With Major League Soccer's SuperDraft set for Thursday and the start of the Crew's preseason eight days later, the roster will sit at 29 players upon receipt of Michael Parkhurst's International Transfer Certificate.

So without seeing any of these guys even standing on a field together – much less doing anything soccer-related – now seems a perfect time to begin projecting what the lineup might look like when the Crew opens the season on the road March 8 against D.C. United.

With Major League Soccer�s SuperDraft set for Thursday and the start of the Crew�s preseason eight days later, the roster will sit at 29 players upon receipt of Michael Parkhurst�s International Transfer Certificate.

So without seeing any of these guys even standing on a field together – much less doing anything soccer-related – now seems a perfect time to begin projecting what the lineup might look like when the Crew opens the season on the road March 8 against D.C. United.

First, here are the 29 guys on the roster as grouped by position:

Goalkeepers (4): Steve Clark, Matt Lampson, Brad Stuver, Daniel Withrow

Defenders (9): Chad Barson, Waylon Francis, Ross Friedman, Eric Gehrig, Michael Parkhurst, Agustin Viana, Tyson Wahl, Matt Wiet, Josh Williams

Midfielders (11): Bernardo Anor, Ethan Finlay, Kevan George, Hector Jimenez, Justin Meram, Daniel Paladini, Shawn Sloan, Ben Speas, Tony Tchani, Wil Trapp, Matt Walker

Forwards (5): Jairo Arrieta, Ryan Finley, Federico Higuain, Dominic Oduro, Aaron Schoenfeld

Here�s how it could play out�

Goalkeeper

This is a competition between Clark and Lampson, one that could last most of the season. My sense is that although coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter has spoken about the upside of the team�s young goalkeeping corps including Lampson, he would not have made a move to bring Clark in unless he felt Lampson was not ready for the full-time job.

I continue to believe that Lampson will grow into the full-time role, but for now I�m expecting Berhalter to go with Clark. For now. And either Stuver or Withrow – probably Stuver – will be loaned to Dayton for the season.

Projected starter: Steve Clark

Defense

Talk about a position that will look different than it did when the season ended. Let�s start with what figure to be locks in the lineup: Parkhurst and Williams. Berhalter made it a point to bring Williams back after he ended the year out of contract and has spoken about the upside that should come with giving the athletic Williams one position and only one position instead of shuffling him around like previous regimes have done.

I had expected Williams to play on the right side of the central defense, but now that role figures to be Parkhurst�s. Berhalter told me he likes the fact that Parkhurst can also play right back, but I think his main role will be as a central defender. As a result, I�m guessing that we see Williams on the left and Parkhurst on the right.

So who plays outside? I�m still not convinced that they are sold on Barson as the full-time right back, but he�s got to be the top guy there at this moment. I�d pencil him in there.

On the left, Waylon Francis was essentially a Brian Bliss signing but one that still seems to fit into what Berhalter wants from his outside backs. The Crew got one assist from the position last season, and talk is that Francis is the latest candidate to get a chance to stake claim to that left back spot. Both outside back positions are far from set, but this is where I see it as of today.

Projected starters, left to right: Waylon Francis, Josh Williams, Michael Parkhurst, Chad Barson

Midfield

This is where things really get tricky because I�m not exactly sure what type of formation Berhalter is hoping to deploy. For now, I�m going to assume we see the Crew use one defensive midfielder, two wingers and a central midfielder. This could very well change, but let�s use it as a baseline for our predictions.

To me, Trapp is a sure thing to put in the starting lineup. He had an impressive rookie season despite some struggles down the stretch – particularly against Real Salt Lake – but he�s poised for a breakout year. He�s my guess for defensive midfielder.

It�s difficult to project who will play on the wings right now because there are so many options. We�ve seen Anor, Finlay, Meram, Oduro and Speas all play out wide and Jimenez comes from Los Angeles as an outside midfielder, so which two will see the field?

I�m penciling Oduro in at forward, which I�ll discuss in the next section, so I�m excluding him from the midfield conversation. Given the number of players here, I think the Crew needs Oduro more up top.

Berhalter said he has been following Jimenez for a long time and that he stretches defenses vertically more from the right side but tucks inside and combines more with teammates when he�s on the left. Paladini could benefit from a change of scenery.

What of the returning guys? Anor, Speas, Finlay and Meram have had their flashes of success but now need to prove they can contribute on a consistent basis. For this reason, I think just one of them earns a starting spot. I�m giving the early edge to Speas on the left because this feels like a make-or-break preseason for him and Jimenez on the right. That said, expect liberal substitutions here because Finlay and Meram have both shown that they deserve to play.

As for Anor, I think he plays centrally. He looked sharp when given the chance to play underneath Higuain last season and, to me, provides more upside than Tchani.

This also means I don�t have Agustin Viana in my projected starting lineup even though he was one of four players with a guaranteed 2014 contract. Viana will still play a significant role this season, but I don�t see him fitting into the midfield with the emergence of Trapp. Unless, of course, the Crew goes back to playing with two defensive midfielders.

Projected starters: Hector Jimenez, Wil Trapp, Bernardo Anor, Ben Speas

Forward

This is the easiest position to predict as of this moment. When you draw up how this team will play, it starts and ends with Higuain. Is he a withdrawn forward? Is he a playmaking central midfielder? Is he a goal scorer?

Yes, yes, and yes. But for the sake of simplicity, I�m putting Higuain as the team�s withdrawn forward.

As for the other spot�the Crew did re-sign Arrieta, but after a wholly disappointing 2013 season I can�t see giving him a starting spot right out of the chute. That role has to go to Oduro, who earned himself a bigger paycheck and a chance to play his preferred forward position. The only way I see this changing is if the Crew finds another proven scorer to put up top that would allow the team to put Oduro on the right wing, where he can use his pace to stretch defenses.

I expect to see at least one new face added to this group before the season starts.

Projected starters: Federico Higuain and Dominic Oduro

Also in the 18: Lampson, Viana, Wahl, Finlay, Meram, Paladini, Arrieta.

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy