The Los Angeles Galaxy remain the only unbeaten home team in MLS, and their chances of staying that way should be bolstered by the return of two key players.
Robbie Keane and Chris Birchall are expected to play for the league-best Galaxy on Friday night when they host the Colorado Rapids.
Los Angeles (14-3-10) is looking to improve upon an 8-0-5 home record as it welcomes back Keane and Birchall. Both missed Monday's 2-2 tie at Kansas City due to international duty - Keane with Ireland and Birchall with Trinidad and Tobago.
Keane scored in his Galaxy debut Aug. 20 in a 2-0 win over San Jose. His return will likely push Chad Barrett to the bench.
Sean Franklin scored twice Monday for the Galaxy, who twice blew leads and conceded two goals in a match for the first time since June 11.
"We did a lousy job over the last 15 minutes of the game. No excuses," coach Bruce Arena said. "Our most experienced players were making lousy plays and we almost lost the game."
David Beckham recorded his 12th assist on Franklin's second goal, leaving him one behind Houston's Brad Davis for the league lead. He's the sixth player in club history to notch at least 12 assists.
"We had the majority of the play in the game, had the majority of the chances," Beckham said. "But we also gave too many balls away, gave too many restarts. When you do that against a team that's pretty good in the air, it causes problems."
Los Angeles leads Seattle by four points in the race for the Supporters' Shield.
"It's absolutely good to have someone breathing down your neck," defender Todd Dunivant told the Galaxy's official website. "We don't have a lot of room for error."
Colorado (10-7-11) sits in second place in the wild-card standings, leaving the defending MLS Cup champions in comfortable shape to return to the playoffs. That will factor into how Rapids coach Gary Smith approaches a busy stretch that includes matches in the CONCACAF Champions League.
Smith will be without defender Drew Moor, suspended due to yellow card accumulation. Moor's MLS-record of 69 straight matches in which he logged the full 90 minutes for an outfield player will come to an end.
"He's such a versatile individual, and it means I have to change some of my thoughts, and it means that another body has to come in and get the job done," Smith told the league's official website. "It will be very strange and we will miss him because he's been such a big part of the successes we have had."
Left back Anthony Wallace is also out with a knee injury for Colorado, which had a six-game unbeaten streak end with a 2-0 loss at Chicago on Aug. 27 in its last match.
The Galaxy won 3-1 at Colorado on June 18 despite playing without Landon Donovan, currently second in MLS with 11 goals.
