Kick Off: Do or die for KC

Kansas City Wizards captain Davy Arnaud knows that anything but a victory in their final three matches will mean that his team will miss out on the postseason. The mission starts tonight against the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park (8:30 p.m. ET).

Arnaud’s side has at least one thing going for it: The Chicago Fire will be missing a handful of starters for the match and all they have to play for is pride.

Marco Pappa will be one of the absences, joining Guatemala for their international match against Honduras in Los Angeles tonight.

While the Wizards are fighting for their playoff lives, the Seattle Sounders will be fine-tuning their operation for another run at MLS Cup with an exhibition tonight against Mexico’s Chivas de Guadalajara (10 p.m. ET). Despite the fact that the Sounders will field a reserve lineup, there are still more than 40,000 tickets sold for the match.

Attendance may also prove a story line at tonight’s USA vs. Colombia match at PPL Park, with plenty of seats still available.

In the absence of Landon Donovan and with Carlos Bocanegra and Steve Cherundolo flying back to Europe, it will be interesting to see who gets the captain’s armband should goalkeeper Tim Howard not start the match for the USMNT.