Three big storylines

1. What is going on up I-5 in Vancouver? The Whitecaps have somehow fallen below even the Colorado Rapids and now prop up the Western Conference table with 20 points from 22 played. Luckily for the Whitecaps, the Eastern Conference is really bad. Both expansion side Cincinnati FC (17 points from 21 played) and Caleb Porter’s Columbus Crew (18 from 22) are below the Whitecaps in the overall table. The ‘Caps lost midweek 4-0 away at the New England Revolution, which extends their losing streak to four games where they’ve been outscored 14-1. Overall they are on a seven-match winless streak and have not won a game since May.
2. One of the better games on the MLS calendar occurred Friday night, as the LA Galaxy hosted LAFC in a match we have all collectively decided to dub: El Trafico. The stars came out in LA as Carlos Vela extended his league-leading goal tally to 21 goals on the season with a brace. But the star of the night was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who notched a hat trick in the Galaxy’s 3-2 win over their rival. It was only LAFC’s third loss of the season, which leaves them with a nine-point lead over the LA Galaxy in second in the Supporters’ Shield race before Saturday’s games commence.
3. Sunday sees a national TV triple-header with a United versus United matchup as the opener (D.C. at Atlanta version). Atlanta United bounced back from last Sunday’s 2-1 loss in Seattle with a 5-0 thrashing of the Houston Dynamo on Thursday in Atlanta, while D.C. United opened their three-match road trip with a win over FC Cincinnati on Thursday. The second match of the day sees the New York Red Bulls traveling to Orlando City SC. Both teams come into this match after playing a midweek road game. The Red Bulls are going New Jersey to Toronto to Orlando while Orlando has the schedule-maker special: Consecutive weekend home matches sandwiched around a Thursday game 3,000 miles away in Portland. The last match of the triple-header is also the best one, as the Seattle Sounders will be hosting the Portland Timbers (this is not the gamethread for that match).

From a Sounders point of view

A win on Sunday would see the Sounders climb into second place in the Western Conference. Let’s do that.

Since we are planning out results here, let’s cheer for a little love to our neighbors in the north. Hopefully, the Vancouver Whitecaps can blunt what is looking like a surprisingly frisky San Jose Earthquakes team on Saturday night in Vancouver (7 PM, ESPN+).

National TV listings

Atlanta United v D.C. United

Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 PM PT

TV: ESPN

Streaming: Watch ESPN

Orlando City SC v New York Red Bulls

Date/Time: Sunday, 4:30 PM PT

TV: Fox Sports 1

Streaming: Fox Sports Go

Seattle Sounders v Portland Timbers

Date/Time: Sunday, 6:30 PM PT

TV: Fox Sports 1

Streaming: Fox Sports Go

Join the Discussion

This is your Sounder at Heart MLS Week 20 weekend gamethread. Watch with us.