For the first time this season, MLS will give us a pretty full slate of mid-week matches to satiate our soccer needs. Ten games are scheduled for action tomorrow night and thanks to the late kickoff in L.A., us ATX fans will be able to catch most of the action before the main event. So let’s start figuring out to cheer for on hump day!
Games That Make You Go Meh
D.C. United vs New York City FC – 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
New York Red Bulls vs Chicago Fire – 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Philadelphia Union vs Inter Miami FC – 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
To the games that actually matter.
Minnesota United FC vs L.A. Galaxy – 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Raise your hand if you saw the Galaxy getting whacked at home last weekend coming? Yeah, me neither. Now they get to travel to the upper-Midwest where the Loons have been tough to play against at home. MNUFC is coming off of a spirited effort in defeat at Seattle, so a bounce back game here would be nice to see. Especially since L.A. is just a point behind the Verde.
The Side: Minnesota United
ATX Impact Watch Scale: 4
Houston Dynamo vs Seattle Sounders – 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
The Dynamo unfortunately showed signs of life on Saturday after going down a man in the first half, only to see out a 2-0 win at home against Nashville. And honestly…..
Now they get to stay in their swamp ass city and host the CCL Champs. Seattle is coming for the rest of the West with games in hand. They will make the playoffs. But Austin may be fighting Houston for a spot towards the end of the year.
The Side: Seattle Sounders
ATX Impact Watch Scale: 4
Sporting KC vs Colorado Rapids – 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
The Rapids pulled off a stunner Saturday by beating LAFC less than 48 hours after playing in sweltering heat during a U.S. Open Cup match. Austin fans everywhere rejoiced.
Later that same evening, Sporting KC gave up a whopping SEVEN goals to Portland. Y’all Sporting is bad. But MLS is weird and we very much would like a potential playoff team to drop points.
The Side: Sporting KC
ATX Impact Watch Scale: 3
Nashville SC vs CF Montréal – 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Oh this is gonna be good. Nashville goes back home for just their third match of the year at brand new Geodis Park, where they get host the hottest team in MLS: Club de Foot Montréal. The team from Quebec is unbeaten in its last eight league matches and now sits atop the Eastern Conference. We’d like for them to continue that hot streak, seeing as how they are playing against a Western opponent.
The Side: The Team Soon to be Formerly Knows As “Club de Foot”
ATX Impact Watch Scale: 3
Vancouver Whitecaps vs FC Dallas – 9:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
It pains me to say this, but Frisco looks like it may be the real deal. The Toros just walloped L.A. Galaxy in Carson on Saturday, haven’t lost a league match since March 5th, and now sit in 2nd place in the West.
As for Vancouver…….well they have nice uniforms.
The Side: Oh Canada!
ATX Impact Watch Scale: 4
San Jose Earthquakes vs Portland Timbers – 9:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
This game could be wildly entertaining. San Jose is MLS chaos perfection and Portland is just as likely to score four as they are to give up four. The Timbers are on the edge of the playoff race right now, so a loss wouldn’t hurt our feelings.
The Side: San Jose
ATX Impact Watch Scale: 2.5
Uncle Tony P.
Uncle Tony P. is a lifelong Austin FC supporter and overall handsome son of a bitch who always has a full supply of mustard on hand for his Verde friends.