Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Sporting Kansas City: Into the Midwest Cauldron

Forget about August being the month from hell. That honor now belongs to September.

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy open a grueling month of matches on Monday, September 5 when they travel to Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas to take on Sporting Kansas City in an important Major League Soccer encounter.

Due to Hurricane Irene postponing the match between the Galaxy and the Red Bulls, teams have been creeping up on Los Angeles, who still lead Major League Soccer with a 14-3-9 record (51 points).

In their last meeting with Sporting, the Galaxy scored a 4-1 victory at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Landon Donovan scored a brace in the 44th and 46th minutes, Juan Pablo Angel added a third in the 64th minute and David Beckham added a fourth in the 87th minute of play.

Donovan, forward Robbie Keane and midfielder Chris Birchall will be unavailable for action, due to international team obligations to the USA, the Republic of Ireland and Trinidad and Tobago, respectively.

Beckham will, however, be available and is expected to wear the captain's armband on Monday night at Livestrong. He currently leads the team in assists with 11 on the season.

Also unavailable for the match is defender Gregg Berhalter, who suffered a broken foot in the CONCACAF Champions League match with L.D. Alajuelense. The Galaxy won that contest 2-0. The injury propels Sean Franklin to the forefront of what is already a thin backline, with Omar Gonzalez, Todd Dunivant and A.J. DeLaGarza holding sway.

Goalkeeper Josh Saunders currently has a 8-2-3 record to go with a 1.06 goals against average, a 75 percent save percentage and 39 saves on the year.

With Keane unavailable, Adam Cristman and Mike Magee are expected to go up top for Bruce Arena's club. Also a possibility to start in the attack in Chad Basrett.

Barrett returned from a long layoff due to an ankle injury and scored in the Galaxy's victory over Alajuelense. Cristman, Barrett and Gonzalez will be Beckham's key targets when making his deliveries off set pieces.

In the midfield, look for Juninho and Miguel Lopez to play an increased role in the buildup for Los Angeles.

Kei Kamara and Omar Bravo form the nucleus of Sporting's attack. Kamara has eight goals on the year, while Bravo has recorded seven. Other key scorers include Graham Zusi and Teal Bunbury, who each have five goals this season.

Zusi and C.J. Sapong are Sporting's main providers, with four assists apiece.

Goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen has an 8-7-8 record to go with a 1.28 GAA, a 68.8 percent save percentage and 64 saves made.

Matt Besler, Roger Espinoza, Michael Harrington and Chance Myers lead a porous Sporting back line that gave up a 2-0 lead en route to a 3-2 defeat at home to FC Dallas. It will be important for the defense to apply the lessons learned from this defeat and hold on to an advantage when they face Los Angeles.

Prediction:
With Keane and Donovan out of the equation, the match should be a bit more defensive. Expect the deficit to be reduced, but should be a Galaxy win when Beckham can find someone. Bravo will most likely take one back.

Los Angeles Galaxy 2, Sporting Kansas City 1

Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.