New York Red Bulls will be out to defend the only remaining unbeaten home record in MLS when they host road strugglers CF Montreal.
Sandro Schwarz's side were held to a 1-1 draw with Colorado Rapids last time out, keeping them fourth in the Eastern Conference.
New York are still 11 points adrift of conference leaders FC Cincinnati but will hope to make up ground when Montreal visit, with the away side 10th in the East standings.
Excitement remains around the Red Bulls and another post-season push, with defender Noah Eile relishing the chance to play in New York and under Schwarz.
"I'm very grateful for the opportunity that he and the coaching staff have in me," Eile said.
"They gave me the chance to come here first and it's a big thing for me to be able to come here and play for this great club and great league.
"I just want to be better to show that gratitude towards them."
Montreal defeated Atlanta United 1-0 in their last outing, stretching their league unbeaten run at home to seven games.
The Canadian side did not allow a single shot on target in that win, yet head coach Laurent Courtois still wants more.
"I was disappointed with the collective management of certain individuals tonight and the game scenario," Courtois said after the Atlanta result. "We did some good things, but during the last 25 minutes, it was frustrating to get caught in transition situations.
"I was disappointed at that level. It was especially the transition in possession that was difficult. We had the opportunity to put ourselves out of harm's way with a second goal and we didn't do it.
"Our management of the power play was naive. We hope that we will be able to find more efficiency in the last pass and the presence in the box."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York Red Bulls – Lewis Morgan
Lewis Morgan netted his 10th goal of the season in the Red Bulls' draw at Colorado on Sunday, his second 10-goal season with New York (14 in 2022).
Morgan is the only Red Bulls player with a 10-goal season since Daniel Royer (11 goals) in 2019, leading New York in attack once again.
CF Montreal – Ruan
Ruan has scored two goals in his last four MLS appearances after not scoring for over two years.
This is the third time Ruan has scored two goals in a single regular season (also in 2021 and 2022 with Orlando City), but can he continue that run here?
MATCH PREDICTION – NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN
The Red Bulls are the heavy favourites for this clash, considering their remarkable head-to-head record against Montreal.
New York have won 12 of their 14 regular-season home matches against Montreal (L2), with their 85.7% win rate the highest for any team at home against another in MLS history (minimum 10 meetings).
The Red Bulls are also unbeaten in their first 10 regular-season home games in 2024 (W6 D4), the club's second-longest home unbeaten run to start a season (13 straight in 2012).
New York are unbeaten in 13 straight at home in all competitions, last losing at Red Bull Arena against Chicago Fire last October, while Montreal are winless in nine straight regular-season away matches (D2 L7).
Montreal have just four wins in their 29 away league matches since the start of last season, and their struggles will expectedly continue here.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
New York Red Bulls win – 59%
Draw – 21.4%
CF Montreal win – 19.6%
San Jose Earthquakes v Houston Dynamo: Howard hopes to celebrate investment with road win
Houston Dynamo will hope to celebrate Tim Howard's investment into the side with victory against San Jose Earthquakes when the pair meet in MLS at PayPal Park.
United States men's national team legend Howard was announced as a minority investor in the Dynamo on Tuesday, with Houston excited by his experience.
"His wealth of experience across soccer, both as a player at the highest levels and subsequently as a sporting director and media analyst, will be invaluable within ownership as we continue to build a competitive and successful organisation," majority owner Ted Segal said.
On the pitch, the Dynamo have followed back-to-back victories with just one point across their last two games.
Houston were beaten 3-2 by Western Conference joint-leaders Real Salt Lake before a 1-1 draw with Minnesota United last time out.
The Dynamo still sit eighth in the West standings, and Howard hopes his investment will be rewarded with victory on the road.
"As someone who has dedicated my life to the sport of soccer, I am thrilled to join the Houston Dash and Dynamo ownership group," said Howard.
"This opportunity allows me to further contribute to the growth of the game in the United States and connect with the passionate soccer fans who call Houston home."
San Jose are struggling at the bottom of the same division coming off the back of a 2-1 defeat against Sporting Kansas City.
Houston managed a 2-1 victory in their meeting earlier this season, though interim coach Ian Russell will hope to transform the Earthquakes' fortunes this time around.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
San Jose Earthquakes – Jeremy Ebobisse
Jeremy Ebobisse has scored five career goals against the Dynamo, all since 2019.
The only player with more goals against Houston in regular-season play in that time is Alan Pulido (six).
Houston Dynamo – Sebastian Ferreira
Sebastian Ferreira has scored a career-best four goals in four regular-season matches against San Jose, including scoring against the Earthquakes in March.
No Dynamo player has scored more goals against a single team since Ferreira joined the club in 2022.
MATCH PREDICTION – HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN
The Dynamo are the narrow favourites for this clash, despite their recent head-to-head record against San Jose.
The Earthquakes have lost only one of their last six home matches against Houston (W3 D2) including recording a 2-1 win in the last meeting at PayPal Park in April 2023.
San Jose have never won consecutive home games against Houston, however, and their recent form is concerning.
The Earthquakes are the third team to lose 18 times in their first 23 games of a season along with the Tampa Bay Mutiny in 2001 and the MetroStars in 1999 (including breakaway shoot-out losses).
Considering the Dynamo have lost just one of their last eight matches, too, Houston should have no problems on the road.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
San Jose Earthquakes win – 27.8%
Draw – 24.1%
Houston Dynamo win – 48.1%
FC Dallas v Austin FC: Luccin wants better game management ahead of Texas derby
FC Dallas must learn to manage matches with more composure, so says interim coach Peter Luccin.
Dallas bounced back from a 3-2 defeat to Sporting Kansas City by claiming a surprise 2-0 win over the high-flying Los Angeles Galaxy last time out.
Having seen his team lose late on against Kansas City, Luccin was delighted with Dallas' response against the Galaxy, with Petar Musa and Logan Farrington on target.
Dallas accumulated 1.38 expected goals (xG) and had 18 shots to the Galaxy's nine, though Luccin did point out to one area where his side can improve.
"I'm still hurt a bit about our last game versus Kansas City to be honest," he said.
"Coming off a loss against Kansas City, we saw that it could be different. It says a lot about this team. I told you from the very first day, I'm very proud of them, with all of the adversity we face right now like injuries.
"I will say that maybe having more of the ball in those important moments. I think we did that in the last 10 minutes, in the first half we were rushing too much.
"We should've pushed up higher and sustained a little bit more of the ball. Even if we want to go more vertical, we need to understand the timing and moments to go vertical.
"For me, how to manage the game with the ball. We knew the Galaxy were very good with the ball but in the end, we controlled well. We were compact in the low block. We need to manage the ball better and have possession for longer."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
FC Dallas - Jesus Ferreira
Ferreira has scored in each of his last three home MLS appearances, including in the 2-0 win over the Galaxy on Saturday.
Only one Dallas player has scored in four straight home matches since the start of the 2020 season – Ricardo Pepi in June-July 2021.
Austin FC - Julio Cascante
Cascante won eight of nine aerial duels in Austin's loss to the Seattle Sounders on Saturday, the third time he has won at least eight aerial duels in an MLS match since joining Austin FC in 2021.
The only other player to win eight or more aerial duels in a match for Austin FC is Leo Vaisanen (twice).
MATCH PREDICTION: DALLAS WIN
Austin have managed just two wins in their last 18 regular-season road matches dating back to last July, but one of those wins came in a Texas Derby, a 1-0 victory against the Houston Dynamo on April 20.
Dallas recorded their eighth home win in all competitions this season, and fourth in five matches, with the win over the Galaxy. A league-high 88% (23/26) of Dallas' points this season have been earned at home.
Dallas are unbeaten in five home matches against Austin (W4 D1), including a 2-1 victory at Toyota Stadium on May 11. Three of Dallas' four home wins over Austin have been by one-goal margins.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
FC Dallas - 51.8%
Austin FC - 23.6%
Draw - 24.6%
Los Angeles FC v Real Salt Lake: Home favourite Atuesta lauds Black and Gold's tactical flexibility
Eduard Atuesta has found a new forever home with Los Angeles FC and believes the Black and Gold are benefitting from being more tactically versatile.
LAFC face Realt Salt Lake in their next MLS meeting, aiming to extend their lead at the top of the Western Conference against the second-placed side, who are level on points.
Steve Cherundolo's side were hammered 5-1 at home by Columbus Crew in their last outing, however.
Yet Atuesta believes LAFC have transformed their fortunes, and are benefitting from greater tactical fluidity and flexibility in their league push.
"I think we're more diligent tactically now," the midfielder said. "The LAFC I was part of with Bob [Bradley] was an LAFC that probably was much more about having the ball, possession, we had a lot of control of the game because we had the ball.
"One way was keeping the opponent down with the ball, the other being hard-working and then being dangerous when it’s time to counter-attack or create and be more vertical.
"Those are the differences I've found."
Atuesta is somewhat adored by LAFC supporters after helping the club to Supporters' Shield glory in 2019, a success he wants to build upon.
"I came here when I was really, really young, but had the desire to learn as much as possible, learn from the veterans and understand quickly how the league works, how I could adapt as quickly as I could," he added.
"I'm now a player with more experience, more titles and with a desire to keep winning a lot, a lot of trophies with LAFC."
Salt Lake suffered their own disappointment in their last outing after a 3-0 humbling against Portland Timbers.
Pablo Mastroeni's side have won three of their last five games, though, and will hope to strike a top-of-the-table blow here.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Los Angeles FC – Denis Bouanga
Denis Bouanga, alongside goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, was recently named in the MLS All-Star team after scoring 14 goals in 22 appearances this year.
The LAFC forward also has nine league assists to his name, and will be the primary threat against RSL.
Real Salt Lake – Andres Gomez
With Cristian Arango suspended for the next four games, Andres Gomez will be expected to step up in his absence.
The latter Real Salt Lake is one of only 10 players in MLS this year with 18 or more goal contributions – Gomez has managed 19.
MATCH PREDICTION – LOS ANGELES FC WIN
Los Angeles may have suffered their heaviest home defeat in club history against the Crew, but they are still the heavy favourites for this clash.
Cherundolo's side were unbeaten in 13 games across all competitions before that Columbus hammering, conceding just seven goals across that impressive run.
LAFC will hope to recharge another similar streak with victory here, though it may not be as straightforward as the pre-match predictions suggest.
RSL have recorded back-to-back wins over Los Angeles, including a 3-0 home win on March 2. The visitors had won just two of their first 15 all-time meetings with LAFC in all competitions (L13), however.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Los Angeles FC win – 52.1%
Draw – 24.4%
Real Salt Lake win – 23.4%
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
