In a league where parity and the unexpected reign supreme on most weekends, making bold predictions for a set of Major League Soccer games can be difficult at times. 

With pressure growing by the week for each team in the playoff race to succeed, there are bound to be some unexpected results put in by the teams further down the standings. 

With that being said, this week's set of bold predictions involve some of the league's bottom feeders that are taking on the hierarchy of the league. 

Continue reading on for a look at our six bold predictions for the MLS weekend. 

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Major League Soccer is coming off a week in which most of the star attackers in the league found themselves in the spotlight.

That trend could continue into this weekend thanks to plenty of favorable matchups, but the respective hot streaks of the stars could also be halted by some surprising defensive play. 

Outside of the scoring threats, there are also a few midfield battles that could shape a few results across the league.

Continue reading on for a look at the 10 key battles that will shape the latest weekend of play in MLS. 

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Bradley Wright-Phillips has had to deal with various struggles during his career such as disciplinary issues and serious injuries. The New York Red Bulls striker has put that behind him with his 20th MLS goal of the season against the Montreal Impact.

No other Red Bulls player has scored as many as Wright-Phillips in one season, a record the Englishman broke on Saturday. He's now leading the Golden Boot race by four goals.

While in England, Wright-Phillips had some problems off the pitch. Both he and former Southampton teammate Nathan Dyer were charged with burglary in 2008. Dyer was sentenced, while his accomplice was acquitted. A year later, Wright-Phillips was accused of assaulting a Saints supporter. 

Wright-Phillips' problems extended to the pitch. He started just once in the Premier League with his previous club, Manchester City. In three seasons with Southampton in the Championship, he scored 23 goals in 112 league appearances.

Wright-Phillips didn't fare much better at Plymouth Argyle after being released by the Saints. He struggled with injury, but when he did play he was a lethal forward.

In 2010/11, Wright-Phillips had 13 goals in 17 games in League One but was sold to Charlton a few weeks later. It looked like the Man City youth product wasn't going to soar to new heights.

All that changed when the Red Bulls signed him last summer. He contributed two goals in nine appearances in the regular season and playoffs during his shortened first campaign in MLS.

This year was an unexpected turnaround for Wright-Phillips. He became the first Englishman to score a hat trick in the league's history.

He didn't stop there. His 18 goals eventually led to a selection to the MLS All-Star team to face Bayern Munich in Portland. Wright-Phillips scored the eventual winner in a 2-1 victory for the All-Stars. That performance led to the forward being linked to a future England call-up, per Keith Hickey of Goal.com.

Wright-Phillips has denied those claims outright, but his campaign has been extraordinary. He has never had this kind of individual success in his professional career, so he's proven that it's possible to be a late bloomer.

His ability to make runs and get into position in order to finish chances is unmatched. Wright-Phillips also has a lot of pace, which goes unnoticed at times. 

The Red Bulls sit precariously in the MLS standings. New York is in fifth place but lie only a point above the red line for the final playoff spot. If it wasn't for Wright-Phillips' exploits, the club would be in a much lower position.

Regardless of what happens to the Red Bulls this year, Wright-Phillips' season should go on record as being exceptional.    

Wright-Phillips has proven that sometimes all a player needs to excel is a fresh start and some confidence from his team. The Englishman certainly received that from New York, and everyone was surprised and thrilled by his sudden breakout.

Maybe other clubs will look at troubled players with talent and perhaps take a chance that the individual can turn it around with discipline and a change of scenery. Once trust is gained, encouragement does go a long way.

Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke has taken this philosophy and applied it to his star striker. It's paying dividends that could continue into the postseason.

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Everywhere you turned in Major League Soccer this week, a star was putting on a memorable performance. 

From Thierry Henry and Bradley Wright-Phillips in New York to Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan in LA, and everywhere in between, there was no shortage of star power in Week 24. 

Thanks to the output from the league's best, the competition for the top spot in the MLS Player Power Rankings was the tightest in weeks. 

