Another week, another MLS brain dump. Let’s plan to do this every week of 2020.
Here’s one thing I’m watching in Week 2 for every single team, all in 50 (ish) words. Enjoy the games!
New England Revolution vs. Chicago Fire
Watch: Saturday 1:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada
NE: Central midfield pairing. I sounded the alarm before Week 1, and Bruce Arena’s decision to roll with Diego Fagundez and Scott Caldwell was short-lived. Wilfried Zahibo came on at halftime for Caldwell. Luis Caicedo, 27 starts in 2019, didn’t make the 18 because of injury. Gotta win your home debut, which duo will it be?
CHI: Scoring chances, who will create them? Word is DPs Gaston Gimenez and Ignacio Aliseda are still waiting on visas, same for TAM signings Luka Stojanovic and Boris Sekulic. Reinforcements are coming, but in the meantime can Djordje Mihailovic, Fabian Herbers, Alvaro Medran and Przemyslaw Frankowski feed Robert Beric? Will C.J. Sapong be back?
Real Salt Lake vs. New York Red Bulls
Watch: Saturday 2:00 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada
RSL: What’s Freddy Juarez going for here? I have no idea. Aaron Herrera on the wing? Tate Schmitt starting over Corey Baird? Justen Glad at right back? A point in Orlando was just fine, but 0.16 xG was the lowest total of the Week 1, lower than 10-men-for-88-minutes-on-the-road NYCFC. Maybe I’ll understand Juarez’s plan better after this weekend.
RBNY: Kyle Duncan. There’s a reason the Red Bulls felt comfortable letting Michael Murillo walk. They knew Duncan was coming back from injury, and a goal and two assists made New York look pretty smart, so far at least. He’s just 22 years old and could be a big part of the US Olympic qualifying team.
FC Dallas vs. Montreal Impact
Watch: Saturday 3:00 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US, TVAS in Canada
DAL: Thiago Santos. The Brazilian was billed as a player who would give the midfield an immovable anchor, a pure No. 6 to break up play and get the ball to Dallas’s front five. Against the Union, his most memorable moments were bursting into the final third. He’s clearly got quality, but we’re still finding out how Luchi Gonzalez sees that translating to the team.
MTL: Who does Thierry Henry travel? The Impact have a fair number of injuries and players in the process of coming back from injury. They have a Concacaf Champions League home game against Olimpia on Tuesday. Time to prioritize. I’m guessing he’ll go all-in on CCL. Only one team won in Dallas in 2019 anyway.
D.C. United vs. Inter Miami
Watch: Saturday 3:30 pm ET | Univision, TUDN, Twitter in the US, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada
DC: Where will Julian Gressel play? The answer to that question in Week 1, somewhat surprisingly given his time with Atlanta United, was centrally. It didn’t really come off against the Rapids, but that doesn’t mean it can’t against Inter Miami. Perhaps Gressel and Edison Flores can interchange, or maybe Gressel is just a No. 10 now.
MIA: Robbie Robinson, who got a start and 90 minutes against LAFC. It’s not ideal, but Miami don’t have many other options but to let Robinson get accustomed to the professional game on the fly. Right now, this is not a team that has an obvious goalscorer in the group to feed off the playmaking talents of Rodolfo Pizarro. Can Robinson get a couple before Julian Carranza returns?
Toronto FC vs NYCFC
Watch: Saturday 5:00 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US, TSN 1/4 in Canada
TOR: Jozy Altidore. Toronto FC’s regular-season ceiling will be determined by how productive (and healthy) Altidore is in 2020. He drew a penalty against the Quakes – emphasis on “drew” – but wasn’t particularly threatening himself. The Reds need him to be goal dangerous. They need him to be Alejandro Pozuelo’s running mate.
NYC: Heber or Taty Castellanos? This feels like a game to get the latter 75-plus minutes to start building some rhythm. NYCFC could rely on both in 2019 – 26 goals and 11 assists combined – and they’ll need to do so again to challenge on multiple fronts. Heber’s got to be the choice against Tigres on Wednesday, so why not make sure he’s fresh for CCL?
Atlanta United vs. FC Cincinnati
Watch: Saturday 7:00 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada
ATL: Will Adam Jahn start? I think he should. The 4-3-2-1 seemed to be Atlanta’s best bet for getting the most out of Pity Martinez and Ezequiel Barco. Atlanta can still play off the big man, though there’s no longer a threat in behind, and Jahn could easily get 10-12 goals in this team if Pity and Barco click. Give him a chance and see what happens.
CIN: Jurgen Locadia. That’s my selfish take because I want to see him in the starting XI. Realistically, you can’t give up three goals a game and hope to be respectable. Even without Josef Martinez, Atlanta are more than capable of reminding Cincinnati that 2019 isn’t that long ago. Can this team defend, even a little bit?
