(Sports Network) - The two finalists for the 2007 Major League Soccer Cup championship - the Houston Dynamo and New England Revolution - meet for the second time in 2008 on Thursday night at Robertson Stadium while sitting atop their respective conference tables. The first meeting - both teams' season openers - saw the Revs dominate the back-to-back defending champs, 3-0, at Gillette Stadium.

That loss set the tone for the beginning of the Dynamo season, where they went winless in their first six before rebounding to lose just once in their past six - going 4-1-1 during that stretch. The Dynamo (4-3-5) currently sit tied at the top of the West with the Los Angeles Galaxy, who have a game in hand.

The Revs, on the other hand, have the league's top record at 7-3-2 and sit atop the East all by themselves after rattling off five wins in their last seven league fixtures. They are also on a five-game unbeaten streak, going 4-0-1 during that span.

Both teams will aim to keep their positive runs of form going without some key players when they meet on Thursday in Houston.

The Dynamo will be without their top attackers - Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario - and their No. 1 goalkeeper - Pat Onstad - because of their participation with their respective national teams in World Cup qualifying.

"I'm 100 percent confident in the talent on the bench, I'm sure they'll get the job done," De Rosario told the league's website. "I hope they're looking forward to Thursday. It's a huge game; it's an ESPN game. I think we owe [the Revolution] something at home, for them beating us at their home at the start of the year."

The Revs will be without influential midfielder Shalrie Joseph, winger Khano Smith and forward Kenny Mansally for the same reason.

"It's very difficult," Revs coach Steve Nicol said of replacing players who are absent on international duty. "We haven't been able to get any cohesion since the start of the season. We've had to make changes pretty much every single game and it is going to happen this week."

The Revs will also be without forward Taylor Twellman again on Thursday. The veteran has made just one appearance so far this season with knee and ankle injuries.

On a positive note, the Dynamo will welcome back central defender Eddie Robinson after he served a suspension for a red card offense, while left back Wade Barrett could see some minutes as he tries to get his fitness back after overcoming an injury.

Regardless of who plays on Thursday, it should be an intense battle, with both teams trying to fight through injuries and weakened lineups to keep pace in their respective conference races.

"It's not just another game," Houston's Richard Mulrooney told the league's website. "We just got back to the top of the West and I would hate to have a setback and then slip out of first place, especially when we worked so hard to get there. Guys are going to have to step it up. This is not the first or last time that we are going to be losing guys to international call-ups."

Game Notes: Revs center back Michael Parkhurst, 24, will become the youngest player in team history to make 100 appearances with the club if, as expected, he plays on Thursday. Defender Jay Heaps, 31, became the first player in team history to make 200 appearances with the club in the Revs' win over FC Dallas last week.







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