With Five Weekends left, what are the most important things to see in MLS?
Playoff matchups, players with ridiculous goal scoring runs, MLS has all kinds of plot lines to look out for this weekend. Here are three things we are keeping an eye on in MLS this weekend.
Will there be an Open Cup hangover for either team?
In addition to playing an intense match on Wednesday, both Sporting KC and New York Red Bulls are coming off a cup final and now have to play games with important playoff ramifications. Could the come down from that match affect either side?
It appears far more likely that New York, a team who hasn’t picked up a win in over a month, will slip up against Columbus. Kansas City on the other hand is playing at home against a Los Angeles team who just got rocked by Atlanta and will be without Jermaine Jones. For New York, a loss will put them five points behind Columbus and keep Montreal in striking distance. For them, this weekend is a huge one and they can’t let the Open Cup loss turn into two.
West on the Road
Four teams fighting for playoff spots in the western conference are on the road this weekend. San Jose travels to DC United, FC Dallas will try to get back on track against Minnesota, Seattle is at suddenly surging Real Salt Lake, and Houston faces off against New York City FC.
Houston clearly has the toughest match of the four. San Jose and FC Dallas have the best matchups, but anything can happen on the road in MLS. Right now the margin for all four of these teams are razor thin. Whoever gets the most precious away points will be in a great situation for the final playoff push.
How Long Does Atlanta Keep Up This Run?
The run that Atlanta United and Josef Martinez have had at Mercedes Benz Stadium is insane. Martinez has eight goals in four matches and the team as a whole is averaging a goal every 18.5 minutes. That run can’t last forever, can it? This weekend Atlanta gets a Montreal team who put up a shocking five goals against Toronto FC.
If Atlanta keeps up the run, it could mean a jump to third place if results fall right. A run to second place seemed unreachable, but they keep up this pace and they could run right past the knockout round.