While the first leg of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Final may capture much of the attention later this evening, there’s plenty of action in Major League Soccer with a dozen matches kicking off across the country. Read on for our preview of all of the evening’s action.
Atlanta United-New England Revolution
The earliest match of the evening sees a clash of two teams whose hot starts to the season have cooled considerably. New England haven’t won in three matches as they’ve struggled with injuries in attack, but did snatch a dramatic draw at the weekend against Chicago. Atlanta will welcome back Luiz Araujo, who had been suspended, but have just won just once in their last six in the league.
D.C. United-CF Montréal
Christian Benteke’s seven goals have allowed the hosts to remain firmly in the playoff picture, but they’ll be eager to get a leg up on a Montréal side who have won four of six to shake off an uneven start to the season. The visitors have struggled at times going forward, but Jonathan Sirois has made an impressive start to the season, giving Wayne Rooney’s side a difficult task.
Philadelphia Union-Charlotte FC
The free-scoring Union continued their good form at the weekend, with a 3-1 win over New York City FC. Julián Carranza scored twice, and both he and Daniel Gazdag have seven goals this season. Charlotte have won three of four in the league after beating the ten-man LA Galaxy at the weekend, but will find a win here a far tougher order.
Toronto FC-Chicago Fire
A bravura performance from Lorenzo Insigne helped the Canadian side to a badly-needed win at the weekend, and they’ll be eager to build momentum here despite some key absences in midfield. The visitors’ last two league matches have been three-all draws, so there’s likely to be no lack of entertainment here, with veterans Kei Kamara and Xherdan Shaqiri leading the way.
Seattle Sounders-San José Earthquakes
The last match of the round sees the hosts battling the always-dangerous ‘Quakes. After grinding out a 1-0 win over New York Red Bulls at the weekend with ten men, Seattle will have a chance to pull four points clear of idle St. Louis City atop the Western Conference. San José are winless in three, but remain as dangerous as ever thanks to the strong attacking play of Cristían Espinoza and Jeremy Ebobisse.
