Why are MLS games happening this weekend?
The October international break is on, but severe weather and fixture clashes have necessitated some rescheduled matches in MLS. And now that almost everyone else in the league is otherwise down to one game left, that pumps up the significance of these “games in hand” for the sides still racing to either book their place or improve their standing in the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Here’s a quick primer on Saturday night’s league action, prefacing Decision Day on Oct. 21.
FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids
- WATCH: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass | Saturday, 8:30 pm ET
What's at stake: Pretty much, just about a must-win for FC Dallas
This one was originally supposed to happen on Oct. 4, but a nasty set of thunderstorms swept across North Texas, soaking FCD's home venue and ravaging it with high winds that even dislodged the “O” in the big Toyota Stadium sign above the north goal. So this is take two.
The fixture’s taken on additional weight in the ensuing weeks, at least for Dallas. While the Rapids are long since eliminated from postseason contention, Los Toros Tejanos are sitting ninth in the Western Conference standings with a game in hand on their nearest competitors – and this is that game.
If FCD win, they clinch, move on up to seventh and will be in pretty good shape heading into a Decision Day trip to the LA Galaxy, where they could conceivably move all the way up to fourth place. If they don’t, a side with a 3W-7L-6D road record may have to win in Southern California on the last day in order to make the playoffs. Then consider that Nico Estévez’s squad has been absolutely addicted to draws lately, going 2W-1L-7D in their last 10.
Here’s where longtime observers like the cracks over at Big D Soccer and 3rd Degree will be quick to point out how the Rapids have won four of their last five matches vs. Dallas, including their last two meetings. That said, the Mile High Club are themselves 2W-11L-3D away from home in 2023 league play and have lost 10 straight away games across all competitions, even if they’ve been a tougher proposition since interim coach Chris Little took the reins following Robin Fraser’s dismissal on Sept. 5.
FCD are missing young forward Bernard "The Abilene Dream” Kamungo on US U-23s duty, while Colorado are without Moïse Bombito (Canada) and Diego Rubio (Chile).
Nashville SC vs. New England Revolution
- WATCH: Apple TV - Free | Saturday, 8:30 pm ET
What's at stake: Find some form
This clash was moved from August to this weekend because Nashville advanced to the Leagues Cup Final, which they eventually lost to Inter Miami in a riveting affair at GEODIS Park. And that tournament run certainly seems to have inflicted a hangover on the Coyotes, who are already in the playoffs but are limping there on a 1W-5L-5D skid.
Despite the fact they’re sitting sixth in the overall league table and have also qualified for the postseason, it hasn’t been an awesome autumn for the Revs, either. Roiled by off-field controversy around the departure of former head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena, plus a couple of other members of his technical staff, they’ve won just two of nine matches since Leagues Cup and had Columbus inflict their first home loss of the year.
Those scuffling runs of form on both sides raise the stakes for this matchup with a potential postseason opponent, a vibe that will continue for them on Decision Day, when Nashville host the playoff-chasing New York Red Bulls and New England welcome the Philadelphia Union to Gillette Stadium.
Either way, the rest of us can do a lot worse with our Saturday nights than tuning in to watch Revs maestro Carles Gil, the 2021 Landon Donovan MLS MVP. Ditto for Hany Mukhtar, the 2022 league MVP who continues to do the business for NSC: The German playmaker is fourth in the Golden Boot presented by Audi race with 15 strikes and 10 assists, and is tied for fourth in MLS with 25 goal contributions.
LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake
- WATCH: Apple TV - Free | Saturday, 10:30 pm ET
What's at stake: Lost angels and xDAWGs
Remember several weeks back when Los Angeles got menaced by a hurricane for the first time since 1939? That prompted a reschedule of this match, originally set for Aug. 20. The home team have subsequently crashed out of the playoff race, and besides the usual stress of playing for your job as another winter rebuild looms over Dignity Health Sports Park, can have only spoiler aspirations for their last two games, both in Carson.
But hey, better to be a spoiler than completely irrelevant, which is really the cardinal sin in and around Tinseltown. Galaxy fans have had their hearts broken a time or two by unexpectedly bad results on past Decision Days and after another bitterly disappointing year, the least they could do is treat their home faithful to some schadenfreude.
RSL, on the other hand, have already clinched and could move up or down the West bracket a significant amount based on how they perform in their final two regular-season matches (they visit Rocky Mountain rivals Colorado on Decision Day). There’s opportunity there, even with both games outside of Utah, because the Claret-and-Cobalt have rather bizarrely been a much more effective proposition there: they and Minnesota are the only teams in MLS to have more wins on the road than at home in 2023.
Last week’s home loss to Sporting KC was a triple whammy for RSL, however. Not only for the dropped points, but also the red card for center back Justen Glad and the hamstring injury sustained by striker Chicho Arango which coach Pablo Mastroeni said is “more than likely” to sideline him at the weekend, and perhaps quite a bit longer than that.
Mastroeni loves it when the odds tilt against his team, though. Considering how open the Galaxy tend to play – and we neutrals do love the entertainment value when Riqui Puig & Co. start pinging passes and linking combinations – it’s not hard to imagine Salt Lake sitting in and springing forward on the counter.
Alas, Puig is reportedly out this weekend as he continues to deal with an ankle issue, which puts the primary onus on Douglas Costa to inspire the Gs' attack. The Brazilian has actually been decent lately (2g/2a in his last three matches), albeit still light years short of what's expected relative to his hefty Designated Player contract. Might he wake the echoes of past glories in what might be his final two games in a Galaxy kit?
