The MLS regular season is back after a month-long break for the MLS All-Star Game presented by Target and Leagues Cup. But teams are hardly picking up right where they left off.
Since the last regular-season Matchday on July 15, clubs have had more than two more weeks to add pieces during the Secondary Transfer Window (which ended Aug. 2) and an entire 47-team, multi-league tournament to gain (or lose) momentum.
Case in point: Nashville entered the break having lost five of their last six and asking some tough questions of themselves. Miami entered it on an 11-game winless streak and rocking the worst record in MLS.
Now they're both in the Leagues Cup Final on Saturday (9 pm ET | MLS Season Pass), one day before Sunday's 11-game MLS slate. Crazy what a summer (sort of) break can do.
The Inter Miami vs. Charlotte FC game has been postponed due to the aforementioned Leagues Cup Final. FC Dallas, Sporting Kansas City, Nashville SC, New England Revolution and Philadelphia Union aren't playing MLS games either.
When pulling up MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, here's how to navigate the options:
- Apple TV - Free = games are free to watch; you only need an Apple ID.
- Apple TV - MLS Season Pass = an MLS Season Pass subscription is required.
- Tune into the MLS 360 whip-around show for live look-ins and analysis of every match's key moments.
- MLS Countdown is your lead-in, and MLS Wrap-Up comes at night's end.
Columbus Crew vs. FC Cincinnati
- WATCH: Apple TV - Free, FS1 | Sunday, 7:30 pm ET
Hell is Real! And so are the postseason implications of this heated all-Ohio derby. The Supporters' Shield is currently Cincinnati's to lose, with an eight-point lead on the pack. But the Orange & Blue have cooled (if only just a little) of late, exiting Leagues Cup in a Round-of-32 PK loss to eventual finalists Nashville SC.
A win over the surging Crew – who lost Lucas Zelerayán in the summer transfer window but added Julian Gressel, Diego Rossi and Rudy Camacho – may not mathematically lock up the Supporters' Shield, but it would make them awfully hard to catch.
New York Red Bulls vs. D.C. United
- WATCH: Apple TV - Free | Sunday, 7:30 pm ET
The Red Bulls technically went undefeated (in regular time at least) in four Leagues Cup games – a marked improvement on their regular-season form, which has them in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and in danger of breaking the longest consecutive playoff streak in MLS.
A matchup against D.C. United, who currently hold the Eastern Conference's ninth and final playoff spot, could be a major momentum shifter for either side. Both bolstered their roster in the Secondary Transfer Window, with D.C. United midfielder Gabriel Pirani (acquired on loan from Brazil's Santos as a de-facto Lewis O'Brien replacement) headlining the additions.
New York City FC vs. Minnesota United FC
- WATCH: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass | Sunday, 7:30 pm ET
Both NYCFC and MNUFC are on the outside looking in of their respective conference's playoff pictures. Minnesota's prospects may look slightly better, as their attacking trio of Emanuel Reynoso, Bongokhule Hlongwane and newly-acquired Teemu Pukki were firing on all cylinders during Leagues Cup.
But if NYCFC can make the most of new attacking additions like U22 signings Julián Fernández and Mounsef Bakrar, plus returning veteran Maxi Moralez, they could easily shoot up the Eastern Conference standings. The Cityzens already have one of the league's most efficient midfields and a relatively sturdy backline.
Toronto FC vs. CF Montréal
- WATCH: Apple TV - Free | Sunday, 7:30 pm ET
If it's fair to call time on any club for the season, it's probably Toronto, who, combining regular season and Leagues Cup, are riding an eight-game losing streak into Sunday's clash. Still, the Reds' final 10 games should provide valuable data on new acquisitions like international forwards Prince Owusu and Cassius Mailula and intraleague additions Franco Ibarra and Latif Blessing.
Montréal, on the other hand, are in the thick of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs race, sitting one point back of D.C. United for the last Eastern Conference spot. Can Kwadwo Opoku (acquired from LAFC) form a dynamic young attacking threat with Bryce Duke and lift the Canadian side over the line?
Chicago Fire FC vs. Orlando City SC
- WATCH: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass | Sunday, 8:30 pm ET
Don't look now, but Chicago have won five of six in the regular season and are coming off a solid Leagues Cup, bowing out in a 1-0 Round-of-32 loss to Club América. Newly-acquired Designated Player Ousmane Doumbia offers another veteran presence in the midfield alongside Xherdan Shaqiri to complement the Fire's young homegrown star, Brian Gutiérrez.