San Jose Earthquakes vs. Minnesota United
Watch: Saturday 8:00 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada
SJ: I went with Oswaldo Alanis last week, and look how that turned out. This week, it’s results-based for the Quakes. A comeback home draw that feels like a win is OK against an Eastern Conference opponent. Not so when a Western Conference peer comes to town. Want to be a playoff team? Beat Minnesota.
MIN: Robin Lod. Minnesota is going to create chances by committee. Week 1 saw Kevin Molino harken back to his “Hot Boi” days, and we know what Ethan Finlay brings. As for Lod, frustration is growing with the TAM attacker because he’s at 760 MLS minutes and counting without a goal or an assist. The Loons need him to produce.
Sporting Kansas City vs. Houston Dynamo
Watch: Saturday 8:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada
SKC: The backline still has nervous moments, but I’d rather focus on the positive: Gadi Kinda. Sporting KC punched above their weight the last decade by drafting well, getting value in the MLS trade market and mostly nailing their TAM signings. Kinda looks like another win in the latter category. Watch the goal again. FYI, he’s right footed.
HOU: The Dynamo’s depth is being tested by injuries to Alberth Elis, Darwin Quintero, Jose Bizama and Victor Cabrera. There’s pressure on their replacements, sure, but I’m more interested in seeing how Tab Ramos adjusts. Every match is another opportunity to learn something about his plan.
Colorado Rapids vs. Orlando City
Watch: Saturday 9:00 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in the US, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada
COL: Set pieces. Everyone knows they’re deadly in dead-ball situations, but the goals keep coming. The Rapids have wrung every last drop of production out of their squad since last May, and I want to see how they’re doing it. I’ll be rewinding every free kick and corner kick to see what assistant coach Chris Sharpe has drawn up.
ORL: Tesho Akindele, Benji Michel and Chris Mueller. Orlando gave Real Salt Lake absolutely nothing (Xg 0.16) in Week 1. Problem was, they didn’t have much to offer in the final third, either. With Nani suspended, Dom Dwyer week-to-week and SuperDraft pick Daryl Dike not even making the 18, it’s on Akindele, Michel and Mueller to deliver.
LA Galaxy vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
Watch: Saturday 10:00 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, TSN 1/4 in Canada
LA: Chicharito. Rinse and repeat. It’s Guillermo Barros Schelotto’s job to build a team that gets the most out of his star striker. The Galaxy weren’t there in Houston. Too many predictable balls into the 18, too many times the center backs had a 2v1 advantage,
VAN: Can they defend crosses? The ‘Caps know what’s coming. The Galaxy are likely to whip the ball into the 18-yard box every chance they get in search of Chicharito. That’s not terrible news for Vancouver. It keeps things simple. It’s on the outside backs and midfield to make sure the service is predictable and easy to deal with.
Seattle Sounders vs. Columbus Crew
Watch: Saturday 10:00 pm ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN in the US, TSN5 in Canada
SEA: Jordan Morris. The dude is dominant. Just an impossible matchup. Just imagine Seattle once Nicolas Lodeiro and Gustav Svensson return. All the pieces will fall into their proper place. In the meantime, Morris looks like he could drag Seattle to wins all on his own. As a US national team supporter, I’m always down to watch that.
CLB: Luis Diaz. I’ve got high hopes for the Costa Rican international, but his first game of 2020 did not quite match what we saw in 2019. Most obviously, Diaz didn’t get the start on opening day, perhaps a message from Caleb Porter about what’s expected from the 21-year-old. The XI against Seattle might tell us whether that message got through. Diaz has game-changer potential the Crew need on the field.
Portland Timbers vs. Nashville SC
Watch: Sunday 7:00 pm ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes, Watch ESPN in the US, TSN5 in Canada
POR: Matt Doyle already did the damn thing. Just read his column. Long story short, don’t get caught too far upfield. Two losses at home to start the season would put a lump in the Timbers’ throat.
NASH: Copy and paste from an encouraging Week 1: Who is the No. 9? Also, what does David Accam have left in the tank? Those are open questions for the next couple months. Really, though, I’ll be watching Randall Leal. The kid’s got something, especially when he moves inside to combine and play between the lines.
LAFC vs. Philadelphia Union
Watch: Sunday 10:30 pm ET | FS1, Fox Deportes, Fox Sports App in the US, TSN5 in Canada
LAFC: Brian Rodriguez. One assist in 600 minutes for the best attacking team in the history of the league is a disappointing early return for a player you spent eight figures to sign. Keyword: early. I’m not concerned just yet, but I am watching Rodriguez closely. He’s got to figure it out in the final third at some point.
PHI: Can they hang with the best? That’s the question every team has to ask themselves before they play LAFC. Can they match the Shield winners’ pace of play? Can they deal with LAFC’s secondary press? Can they slow down Carlos Vela … at all? Time for Jim Curtin and his team to measure themselves.
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