Continue reading on to see who ranks atop the list of the best 20 players in MLS. 

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Clint Dempsey's scintillating form continued on Major League Soccer's biggest stage on Sunday: The Great Northwest Derby. 

The Seattle Sounders superstar clinically squeezed a shot past Portland goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts to give the Sounders a 2-0 lead over their fierce rival. 

The goal was set up by a lung-busting run on the counterattack from Obafemi Martins. 

[Major League Soccer]

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It was another wild week of action in Major League Soccer with a series of surprising results, including FC Dallas’ win over Real Salt Lake, D.C. United’s thrashing of Sporting KC and the Seattle Sounders taking it to the Timbers in Portland.

There was plenty of action off the field as well with the Jermaine Jones signing topping the news, as well as some key injuries for the Colorado Rapids.

Check out all that and more in this week’s MLS wrap.

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In an electric and surprising set of games this weekend, Major League Soccer did not disappoint the fans of the league—unless you're a fan of Chicago and wanted Jermaine Jones. 

Other than that one major off-the-field story, which opened the league up to a load of criticism, MLS enjoyed a great week with almost every big star showing up in their respective games. 

Since only three games were decided by one goal or less, there were plenty of winners and losers from Week 24. 

Continue reading on for the complete list of winners and losers from Week 24, unless you're a Fire supporter—the first slide might cause you to go berserk for the 1,000th time since the Jones decision was announced. 

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If you turned away from a Major League Soccer game for just one second this weekend, you may have missed something. 

The latest round of MLS action saw all the big stars shine on a weekend when spectacular goals were a regular occurrence. 

Because of all the terrific attacking performances, our MLS Team of the Week is lined up in a 3-4-3 formation. 

Continue reading to see which players found their way into the best XI from the weekend's action. 

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The MLS is set to welcome yet another Team USA standout. Thanks to a blind draw conducted by the league, the New England Revolution have signed midfielder Jermaine Jones.    

The team's official Twitter feed confirmed the news:

Jones, who previously played for Bundesliga side Schalke 04 before a short-lived stint with Besiktas in Turkey, discussed the move, via press release on the Revolution's website:

I’m very excited to come to MLS and join the Revolution. New England is an exciting team on the rise, and I believe I can come in and help the team make a push toward MLS Cup. Playing with the U.S. National Team has given me a great connection with the American fans and I’m looking forward to playing in front of them every weekend. I’m ready to get started with the Revs.

ESPN's Jeff Carlisle added some intriguing details about the transfer: 

The Revs and Chicago Fire both had the available funds and an open designated player spot for Jones, which led to a blind draw between the two clubs. It seems like a highly questionable process to decide the 32-year-old's future, but New England will take it. 

Jones was born in Germany and represented Die Mannschaft at both the under-21 and national-team levels, but he was still eligible to join the United States and made his debut for the Red, White and Blue in 2010. Although he struggled with inconsistency at times, the defensive midfielder turned into a star in Brazil. 

Serving as a box-to-box midfielder, he displayed a high work rate, made tackles all over the field and fired home one of the best goals of the World Cup against Portugal:

MLSSoccer.com's Matthew Doyle talked about what he would bring to New England:

Jones is not a No. 6, even if he tackles like one. He's going to roam all over the field chasing the ball, acting as a No. 8, and that means the Revs are going to have that physical presence they've been missing - someone whose first job is making the opponent struggle playing through the most profitable parts of the field.

The Revs, who currently sit one point behind the New York Red Bulls for fifth place in the East, are now a very strong bet to make the playoffs. 

As for MLS in general, this is yet another win for the burgeoning league, which continues to bring in talented players capable of captivating a growing audience. 

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As the playoff push rolls on, there are bound to be a few surprising results across Major League Soccer. 

While surprising results are nothing new to the league, there are a few shocking predictions that some may not be willing to make about the upcoming matches this weekend. 

That is exactly what this article is for, as we make six bold predictions about what will occur over the next three days in nine games across MLS. 

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