The second season begins when Supporters Shield winners DC United invade Chicago on Thursday night, with the other three ties set to open on Saturday.

CHICAGO v DC UNITED
GAME ONE - THUR 8:30 pm ET (espn2)
The 2007 MLS playoffs kick off on Thursday night when the Chicago Fire hosts the #1 seed in the East, DC United.

The Fire enters the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern conference thanks to a 1-0 win over the Galaxy on the final day of the regular season. That victory extended the Fire's unbeaten streak to eight games. The club's last loss came on September 1st against the Red Bulls.

DC is coming off of a 3-2 loss against the Columbus Crew in a game that had absolutely nothing riding on it. Before the loss, United had been on a 14-game unbeaten streak that extended all the way back to July 22nd. Losing to Columbus would suggest otherwise, but United is in impeccable form heading into the playoffs.

The visitors will be without Josh Gros, who will miss the entire postseason due to head injuries. Rod Dyachenko is questionable with a back injury. Forwards Jaime Moreno and Luciano Emilio were both injured in Saturday's contest, but the pair is probable for Thursday's game.

The Fire could be aided by the return of Ivan Guerrero and Justin Mapp, who are listed as questionable and doubtful, respectively.

The season series between the two squads went to United, who won the first game and tied the other two. The most recent match was a 0-0 tie at RFK.

Key Match-up
As was evidenced by Sunday's game against Los Angeles, the Fire needs someone who can score. Chicago missed chance upon chance until John Thorrington came on and sealed the deal. Paulo Wanchope and Chad Barrett were disappointing, so it looks like the scoring will have to come from either Chris Rolfe - who may be pushed back up to forward - or Thorrington.

The United defense has been stingy all year, so the chances for Chicago will not come as often as they did against the Galaxy. If they can be more clinical with their finishing, the Fire will have a chance in the series. If not, DC should prevail fairly easily.

NEW YORK v NEW ENGLAND
GAME ONE - SAT 7:30 pm ET (FSC)
The second and third seeds in the East will face off in Giants Stadium on Saturday night when the New England Revolution travel to take on the New York Red Bulls.

The Revolution finished the season with 50 points, the second best total in the team's history. Although the season was good as a whole, the Revolution ended the year on a three-game winless streak. Losses against the Fire and the Crew, and a tie against Toronto FC, are anything but inspiring heading into the postseason.

New York has only won a single playoff series since the inception of the MLS. Their recent form does not necessarily suggest that that will change, either. Over the final five games of the year, the Red Bulls tied three, lost one and won one.

While it is not a terrible record, it is not the record one would expect from the third seed in the East.

The Bulls will have to deal with injuries to Kevin Goldthwaite, Claudio Reyna, and Mike Magee. All three are doubts for Saturday's contest.

Other than Joe Franchino, who has been out for an extended period, New England appears to have its full selection of players.

New England won the season series with two wins and a tie. Most recently, on September 22nd, the two clubs played to a 2-2 tie thanks to a late goal from Juan Pablo Angel.

Key Match-up
Claudio Reyna could negate a disappointing season with some good performances in the playoffs. Not to the surprise of his skeptics, Reyna missed nine games with injury and is currently battling a toe knock. If the former US captain can get on the field, he will be a key to New York's success.

Shalrie Joseph, Jeff Larentowicz and Andy Dorman normally dominate the middle of the field when New England plays. Reyna, though, could negate this advantage by controlling the tempo of the match and spreading the ball around the field. New York's other options in the middle, Seth Stammler and Joe Vide, are hard workers and good ball winners, but neither is a traffic director.

FC DALLAS v HOUSTON
GAME ONE - SAT 8:30 pm ET (HD Net)
Texas rivals FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo will do battle at Pizza Hut Park on Saturday night in the first leg of a home-and-home series.

FC Dallas finished the year with 44 points, which was good enough for the third seed in the West. Although the team finished with a winning record, Dallas ended up with a -7 goal differential, the worst of any team in the playoffs. This can be attributed to a shaky defense that gave up 13 goals over the last seven games of the season.

Houston enters the playoffs looking to defend their title from last season. A 0-0 draw against Chivas USA kept the Dynamo from taking first place in the West. Including the tie against Chivas, Houston had three wins, one loss, and one tie in the final five contests. The club's solid late season form coincided with the return of many key players from injury.

Despite having a laundry list of injuries for the majority of the season, Houston now appears to be in full health. Ricardo Clark will be the only player missing as he is still serving his suspension for the incident with Carlos Ruiz.

Roberto Mina is out for Dallas with a knee injury. A knee injury has also put Marcelo Saragosa's status in doubt.

Houston won three of the four meetings between the sides this season, while the other match was a tie. Their last meeting resulted in a 1-0 victory for Houston.

Key Match-up
With the defensive woes for the Hoops, the Dallas attack may end up having to try to keep pace with the Houston attack. For this to happen, Carlos Ruiz, Kenny Cooper and Abe Thompson will have to be on their games.

The Houston defense, though, has been the best in the league. Led by Eddie Robinson, the Houston backline surrendered a league-low 23 goals in 30 matches. With the Ricardo Clark incident surely fresh on every Dynamo player's mind, look for the Houston back four to be as physical and air-tight as ever.

KANSAS CITY v CHIVAS USA
GAME ONE - SAT 8:00 pm ET (Direct Kick)
The Kansas City Wizards will make their way over to the Western side of the playoff bracket when they host Chivas USA on Saturday.

Kansas City finished in fifth in the East, but still made the playoffs due to a rule change that ensures the best eight teams in the league make the postseason. Since they finished in fifth, Kansas City was shifted into the West bracket and seeded fourth. The Wizards made a meal out of clinching a playoff spot by going 1-3-1 in the last five games of the season.

Under new head coach Preki, Chivas USA enjoyed the best season of the club's three-year existence. The goats attained 53 points, which were enough to finish as the top team in the Western Conference. Although they are the #1 seed, Chivas has struggled a bit in its last five games. They finished the season with one win, one loss and three ties.

Ante Razov is the only injury for Chivas, and he will miss the entire postseason due to a knee injury.

Scott Sealy has an injured quadriceps and Eloy Colombano is nursing a hamstring injury for Kansas City. The status of both players is uncertain for Saturday.

The two clubs split the season series, with each team winning once. The most recent encounter, on September 22nd, saw Chivas prevail 2-1.

Key Match-up
The injury to Ante Razov could potentially be devastating for the Goats. For the entire season, Chivas had been the most balanced team in the league, but now there are question marks surrounding their ability to score. Maykel Galindo scored 12 goals in the regular season, but who will help take the full load off his shoulders?

Kansas City's defense, despite having some big names, has been porous during the regular season. They have conceded 45 goals, which are tied for the most any playoff team, but the injury to Razov appears to have made their job easier.