COMMERCE CITY — The Rapids are coming off an encouraging victory over Sporting Kansas City, the team atop the Western Conference standings, but their hopes of building momentum off that result will be complicated by the absence of four first-team defensive players when they host Columbus on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Tim Howard will be in Salt Lake City with the U.S. national team, which is playing Venezuela in a friendly as a warm-up for upcoming World Cup qualifying matches. Center backs Axel Sjoberg and Jared Watts are doubtful with injuries and Bobby Burling was suspended one game by MLS on Tuesday for elbowing SKC’s Benny Feilhaber in the face in last Saturday’s 1-0 victory.