Thursday night sets up quite nicely for MLS fans: Beginning at 8 pm ET, ESPN will air an MLS doubleheader block that’s over four hours long.
Beginning with a duel between 2015 expansion sides and the eagerly anticipated second installment of El Trafico, here’s what’s on tap:
NYCFC look to continue winning streak(s)
Two teams inextricably linked after entering the league together as expansion teams in 2015 will face off in a Week 22 match with important points on the line.
Orlando City, still in search of their first-ever MLS playoff appearance (NYCFC have qualified two years running), enter Thursday's match six points below the playoff line (22pts), while NYCFC (40pts) want to keep pace with local rivals NY Red Bulls near the top of the Eastern Conference (8pm ET | TV & streaming info).
NYCFC have held recent dominance over the Lions, winning each of the last three matches by a combined 8-0 score. They also come into the game riding a three-game winning streak in league play, a run mostly spent without injured attacking trio David Villa, Jo Inge Berget and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi. Each player returned to training this week, though head coach Domenec Torrent hasn't committed to featuring them against Orlando.
El Trafico: Act II
A candidate for best match of the year, the inaugural El Trafico in March will be a tough match to follow, as the rivalry moves to Banc of California Stadium for the first time. The stakes will be raised on Thursday night with direct playoff implications, as LAFC (35pts) sit second in the Western Conference with the Galaxy (31pts) in hot pursuit in fourth (10:30pm ET | TV & streaming info).
Since the Galaxy’s 4-3 win over LAFC in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s magical MLS debut, both teams have improved and evolved. The last time the Galaxy defenders saw Bob Bradley’s attack, neither Adama Diomande (9 goals in 9 matches) nor Lee Nguyen were in black and gold yet.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy look much more like the side that scored four unanswered goals against LAFC in that first derby than the one that lost five of six matches across April and May. Ibrahimovic is fully settled and has scored 9 goals in his last 6 starts, as manager Sigi Schmid has found the optimal formations to fit his roster.
