Soccer
It’s Matchday 35. You’re welcome. Check out the full schedule here.
Just a few more matchdays left. Here’s what we’re watching for this weekend.
Can the Hudson River Derby wake up the New Yorks?
Do I even lay out the stats for the New York teams again? At this point, all I have left is saying the same stats and framing them in slightly different ways. So, I guess I’ll tell you these two teams have combined for four wins over their last 28 MLS matches.
Maybe, just maybe, the most important game of their seasons can bring out the teams we remember from the start of the season. The Red Bulls enter this one (somehow still) in fourth place on 44 points. NYCFC are in seventh place on 41 points. There’s still a real chance both of these teams finish in the fourth and fifth spots in the East and that home-field advantage could be key in a Round One subway series. Regardless of who they’re matched up against, both teams are playing for a home playoff spot and to avoid facing one of the East’s big three. Even if it weren’t a rivalry game, this one would have big stakes.
Despite all their struggles, there’s at least good news for the Red Bulls. DP attacker Emil Forsberg is set to return to the matchday squad. You can make a direct line between Forsberg’s injury and New York’s terrible string of results. They desperately need someone to convert chances. Forsberg has to be that guy. He can be that guy. Now we just have to wait and see how long it takes him to get back to 100%.
LAFC fight through the hangover
LAFC finally broke their string of four-straight losses in trophy games in Wednesday’’s US Open Cup Final. That’s great news. It’s a weight off their shoulders. It’s another piece of silverware to put with the 2022 MLS Cup and 2019 and 2022 Supporters’ Shields.
But there are probably a few things we should note. First and foremost, regardless of it being a final, a win against 2024 Sporting KC isn’t a reason to believe they’ve turned the corner on a five-game winless streak in MLS. The second note is it took them a while to get it together against SKC. They needed two stoppage-time goals to get the job done. They’ve won in regulation just once in their last eight games.
Now they have to recover quickly from celebrating on Wednesday night if they want to get back on track in MLS. A cross-country trip to FC Cincinnati doesn’t seem like ideal circumstances for that. They’ll be dealing with tired legs and travel fatigue in addition to having to handle Lucho Acosta and Cincinnati. They could easily end the night out of a home playoff spot.
As of now, they’re still going to be the favorites to make it to MLS Cup out of the West. But bad form and multiple road games in the playoffs could change that thinking in a hurry.
Charlotte are the last hope for an interesting Shield race
It all comes down to Charlotte.
Well, kind of. There will still be a couple of opportunities for Inter Miami to slip up. And, of course, if they beat Columbus next week it will be over anyway.
But for narrative purposes… IT ALL. COMES DOWN. TO CHARLOTTE.
If Charlotte can take points off Inter Miami tonight, Columbus have a real chance at getting back in this. If Charlotte don’t grab a point or three, then all Miami really have to worry about is handling Toronto and New England. All due respect to those two teams, but they’re not due that much respect as a viable threat to take points off of Inter Miami.
So, yeah, Charlotte are the team that can make this interesting. They came up just short of taking a point the last time they faced the Herons when Benjamin Cremaschi scored a winner in the 86th minute. Charlotte have added some firepower now, though, and are still playing respectable defense. They’ll need something special from either one of their three DPs or striker Patrick Agyemang to really make this interesting, but they should be able to at least keep things tight if they’re at their best defensively.
That’s a lot of ifs. Don’t hold your breath here. It’s MLS though. You never know.
Two six-pointers in the West
Lastly, you should save some energy for the late-night matchups in the West. Seattle host Houston and Vancouver host Portland at 10:30 pm ET. I shouldn’t have to sell these too much. You should know by now about the mess in the middle of the West. All four of these teams are right in the thick of it. Their results tonight may shape the entire playoff picture.
Houston, Seattle and Vancouver could all be in a home playoff spot by the end of the night. Portland could finally escape a Wild Card spot if things go their way. My best guess is whatever timeline makes this all a little more cluttered by the end of the day will be the timeline we end up in. The West’s gravity in the center is incredibly strong.
- The Crew visited the White House to celebrate their MLS Cup win.
- St. Louis CITY SC are laying the foundation for 2025.
- Here’s how each 2025 Concacaf Champions team qualified.
- Take a look at how Matchday 35’s games will impact the playoff race.
- Schuyler Redpath has your MLS Fantasy Round 28 positional rankings and Pick’em advice.
Good luck out there. Visit national landmarks from time to time.
