Sporting Kansas City will look to extend their lead atop the Western Conference on Saturday when the club ventures north of the border to face Vancouver Whitecaps FC at 6 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City and FOX Sports Midwest.
But Kansas City soccer fans will have the opportunity to catch even more live action as Major League Soccer presents three nationally broadcast matches in Week 12. Let's jump straight into the action.
D.C. United vs. Chicago Fire | 3 p.m. CT Saturday, Facebook Live & UniMas
Chicago striker Nemanja Nikolic can't stop scoring. The Designated Player has six goals in his last four games, including consecutive braces that saw Chicago (5-3-3, 18 points) earn blowout wins over Seattle and Colorado, and leads the Golden Boot race with 10 goals overall. While the Fire are vastly improved from a year ago, D.C. United (3-5-2, 11 points) is trending in the opposite direction. Ben Olsen's men are losers of two straight and have already dropped three games in the friendly confines of RFK Stadium. Another loss on Saturday would put D.C. firmly behind the eight-ball.
Minnesota United FC vs. LA Galaxy | 4 p.m. CT Sunday, ESPN & ESPN Deportes
The Loons (3-6-2, 11 points) aren't the same team they were back in March. After suffering through an abysmal start to their inaugural season, Minnesota has gone 3-3-1 with wins over Real Salt Lake, Colorado and Sporting KC. Then they nearly snatched a point in Toronto last Saturday, only to suffer a narrow 3-2 loss after equalizing twice. The Galaxy (3-5-2, 11 points) were shambolic for much of April but steadied the ship last Sunday with a dominant 3-1 win at the New York Red Bulls, taking just a bit of pressure off head coach Curt Onalfo.
Orlando City SC vs. New York City FC | 6 p.m. CT Sunday, FS1 & FOX Deportes
Sunday's nightcap features a pair of ambitious teams who entered Major League Soccer together in 2015. The Lions (6-3-2, 20 points) roared to a 6-1-0 start but have gone winless in four since then, though the likes of Kaka, Cyle Larin and Carlos Rivas have remained productive. Patrick Vieira's New York City FC outfit (5-4-2, 17 points) stumbled to a 2-1 loss at Real Salt Lake on Wednesday and will finish the road swing at Orlando's new stadium, where the Lions have yet to lose through six games. David Villa and Jack Harrison came off the bench for the Blues in Utah, but they'll likely reclaim their starting spots on Sunday.
