Three Big Storylines

1. Minnesota United flourished in their five game road trip to start the MLS season and return home with nine points as they open their new stadium on Saturday. By all accounts, Allianz Field is going to be a beautiful addition to MLS. At 19,400 capacity it is on the smaller side of new soccer specific stadiums, but it will surely be sold out for the foreseeable future. Minnesota have chosen to go with a standing-room only supporters section with a capacity of 2,800 that looks particularly great. New York City FC are the chosen opponent for United, and they have yet to notch a win on the season with four draws and a loss in their five games played.
2. Only one team in MLS has a positive goal differential in the double digits. LAFC is crushing people right now, notching 19 goals for and five against in six played on the season. LAFC end MLS Saturday night with a 7:30 kick-off as they host FC Cincinnati in the clubs’ first ever meeting. On the other end of the spectrum, only one team has a negative double digit goal differential. With 15 goals conceded and only five goals scored, the Portland Timbers are suffering a bad start to the 2019 season. The Timbers will be in Texas to play FC Dallas on Saturday.
3. Sunday sees only one game in MLS as Sporting Kansas City are hosting the New York Red Bulls. Sporting are coming into this match after being dumped out of Concacaf Champions League 10-2 on aggregate by Monterrey. Despite the humiliating scoreline their league form has not suffered, as they are unbeaten in four matches with two wins and two draws. The Red Bulls are losers of three in a row and look like a shadow of the team that played so well with a distinct play style in 2018.

From a Sounders Point of View

Home for Toronto FC in a rare Saturday afternoon game followed by next weekend's trip to LAFC will really reveal a lot about this team. It is early in the season, but those three teams and the Houston Dynamo are the only unbeaten teams in MLS. How these next two weekends play out might reveal who is the best team in MLS thus far this season.

National TV Listings

Houston Dynamo v San Jose Earthquakes

Date/Time: Saturday, Noon

TV: Univision

Streaming: Univision Deportes, Twitter MLS Stream of the Week

Minnesota United v New York City FC

Date/Time: Saturday, 2 PM

TV: ESPN 2

Streaming: Watch ESPN

Sporting Kansas City v New York Red Bulls

Date/Time: Sunday, 4 PM

TV: Fox Sports 1

Streaming: Fox Sports Go, Fubo TV (affiliate link)

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