Who's starting at striker on Wednesday?

UPDATE: This entire point may be moot, the Rapids facebook page announced that Omar Cummings was indeed participating in training this morning. Hope and prey he's all right by game time!

The Colorado Rapids head coach Gary Smith showed in the Real Salt Lake game on Saturday that he is not afraid to keep his recent 4-4-2 formation on the pitch even when one of his two star strikers is out. Assuming the status of Omar Cummings remains doubtful for Wednesday's game against the Philadelphia Union, Smith will find himself in a potentially puzzling situation as he will have neither of them. Conor Casey's yellow card early in the RSL game guaranteed a one game suspension for the Rapids most talented striker and he will be missed in the Union game.

The only definite starter at striker is going to be Macoumba Kandji, who played admirably in his first Rapids start against RSL until being subbed out late for Ross Labeaux. The fact that he has the most talent of any of the strikers on the squad who aren't injured or suspended is not in question. The question of who will start opposite of him in Gary Smith's 4-4-2 formation is up for grabs.

Quincey Amarikwa has the 3rd most minutes of any striker on the squad but hasn't performed very well in the minutes he has been given. Andre Akpan is still a highly unknown commodity, but got plenty of match fitness and experience earlier in the season during his loan to the Tampa Bay FC Rowdies. He has fewer than 20 minutes total of first team football for the Rapids this season. Claudio Lopez could be a dark horse candidate to start as well, as his immense talents have continued to be wasted on the bench for most of the season. Personally, I wouldn't count on it but stranger things have happened.

There is of course a chance that Gary Smith sees the slim pickings he's got at the striker position past his top three (Casey, Cummings, Candji Kandji) and shifts back to the 4-5-1 formation that the Rapids used for most of the season and most recently in the last 30 minutes or so of the Real Salt Lake game. Again though, with the Rapids recent home form I doubt he takes away the formation that has netted them three straight 3-0 victories at The Dick.