Los Angeles will begin the MLS Cup as the favorite but there are a number of reasons for Real Salt Lake fans to believe it will be they who are celebrating on Sunday night.

First of all, recent form is on the side of Jason Kreis' team, which tied 2-2 with the Galaxy in May before winning 2-0, at the Home Depot Center, five weeks later. Moreover, as he constructs his game plan for this weekend, RSL's impressive young manager can glean information from his team's performances in those two games that could be very useful.

In both encounters, Los Angeles struggled to contain Salt Lake's pace up front. While Robbie Findley has shone in the postseason, it was the threat of Yura Movsisyan on the break that was a bigger factor when these sides met previously, most notably in the June win when, having been released by a ball from midfield, he beat Gregg Berhalter one-on-one before firing past Donovan Ricketts.

Also interesting to note, when watching these regular season games, was RSL's success from set pieces. Findley scored from a corner in the sides' draw and Nat Borchers found the net at the Home Depot Center after the Galaxy failed to clear a corner properly.

While its opponent will draw comfort from regular season battles, it is likely that L.A. will pay less attention to what has gone before. For example, David Beckham played in neither match, while Landon Donovan also was unavailable for the latter encounter. Given that dearth of creativity, the Galaxy's attacking issues -- just one of their goals came from open play -- are more understandable.

Thus, Los Angeles has more of an element of the unknown and this is another reason I expect this to be a cagey affair if there is no early goal. As it has done throughout its postseason run, Salt Lake will want to play on the counterattack while the Galaxy will seek to avoid exposure at the back to set a platform on which their stars can work.

Neither team lost this season when scoring first but both have shown an ability to recover from falling behind in the playoffs. Given its remarkable run, Salt Lake should have no fear but, like New York last year, I feel that it will fall just short.

With its star duo in tandem, the Los Angeles of the present is a significantly better team than that which turned out against Salt Lake earlier this year. Bruce Arena's side has a little more quality and experience, both on the field and the sideline and, if its backline can get to grips with the opposing strikers, should justify its favorite tag.

A thing that made me go hmmm

What have you made of the playoffs to date? Personally, while there have been some fascinating moments, I have been somewhat disappointed by the lack of a sustained "wow" factor.

The most thrilling game was Real Salt Lake's 3-2 comeback win over Columbus (after trailing 2-0), while Chicago's series against New England was one of the more compelling tactical battles. Overall, though, defenses have been on top and the quality of attacking play has been lacking.

Although a paucity of goals does not automatically diminish entertainment, in the case of this postseason, an average to date of 1.9 per game is reflective of a lack of true excitement. Over the past six seasons, only once -- in 2007 when just 16 goals were scored through the first two rounds -- has the total at this stage been below 20.

Furthermore, in only two of the 10 games played this postseason have both teams scored, which makes me think that it is time to tinker with the playoff system. The most obvious change would be to incorporate the away goals rule (where a goal scored on the road counts effectively as double), a move that would encourage road teams especially to adopt a more offensive mindset away from home.

One thing that has been pleasing is the lack of playoff red cards, with just one -- to Seattle's James Riley -- having been shown so far. That number is a happy contrast with the regular season, in which a player was sent off every 2.81 matches. Here's hoping for a continuation of that on Sunday, with an end-to-end game mixed in.

Good luck, young man

By the time you read this, one of the more eagerly awaited national team debuts for some time may already have taken place in Denmark, where Edgar Castillo was expected to don the colors of the U.S. for the first time.

Although Jonathan Bornstein has been improved at left back recently, there is no doubt that the position remains up for grabs and, with plenty of time remaining before a World Cup squad has to be picked, Castillo has a great opportunity to claim a place on the plane to South Africa.

Should Castillo impress, it will be another defensive positive for Bob Bradley after Jonathan Spector did well in a central role against Slovakia. Spector's versatility makes him a shoo-in for South Africa and, with questions remaining over Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit, continued good form may make the West Ham man a first-choice selection at the back.