As the MLS season rolls into July, the conference standings are becoming tighter and tighter. Here are five things to look forward to as the MLS calendar hits week 18.
Loons Head to Bronx for First Time
Minnesota United FC will travel to upstate New York for the first time in club history this evening.
Though the match marks a special night for Minnesota, road matches have plagued the Loons this season, as the club boasts an unpleasant 0-7-2 record on the road this season.
To make matters worse for Minnesota, NYCFC has been on a tear recently, showing an offensive dominance that has moved the club up to third place in both the Eastern Conference standings and the Week 17 MLS Power Rankings. The Loons will look to put an end to NYCFC’s four-game home unbeaten streak at 6:30 p.m. CT at Yankee Stadium in New York.
Battle for Fifth
In the heart of the Eastern Conference race lies Columbus Crew SC and Atlanta United FC, who are facing off in Columbus this Saturday. Columbus currently is holding off Atlanta by just one point for fifth place in the conference. The last meeting between the two took place in Atlanta on June 17, when Atlanta came away with a 3-1 victory.
Atlanta has won three of its last four matches, and has scored the most goals in MLS with 33. Columbus on the other hand has a record of 3-7-0 in its last 10 games. Despite this rough stretch, Crew SC has come out victorious in three of its last four home games, and wants to build on that success at home during Saturday’s match with Atlanta.
This Eastern Conference battle has the potential to shake up the order of the standings. The match starts at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Injury Bug Bites Timbers
Coming up on a crucial Saturday road match in Kansas City, bad news has struck the Portland Timbers lineup.
Portland midfielder Diego Chara has been ruled out for at least a month with a hamstring injury, while defender Amobi Okugo is out indefinitely with an MCL sprain. To make matters worse for the Timbers, midfielder Darlington Nagbe, who is tied for third on the team in both goals and assists, still remains questionable for this weekend’s match.
The Timbers will need all the power they can get to try and put a halt to Sporting KC’s 17 match home-unbeaten streak. Portland has been able to record the fourth-most goals on the road in MLS this season, but Nagbe’s availability will play a major factor in Portland’s ability to break through the best defensive team in MLS in Kansas City. Kickoff on Saturday at Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Park is at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Battle for Fifth (The Sequel)
Meanwhile out west, the fifth and sixth place teams are also facing off shortly after the Columbus-Atlanta match concludes.
In a Western Conference where third place and eighth place are separated by a mere four points, the middle of the pack could potentially see some shake up. Eerily like the Columbus-Atlanta matchup, the fifth place San Jose Earthquakes and sixth place LA Galaxy are set to square off on Saturday, and are separated by just one point.
The last time the Galaxy made the five-hour trip to San Jose was May 27, when LA was able to return home with a 4-2 victory. The league-wide trend of having difficulty earning three points on the road has not seemed to phase the Galaxy, as they have come out with 4-0-1 record in their last five road matches while outscoring its opponents 12-5. One of the contributors to that goal difference is Jack McBean, whose two goals on the road against Colorado earned him a spot on the MLS Week 17 Team of the Week. The second round of the series is set for a 9:30 p.m. CT kickoff on Facebook Live and Univision.
Critical Sunday
That’s right, yet another match between two teams separated by one point in the standings.
New England Revolution (eighth place, 20 points) heads down to its East Coast rival Philadelphia Union (ninth place, 19 points) for an Eastern Conference duel. The numbers look favorable for the Union to make a jump in the standings, as the Revolution have yet to come out of a road match with a victory this season.
Philadelphia is led by C.J. Sapong, whose eight goals on the season are tied for 11th on the MLS leaderboard. The match kicks off at 4 p.m. CT at Philadelphia’s Talen Energy Stadium on ESPN.
