There have been plenty of talking points surrounding Major League Soccer this season.
But perhaps the biggest talking points are Inter Miami, Minnesota United, and Columbus Crew. The trio of teams lead MLS in the early stages, with 10 points respectively.
Last season’s Supporters’ Shield winner, FC Cincinnati will host New York City FC. Cincy are seeking a fourth straight win over New York City. The last two times these teams played in Cincinnati, the Blue and Orange won by 1-0 and 3-0 respectively.
NYC are off to a slow start with one win and three losses in four MLS matches. The Sky Blues were held scoreless in two of those four matches.
Cincinnati are unbeaten this season in the league. They took eight points from 12 on offer. So far, Cincy are not a strong scoring team, having tallied a mere four goals. However, the defence allowed just two goals in four games.
Orlando City and Austin FC have faced off just one time previously. That match was played in 2022 and ended in a 2-2 stalemate.
Orlando City started the MLS season in awful form. They will go into the weekend losers of their last three MLS matches. The Lions have been outscored 10-2 this season.
Austin are in similarly awful form. They have not won in four attempts this season. After losing on opening day to Minnesota United 2-1, Austin drew their next three games. They’ve scored just five goals and conceded six times this term.
This weekend will see Los Angeles and Nashville play for just the fourth time in their histories. The previous three meetings were divided into one win, one draw, and one defeat apiece. The last two games between the clubs were low scoring, with under 2.5 goals in each fixture.
Nashville are unbeaten in four matches this season, with six points. They have started sluggishly in front of goal, with five goals scored. The defence allowed just four goals in the opening four games.
Los Angeles are usually in the upper echelons of MLS’s Western Conference. However, this season, the Angels took just four points from the opening four matches. Los Angeles have not won since opening day. They failed to score in their last three fixtures.
San Jose Earthquakes are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions against Seatle Sounders. Last season, the Quakes won both MLS meetings against Seattle by 1-0 and 2-0 scores. Will San Jose win again?
This is a game between the two worst teams in MLS’s Western Conference. San Jose are bottom of the standings with zero points from four games. San Jose were outscored 9-3 across their opening four fixtures.
Seattle Sounders picked up two points from their three games – they’ve played one less match. The Sounders attack was anemic in their opening three games, scoring just two goals. However, the defence didn’t play bad, conceding just three times.