Matchday 20: What to know for Wednesday's must-watch matches | OneFootball

By MLSsoccer staff

After a brief pause for the FIFA Club World Cup and Concacaf Gold Cup, the 2025 MLS season returns to its regularly scheduled programming with a jam-packed Wednesday night slate.

Matchday 20 highlights include the Columbus Crew hosting Atlanta United, the second-ever meeting between St. Louis CITY SC and Orlando City SC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC taking on San Diego FC for first place in the Western Conference.

The summertime soccer is coming in hot.

Columbus Crew vs. Atlanta United

Will the Crew contend for the top spot in the Eastern Conference? Now's the time for Wilfried Nancy's side to start moving up the standings, where they currently sit fourth, six points behind the first-place Philadelphia Union.

The 2023 MLS Cup champions and Leagues Cup 2024 winners hit a rare dip in form over most of the spring, going winless in six before righting the ship with a 2-1 victory at home over Vancouver. Recent arrival Ibrahim Aliyu and Diego Rossi scored in the get-right win.

With new pieces contributing and established stars like Rossi (9g/3a) in solid form, the Crew look poised to be a force during the dog days of summer.

Statement win! Columbus Crew knock off Vancouver Whitecaps

Meanwhile, Atlanta are still trying to figure things out under new head coach Ronny Deila and a high-profile roster led by returning club legend Miguel Almirón and MLS-record signing Emmanuel Latte Lath.

After convincing wins over FC Cincinnati and Orlando, the Five Stripes have dropped their last two on the road – most recently suffering a 4-0 loss at New York City FC.

The third of six straight games away from home takes them to Lower.com Field, where the Crew have lost just once this season (5W-1L-4D). Can Atlanta turn things around with a statement performance at one of MLS's most intimidating grounds?

St. Louis CITY SC vs. Orlando City

St. Louis are attempting to turn their season around after parting ways with head coach Olof Mellberg last month. The early returns under interim manager David Critchley have been solid, with CITY going 1W-1L-1D during his first three games.

Perhaps the most notable improvement under Critchley is St. Louis' offense, which has scored six goals during the above stretch. In 15 games under Mellberg, the club tallied just 11 times.

Designated Player João Klauss has scored four of those goals, including the first hat trick in club history during CITY's 3-3 home draw with the LA Galaxy on Matchday 19. Klauss earned Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra and AT&T Goal of the Matchday honors for his standout performance.

Player of the Matchday 19: João Klauss

Orlando also know a thing or two about scoring goals, netting 32 tallies through 18 games this season (good for sixth-best in MLS).

Martín Ojeda leads the Lions with 9g/5a, most recently producing the lone goal in a 1-0 win at the Colorado Rapids that moved the club to fifth place in the East.

DPs Marco Pašalić (6g/4a) and Luis Muriel (6g/3a) are also key contributors, as is breakout homegrown Alex Freeman (4g/1a). However, the 20-year-old right back is currently with the US men's national team at the Gold Cup and will be a noticeable absence for Oscar Pareja's side.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. San Diego FC

The Whitecaps will also be missing several starters due to Gold Cup obligations, most notably Sebastian Berhalter and Brian White (both with the USMNT). Jayden Nelson is with Canada, as was Ali Ahmed until he suffered an ankle injury.

Additionally, the 'Caps were recently hit with the unfortunate news of Sam Adekugbe's season-ending injury while representing Les Rogues.

Those absences were felt during Matchday 19's loss at Columbus, a result that snapped Vancouver's 11-game league unbeaten streak.

Despite this adversity, Vancouver are first in the West. The 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup runner-up side will look to keep it that way in a must-win game against their closest challenger for the top spot.

Can San Diego FC win the Supporters' Shield?

That challenger is none other than San Diego, the high-flying expansion side enjoying a dream start to life in MLS.

Mikey Varas' squad has defied expectations in their debut season, riding a ball-dominant, aggressive style to second place in the West.

This ethos was on full display during their 4-2 victory at Minnesota United on Matchday 19, which included braces from Anders Dreyer and Milan Iloski.

Dreyer especially stole the spotlight at Allianz Field, scoring an AT&T MLS Goal of the Year contender with a brilliant strike from midfield as he improved his MLS-best goal contribution total to 17 (8g/9a).