Previewing the best matches for Matchday 13 in MLS

It's a juicy slate of midweek action for Matchday 13 as we hit the home stretch before the World Cup break.

Here are the best matches and biggest storylines I'll be tracking when the midweek matches get underway ahead of another full slate on the weekend.

Real Salt Lake vs. Houston Dynamo FC

6:30 pm PT | Apple TV | America First Field

What to watch: Is the regression monster coming for RSL? Are the Dynamo actually improving, or were they just taking advantage of a hungover opponent?

RSL deservedly drew a lot of praise for their red-hot start to the season, but they've quietly started to struggle over the past few weeks. They've lost three out of their last four games, including a loss against a not-very-good LA Galaxy side. The mini-slide has them down to sixth in the Western Conference with 19 points (1.73 points per game), which is still good, but not the Supporters' Shield clip they were on to start the year.

Conversely, Houston's stock is on the rise coming into this matchup. They're flying high after smoking an admittedly hungover LAFC 4-1 on the road. Jack McGlynn was scoring golazos. Guilherme looked like an MVP candidate. Mateusz Bogusz looks like he's getting going. The Dynamo finally looked like the team I predicted as a potential dark horse before the season started. At the very least, they seem to be finding their stride offensively.

This matchup should give us a better idea of where things stand for a pair of Western Conference hopefuls.

St. Louis CITY SC vs. LAFC

5:30 pm PT | Apple TV | Energizer Park

What to watch: How hungover is LAFC?

It's not debatable that LAFC are hungover after watching that match against Houston. The only question now is exactly how long it's going to linger. And as we all famously know from 2022, the CCC hangover sometimes never wears off. We've seen it derail entire seasons.

Is that the fate that's going to befall LAFC? Their top-end talent is such that I would put money on them figuring it out and course-correcting eventually, but they've at least opened themselves up to the question with their recent form.

This matchup at St. Louis is going to be a good test of how badly they're going to suffer in the short term. This St. Louis team is in 14th place and averaging less than 1 point per game. If LAFC struggles or loses at Energizer Park, they'll be in danger of going on Downfall Watch.

Seattle Sounders vs. San Jose Earthquakes

6:30 pm PT | Apple TV | Lumen Field

What to watch: Who can snap out of their funk?

This is a matchup between two heavyweights on paper, but both are limping a bit going into this contest. Seattle's attack has sputtered over the last two weeks, scoring just two combined goals across 1-1 draws with a historically bad Sporting KC side and a not-very-good San Diego side. Their task between now and the World Cup break is to show that this stretch is a blip on the radar, not an emerging trend.

San Jose hung on for dear life to survive their 1-1 draw at Vancouver over the weekend, and are playing without star No. 10 Niko Tsakiris and marquee offseason acquisition Timo Werner. After the Vancouver match, Bruce Arena admitted that his team is essentially in survival mode due to the injuries and fixture congestion. If they get a second straight road result against a Cascadia opponent, it'd just be more confirmation that this Quakes team isn't going anywhere as a Supporters' Shield and Western Conference frontrunner.

FC Cincinnati vs. Inter Miami CF

4:30 pm PT | Apple TV | TQL Stadium

What to watch: Is Inter Miami actually bouncing back?

After their meltdown vs. Orlando City and being officially placed on Downfall Watch last week, Inter Miami responded with a badly needed win at Toronto FC, beating the Reds 4-2 and generally looking much more like Inter Miami. It offers them a temporary respite, but this is still a team that's winless in four matches at their brand new stadium and sitting in third place with a +5 goal differential despite having the most loaded roster in MLS history. They'll need to string together a few more positive results before we can take them off Downfall Watch and declare them fully out of the woods.

FC Cincinnati have struggled this year and are just sixth on the East table, but they still have the dynamic duo of Evander and Kevin Denkey, each of whom found the net last weekend against Charlotte and are talented enough to give plenty of trouble to a leaky Inter Miami defense. It could lead to some fireworks at TQL Stadium.

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