Major League Soccer Weekend Preview 🔮 | OneFootball

MLS is back this weekend with another round of fixtures, and some particularly spicy ones to sink your teeth into as well. Let's get into our preview of this weekend's action around the grounds.

Fixture of the Weekend

Seattle Sounders vs Portland Timbers

It's a rivalry that has defined MLS in the modern era. Two clubs, both far older than the league itself, that have gone head-to-head in one of the countries' hottest soccer regions, Cascadia, since the 1970s.

And while we're used these two battling it out for Western Conference supremacy or trips to MLS Cup Final, in the here and now, the two Cascadia rivals are desperate to turn their seasons around after tumultuous starts.

Seattle have found themselves with just two wins from their opening 11 games and have struggled with injuries throughout, while Phil Neville's Portland side have not picked up a victory since a March 9th trip to NYCFC.

Two conflicting streaks could be on the line at Providence Park in Sunday's lone game. The Sounders have failed to beat their rivals from down the I-5 in six straight attempts, but the home team has notoriously failed to impress in this fixture for a number of years. Will either curse linger?

A win in a game of this magnitude could be a crucial first-step in a turnaround for the two Western Conference giants.

Three questions ahead of the weekend

Was the San Jose loss just a blip for LAFC?

LAFC appeared all but set to go on a winning run and reestablish their supremacy in the Western Conference, but a loss last weekend against strugglers San Jose may have just taken some wind out of their sails.

Steve Cherundolo's side had not lost an MLS match since March coming into that game in the Bay Area, but they have a perfect chance to get back on track this weekend with a showdown with Vancouver, who have proven to be one of the better teams in the West so far this season.

Can the pendulum swing in Ohio?

The Columbus Crew have cemented themselves as MLS' showpiece club, sorry Miami fans. The current MLS Cup holders have recently reached the top of the CONCACAF Club Rankings and are potentially the favorites to win the Champions Cup in June.

While their rivalry with Cincinnati has quickly grown into one of the fiercest in all of MLS, its Pat Noonan's side who currently sit ahead of the Crew in the standings.

This weekend's Ohio Derby, better known as the 'Hell is Real Derby', could be a proving ground for Cincinnati to show they are legit challengers to Columbus's crown.

Are the Galaxy true contenders in the West?

It has been a wild start to the 2024 campaign for the LA Galaxy. They are the highest scores in the conference but have shown time and again that they have major defensive frailties worth attacking.

A showdown with conference leaders Real Salt Lake and talisman Chicho Arango is the perfect place for the Galaxy to show that they can go toe-to-toe with the cream of the crop in the West. Or will defensive issues be the death of them once again?

Player to watch

Chicho Arango — Real Salt Lake

Speak of the devil...Arango has made himself an early candidate for MLS MVP, potentially only overshadowed by Lionel Messi himself. The former LAFC man has chipped in with nine goals to start the campaign, including a few late winners to help push Real Salt Lake to the top of the Western Conference after 11 games.

“Chicho’s doing everything that we’re asking. I think he’s playing with a ton of confidence,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said after their 4-0 drubbing of Chicago recently.

Arango was never fully seen as 'the main man' in an LAFC team that boasted the likes of Gareth Bale and Carlos Vela, but he has made himself just that in Salt Lake, and will continue to do so if he keeps up his red-hot start in front of goal.