Rivalry Week in Major League Soccer may officially be over, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a reason to expect plenty of heat this weekend. We’ll have a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference title game in New York, another installment of the Copa Tejas rivalry in Houston and more – read on for our preview of the weekend’s action!
Orlando City SC vs. Atlanta United
The regional rivalry looks to be an exciting matchup; Orlando haven’t kept a clean sheet in five matches, but are coming off the back of an impressive win over Inter Miami at the weekend. Atlanta are still in fourth place, but have shown uneven form on the road, and they’ll be without Luiz Araujo, who remains suspended.
New York City FC vs. Philadelphia Union
The hosts haven’t kept a clean sheet in eleven matches, and that hardly bodes well against a Philadelphia team who are unbeaten in six and have a full complement of players from which to choose, with Mikael Uhre back fit for the visitors. New York will be the fresher of the two sides, having been idle at the weekend, but it’s up to the hosts to make that translate into a sharper performance.
Houston Dynamo vs. Austin FC
Both of these teams were in action in the US Open Cup in the week, with Corey Baird’s hat trick leading a rotated Dynamo side past Minnesota. Austin were knocked out by Chicago, but after their dramatic win over Toronto at the weekend, will be eager to keep climbing the table despite the absence of last season’s leading scorer Sebastián Driussi.
Nashville SC vs. Columbus Crew
One of two Sunday matches, this match pits Nashville’s league-best defense, which will be without captain Walker Zimmerman, against a Crew attack that has been dangerous, albeit inconsistently this week. Hany Mukhtar has been in top form with seven goals and two assists over the last month; stopping him will be the priority for the visitors.
