Welcome to Starting XI, our Friday rundown of what to watch for this weekend in MLS and beyond. And don't forget to get your Spanish-language fix with FutbolMLS.com.
Our recommended listening for this weekend as per New Media Editor Andrew Wiebe is Jock Jams classic "The Final Countdown" by Europe. Because it's just that kind of day.
1. PREDICTION TIME!: We're using this version of the Starting XI to peer into the crystal ball and tell you a bit about the future. We're already made the standard predictions HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. And our man ChasBo gave us his list of break-out players HERE.
Now, though, it's time for some fun. My first prediction is that Darlington Nagbe will produce 2015's sickest moment of individual brilliance. But it won't top what he did to FC Dallas in last year's US Open Cup... – MATTHEW DOYLE
2. MOST GUT-WRENCHING 180 MINUTES: Best game of the year? I'm not even going to try, although I'm partial to the New York derby on May 10 at RBA for #banter purposes. Ultimately, the game of the year is destined to arise organically, and without much warning. But the drama of Oct. 25 – yes, I know that's more than seven months away, and no, I don't care. – is guaranteed to leave some unlucky fans with ulcers.
All 10 Eastern Conference teams clashing at 5 pm ET, then the entirety of the West going at it two hours later with playoff places and positioning on the line? Maybe even the Supporters' Shield? Consider all my regular season MLS consumption just a prolonged training camp for the big day. Come October, I'll have that five-box setup perfected. Who knows, maybe I'll even be lucky enough to catch a classic or two in the meantime. –ANDREW WIEBE
3. MOST LIKELY TO TICK OFF THEIR OPPONENTS: We all know professional athletes no longer get into brawls during games. But if a team were to get into one this season it would definitely be the Vancouver Whitecaps. With the physical play of Kendall Waston and their proclivity to do some "acting" (even without Sebastian Fernandez), the Whitecaps will probably get under some team's skin this season. - BEN BAER
4. MOST AGONIZING MLS ZEITGEIST: It's been an uneasy winter in the Rose City, where the Portland Timbers' passionate fans watched and waited for signs that this year will proceed more smoothly than their painful 2014. Some were unconvinced by what they saw in preseason, while the lingering absence of star playmaker Diego Valeri for the early stages of the new campaign might just have everyone on edge.
Some deeper-diving analysis suggests that PTFC have undergone something of a sea change in philosophy, from "Tiki-Timba" to "fast and furious." But regardless of how results go, the primacy and intensity of the Timbers' place in their home city means joy and pain alike reverberate just a bit more loudly than in other places. – CHARLES BOEHM
5. BEST SIDELINE GESTICULATION: Caleb Porter has absolutely OWNED this category over the last twoyears, but damn... I think Frank Klopas already has the 2015 award wrapped up. I don't care that it didn't happen during the regular season. That celebration makes the world a better place. – MATTHEW DOYLE
6. BEST GOONIES IMPRESSION: The San Jose Earthquakes have been synonymous with late drama over the past few years, but the "Goonies" era seems to have passed in San Jose after a couple playoff misses and a roster remake.
So who's the team you have to worry about for more than 90 minutes in 2015? Is it cheating to say the Frank Yallop-coached Chicago Fire? If you talk to any of the players from the 2012 Quakes, they'll tell you they would run through a wall for him. And while they don't have the "Bash Brothers" to launch long balls at, they do have an equally potent endgame weapon: what I'll call the "Fast Brothers" – speedy new acquisitions David Accam and Kennedy Igboananike. – NICHOLAS ROSANO
7. BEST "DECISION DAY" MATCH: Is it strange, on the first day of the season, to look ahead to the last day of the season? Not in my book. It's not how you start; it's how you finish. So come Sunday, October 25, when every team in MLS will play its final match of the season on what's now billed as "Decision Day," here's THE don't miss game: Chicago Fire vs. New York Red Bulls. Big markets, big names, big consequences. I expect that these two clubs to battle down to the wire for that final playoff spot in the East. – GREG LALAS
8. BEST GOAL: This is by nature an impossible prediction at this point of the year, but let's indulge in some fantasy, shall we? I've already made my brief Higuain-for-MVP case, so let's keep the hype train rolling. After some truly wonderful chip shots in the past few years (if you're new, see below), I say he goes one better and scores a Beckham-esque goal from the center circle – an easy Goal of the Year winner if I've ever dreamt it. – NICHOLAS ROSANO
9. YOUNG MAN COME GOOD: This is Zach Pfeffer’s year. Jim Curtin recently said that ZP has a shot to push for Cristian Maidana’s midfield spot and, over the course of the season, I think we’ll see it. He’s good on the ball, he can finish and he ’s Homegrown. There’s nothing Philadelphia fans are craving more than a local kid to stomp all over NY and DC and enjoy doing it. Well, besides a playoff berth. – MATT FOLGER
10. BEST TWITTER EXCHANGE: This takes the place of our "Tweet of the Week." So much shade thrown:
A close runner-up: Orlando City steady trolling NYCFC, hilariously we might add.
11. ALLEZ l'IMPACT: What an incredible moment. Here's hoping the first American team to win the CCL is a Canadian one. – MATTHEW DOYLE