Orlando sit comfortably in the Eastern Conference's five spot, but the time is now to make a move to higher seeds if they want home-field advantage for at least a game or two in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Oscar Pareja's side handled most of their player shopping in the winter and remain largely unchanged heading to Chicago, though Duncan McGuire emerging as a top striker feels a bit like a new signing.
Houston Dynamo FC vs. Portland Timbers
- WATCH: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass | Sunday, 8:30 pm ET
Nobody should underestimate the Dynamo at home, least of all the Portland Timbers, who've only won once this season away from Providence Park. There's also no official word that newly-signed U22 Initiative winger Antony has touched down in Portland, meaning Gio Savarese's side will likely need to wait another matchday or two before getting an offensive boost.
The Dynamo will look to build on their Round-of-16 Leagues Cup performance, in which they notably knocked off Liga MX 2022 Apertura-champions Pachuca in the Round of 32.
St. Louis CITY SC vs. Austin FC
- WATCH: Apple TV - Free, FS1 | Sunday, 9:30 pm ET
Did St. Louis CITY make groundbreaking signings in the 2023 Secondary Transfer Window? No, but that doesn't mean Nökkvi Thórisson (signed from the Belgian second-division) and Anthony Markanich (13 total MLS appearances) won't be tearing up the league by year's end. That's just how the value-driven CITY SC roll.
Austin FC are a little harder to pin down. Their largest summer addition may have been new sporting director Rodolfo Borrell, who joined the Verde & Black in June straight from Pep Guadiola's legendary coaching staff at Manchester City. But we've yet to see Borrell put his full stamp on the club, with the club's biggest acquisition being veteran MLS defender Matt Hedges.
After a hugely disappointing Leagues Cup, all eyes will be on Austin to see if they can recapture their 2022 magic down the home stretch. A matchup against first-place St. Louis, who look to have DP striker João Klauss back for the first time in months, won't be an easy way to start.
LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake
- WATCH: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass | Sunday, 10:30 pm ET
EDITOR'S NOTE: This game has been postponed due to inclement weather in the Los Angeles area.
Real Salt Lake had some of the air let out of their balloon over the last few weeks. After soaring to third place in the Western Conference on a nine-game unbeaten streak before the All-Star break, Pablo Mastroeni's side took two uncharacteristic beatdowns to Monterrey (3-0) and LAFC (4-0) in Leagues Cup. Perhaps more concerning is the loss of midfield rock Pablo Ruiz, who will likely miss the rest of 2023 as he recovers from knee surgery to repair his meniscus.
After flirting with better form prior to the All-Star break, the LA Galaxy also suffered a Leagues Cup dip, failing to make it out of the group stage after losses to Club León and the Vancouver Whitecaps. They also lost their own midfield rock in Gastón Brugman, who will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury. At least a bevy of new summer signings, headlined by Japan international Maya Yoshida, should keep things interesting.
LAFC vs. Colorado Rapids
- WATCH: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass | Sunday, 10:30 pm ET
EDITOR'S NOTE: This game has been postponed due to inclement weather in the Los Angeles area.
There's some chatter around the Twitter-verse that LAFC aren't great in high-pressure moments, which feels a bit unfair considering their 2022 double-winning season (MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield). Still, a second late-stage continental-tournament exit has to sting. In the transfer market, the club made a handful of signings up top and in the midfield to supplant Kwadwo Opoku and José Cifuentes, who both departed for new clubs in the Secondary Transfer Window.
As with Toronto FC, 2023 may be a wrap for the Rapids. But if new DP Rafael Navarro can be a hit in Commerce City, the future could still be bright.
Seattle Sounders FC vs. Atlanta United
- WATCH: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass | Sunday, 10:30 pm ET
Two of the more flummoxing teams of the 2023 season face off in this Sunday nightcap between traditional MLS powerhouses. Both sides hit fairly massive dips in form starting around May after flying out the gate, but only Atlanta made major summer signings to bolster their squad.
If Seattle drop points at home to a revamped ATL, hands may start inching toward the panic button in the Northwest.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes
- WATCH: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass | Sunday, 10:30 pm ET
Like Seattle and Atlanta, the Whitecaps and Earthquakes have hovered around "who really are they" territory for much of 2023, as each strong run of form has been followed by a dip and vice-versa.
Both clubs signed players with ties to their domestic national teams during the summer window (Sam Adekugbe and Richie Laryea to Vancouver; Matthew Hoppe to San Jose) that they'll hope can guide them to firmer playoff positioning in the Western Conference.
