There’s a heightened element of intrigue about tonight’s game at Home Depot Center where two teams at opposite ends of the MLS standings meet.

The Columbus Crew (10-3-4) have scored five and conceded no goals in their last two games since an upset 1-0 loss at home to Kansas.

But the Crew haven’t won at Home Depot Center against Chivas USA (4-9-3) in five years and will likely feature a rookie defender in the lineup for a second consecutive game.

Meanwhile, Chivas USA return from an encouraging road draw against defending MLS champion Real Salt Lake that left them undefeated in their last three games.

Chivas USA will likely give home MLS debuts to the returning Paulo Nagamura, midfielder Rodolfo Espinoza and striker Giancarlo Maldonado, while new signing Sal Zizzo out of UCLA could also see his first minutes off the bench.

Goalkeeper Zach Thornton and defender Jonathan Bornstein are both out injured.

In other soccer news:

*More than 50,000 tickets have been sold for the U.S.-Brazil game on Aug. 10 in New York.

*Since the World Cup, the marketing dynamics of Landon Donovan have changed.

*Javier Hernandez scored the opening goal Friday for his old club in a game against his new one in Guadalajara: