D.C. United coach Troy Lesesne has called on his team to seize their opportunity to close the gap to fellow playoff hopefuls Toronto FC when they visit BMO Field on Saturday.
D.C. prop up the Eastern Conference standings with 26 points from as many games this term, but the congested nature of the table means they are within two points of a wild-card place.
Toronto currently occupy the first of those places, sitting five points clear of D.C. having played one additional game, and Lesesne knows that fact gives Saturday's matchup additional importance.
"We're all well aware of the table and we do try to bring that into view for the players," Lesesne said.
"But also, with eight games left, there's a lot still to be played for. This week, we have another opportunity right in front of us.
"We have to stick to what we want to do as a team. We have Toronto this week, they're in eighth place and a few points ahead of us, so closing that gap has to be our focus right now."
Toronto have won both of their matches since returning from the Leagues Cup break, beating the Houston Dynamo 1-0 in MLS last week then triumphing 1-0 versus Forge in the Canadian Championship semi-finals on Wednesday.
Youngster Kosi Thompson has impressed in central midfield for the Reds lately despite coming through the ranks as a winger, and he now has one eye on making it on the international scene.
"I've learned that it's a man's game," Thompson said. "I was born in Toronto, and it's one of the biggest hotspots in Canada for football, so I would love to represent the national team.
"It's just about being patient and putting the work in to get there."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto FC – Federico Bernardeschi
Bernardeschi (eight goals, eight assists) is the fourth player in Toronto's MLS history to record at least eight goals and eight assists in a single regular-season campaign, after Sebastian Giovinco (four times), Alejandro Pozuelo and Victor Vazquez (twice apiece).
D.C. United – Christian Benteke
Benteke headed home D.C. United's opening goal as they lost 4-3 to FC Dallas last week, his 11th headed goal in regular-season play, more than any other D.C. player over the last 15 MLS seasons.
MATCH PREDICTION – TORONTO FC WIN
Toronto have only lost one of their last seven home matches against D.C. (four wins, two draws, including playoffs), including winning the last two in a row.
Toronto have never won three straight home matches against D.C. United, but after recording two straight shutout wins in regular-season play for the second time this term, could they achieve that feat here?
D.C. won 3-2 at Minnesota United on their last away outing in MLS, but that is their only road win in the competition since early May, losing four and drawing one of their last six.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto FC – 43.5%
D.C. United – 29.7%
Draw – 26.8%
St. Louis City v LA Galaxy: Reus sets sights on silverware after dream start
Marco Reus is desperate to bring silverware to the LA Galaxy after making a flying start to his time in MLS, with St. Louis City the destination for his first road game on Sunday.
Reus registered a goal and an assist on debut last week as the Galaxy beat Atlanta United 2-0, maintaining their grip on top spot in the Western Conference.
The Galaxy are five points clear of local rivals Los Angeles FC at the top of the standings ahead of Sunday's trip to St. Louis, who are 13th and 10 points adrift of the playoff picture.
Reus' arrival in Los Angeles has caused plenty of fanfare, but he is focused solely on the team's collective aims.
"It's not about me, it's about the team," he said. "We want to be champions. So we take it game by game.
"Besides the traffic, it's really amazing. The people are so friendly. The weather, it's really nice. When you wake up in the morning and the sun is shining, you start the day differently.
"So I'm really, really happy every morning I come into the dressing room. I'm just happy and excited."
St. Louis played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with the Portland Timbers last week, twice throwing away a two-goal lead to leave interim coach John Hackworth bewildered.
"Really don't know what to say," Hackworth said. "It's hard to imagine coming to a place like this and scoring four goals, being up, and then just losing one-versus-one defensive battles.
"Sometimes, the number of goals you give up, or the number of goals you score, can hide a lot of the transition moments.
"An easy way to prevent some of these defensive miscues from happening is to just be better with the ball."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Eduard Lowen
Lowen scored his fourth goal of the MLS season last time out, converting from the penalty spot as St. Louis drew 4-4 with the Timbers.
Only Joao Klauss, with five goals, has outscored him for St. Louis this term.
LA Galaxy – Marco Reus
Reus is one of 20 players in MLS history to record a goal and an assist on his regular-season debut.
He is also the fifth Galaxy player to do so, after Steven Gerrard, Andreas Herzog, Giovani dos Santos and Sasha Victorine. No other team have had more than two players achieve the feat.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The Galaxy have won 10 of their last 13 regular-season matches, the first time they have done so in a single season since 2011. LA have not recorded 11 wins in a span of 14 matches within a single regular season in the post-shootout era (since 2000).
It would be no surprise to see the points shared in this one, though. All three meetings between St. Louis and the Galaxy have ended level, all with different scorelines (1-1, 2-2, 3-3).
St. Louis have only won one of the last six matches in which they have held the lead in regular-season play dating back to the beginning of June (four draws, one defeat).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 35.8%
LA Galaxy – 38.1%
Draw – 26.1%
San Jose Earthquakes v Minnesota United: Ramsay looking to find balance in rollercoaster season
Minnesota United head coach Eric Ramsay is hopeful his team have settled into their new "identity" ahead of their trip to San Jose Earthquakes in MLS.
After snapping a winless streak in MLS before the Leagues Cup, Minnesota were beaten 3-2 by Seattle Sounders last time out, having come from behind to level twice before Albert Rusnak's winner.
They sit 11th in the Western Conference but still have the playoffs in sight.
Ramsay believes his team are starting to gel after introducing new signings and other returning from various injury setbacks.
"We're finding analyzing where we are now difficult as a group because the Seattle game felt like day one of a new season, and we've loved working with our new group over the last three weeks," Ramsay said.
"But we've got to analyze it with an element of urgency and desperation wrapped around it because it's a group that wants to reach the playoffs.
"We need to keep pushing to make sure we see the results on a weekend, and now we can start to see a real emergence of an identity in the team."
Meanwhile, San Jose Earthquakes got an impressive win over high-flying Real Salt Lake last time out, snapping their three-match losing streak in MLS.
They are still bottom of the table, but interim head coach Ian Russell was impressed with the manner of the win and is hoping they can continue their high-level performances on home soil.
"I told the guys the last six or seven games have been really, really good," he said.
"We haven't won them all, obviously, but ever since the Houston game at home, we started showing a lot of fight. And you know, we've had a couple losses late in games, but the win over Real Salt Lake was really good."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
San Jose Earthquakes – Cristian Espinoza
Cristian Espinoza has never scored in 10 career regular season matches against Minnesota.
The Loons are the only one of the 11 teams Espinoza has faced 10 or more times in his MLS career that he has never scored against.
Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah
Kelvin Yeboah scored both of Minnesota's goals against Seattle Sounders on Saturday, becoming the 22nd player in MLS history to score multiple goals on his debut and the first in over two years, since Nathan Fogaca did so for Portland in May 2022.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
Minnesota have lost only one of their last 11 matches against San Jose in all competitions (won six, drawn four) dating back to 2019 after the Earthquakes won each of the first four meetings between the sides in 2017 and 2018.
However, Minnesota are winless in eight straight road matches in all competitions (two draws, six losses). This is their longest winless run away from home since a 17-match stretch from March to October 2018.
Meanwhile, San Jose's 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake on Saturday was just their fifth win of the season, but four of those five wins have been against teams in the top five in the current Western Conference standings (Los Angeles FC, RSL, Colorado Rapids, Seattle).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
San Jose Earthquakes – 38.1%
Draw – 26.5%
Minnesota United – 35.4%
Los Angeles FC v Houston Dynamo: Olsen challenges visitors to change their tune
Houston Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen has urged his team to find their clinical edge in a tough test against Los Angeles FC on Saturday.
The Dynamo had lost just one of their last 10 MLS matches before the Leagues Cup break, winning four and drawing five of the other games in that streak.
However, they returned to league action with a 1-0 defeat to Toronto FC last time out and sit eighth in the Western Conference.
And Olsen has challenged his team to improve their end product against the Leagues Cup finalists.
"The last game was not the result we wanted, that's for sure," he said.
"I'm starting to sound like a broken record: we play well, we have a lot of chances. We can do all that stuff, but we don't make the play.
"If we're going to be the team we want to be, we need to be killers, be way more cut-throat in the final third. We can't keep expecting our defence to get shutouts in every game."
Meanwhile, LAFC bounced back from Leagues Cup final heartbreak by reaching the US Open Cup final with a 1-0 victory over Seattle Sounders.
In MLS, they are five points behind leaders LA Galaxy, having lost their last league match 3-1 to San Jose Earthquakes, but head coach Steve Cherundolo has confidence in his team.
"Our LAFC players are monsters," he said. "They show great heart and skill, and their physical side of the game is great.
"Simple mentality gives them the edge. I've also been happy with the control and managing of the minutes in recent matches."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
LAFC – Denis Bouanga
Denis Bouanga has not been involved in a goal in any of his four meetings with the Dynamo (incl. playoffs).
They are the only MLS opponent he has faced more than twice and not recorded at least one goal involvement against.
Houston Dynamo – Hector Herrera
Hector Herrera completed 101 passes against Toronto FC on Saturday, his sixth match with at least 100 completed passes in regular season MLS play.
He is tied with Riqui Puig for the most such games to complete 100+ passes since making his MLS debut in July 2022.
MATCH PREDICTION: LOS ANGELES FC WIN
This will be the first meeting between Los Angeles and Houston since LAFC's 2-0 win in last season's Western Conference Final. That win was their only clean sheet against the Dynamo (14 meetings).
However, LAFC's last two regular-season home matches were a loss to Columbus Crew and a draw with Real Salt Lake. They have gone three such matches without a win only twice since the start of the 2019 season but have not done so since 2021.
Meanwhile, the Dynamo won their final two regular-season road matches before the Leagues Cup break, winning at San Jose and Vancouver Whitecaps. However, they have not won three consecutive such games since a four-match run spanning the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
LAFC – 61.8%
Draw – 20.2%
Houston Dynamo – 18%
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