots compared to eight for everybody else in the last game, is essential.

All told, these two teams had the best attacks in the league during the regular season. If that shines through during the series, this matchup should be highly entertaining. But with the back lines stepping up, the slight edge goes to the more well-rounded Galaxy squad.

Prediction: Galaxy 3-2 on aggregate

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With four teams left in the MLS Cup playoffs, many clubs in the league are now focusing on their offseason strategies. 

January is the preferred time to move for players in the league since they will be on two-months rest and can jump right into the European season to help a club in need. 

We already know DeAndre Yedlin will be heading to Tottenham once the season is over. But we could see a few other stars of the league test their skills overseas as well. 

A reminder here that a few of these players have not been linked with moves to Europe. But they do have the potential to move overseas because of the skill they have shown throughout the 2014 season. 

Here is a look at five players who should give Europe a look during the January window. 

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