MLS Matchday 6 – A Hooligan Preview | OneFootball

Another fourteen fixtures this weekend, all but one sitting behind the Lionel Messi Memorial Paywall, a.k.a. the AppleTV+ MLS Season Pass. These five below are the Hooligan choice fixtures, but we’ll list them all at the far bottom.

Toronto FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

Saturday March 29 @ 2:30pm ET – BMO Field, Toronto, CanadaNo passports needed for this all-Canada clash. Vancouver will be looking for revenge after last week’s surprising loss to a strong Chicago Fire team. Happily for them, the scheduling gods delivered a fatted calf in the form of Toronto FC. Toronto sit in 29th place, with a draw from their opening match their solitary point. They lost to the NY Red Bulls last week and had a man advantage. They’ve allowed more goals (12) than any other team, while Vancouver average 2 per game. This might not be pretty.

Inter Miami CF vs. Philadelphia Union (Matchday 6 Pick of the Week)

Saturday March 29 @ 7:30pm ET – Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, FloridaMatchday 6 has delivered a battle of Eastern titans here. Inter have yet to lose a game, and their four goals conceded is among the league’s lowest. But Philly has Tai Baribo, the most dangerous player in the MLS so far statistically. His form has dipped in the past two weeks but If he rediscovers his fuego it will be a long game for Miami’s central defenders. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi is expected to return to the pitch, though for how long remains to be seen.

Nashville SC vs. FC Cincinnati

Saturday March 29 @ 8:30pm ET – GEODIS Park, Nashville, TennesseeMany pundits smarter than me picked FC Cincinnati to be this season’s Team to Beat. That hasn’t quite manifested yet. Cincy is the poster boy for inconsistency this season, dropping points to teams above and below them in the table. Their much lauded acquisition of Togoese forward Kévin Denkey has yet to bear fruit. Nashville, on the other hand, has been on a quiet hot streak. With a draw and a loss to start the campaign, they’ve now won three in a row by convincing margins, scoring eight and conceding one. That’s a slow burn akin to eating one of their red-level hot chicken sandos.

San Diego FC vs. LAFC

Saturday March 29 @ 10:30pm ET – Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, CaliforniaThis is a late one for all you east coast hooligans. My podcast colleague Gary Striker has a bit of a jones for San Diego, but the sheen is dimming on the newest MLS franchise. From their surprise opening two wins they slipped into two consecutive draws, and suffered their first loss last week. They now sit just behind LAFC in the Western standings. The visitor’s participation in the CONCACAF Champions Cup meant they played eight games in a four week span. That pressure doesn’t let up, as they host Inter next Wednesday in Round 3. San Diego should capitalize on a thinly stretched opponent.

St. Louis CITY SC vs. Austin FC

Sunday March 30 @ 2:15PM ET – Energizer Park, St. Louis, MissouriThis match will be broadcast nationwide on FOX.

This one is for all those defense-minded fans. You know the ones who hate goals and cheer every crunching tackle and goal-line clearance. Both teams are super stingy conceding goals. St. Louis have four clean sheets already, and only gave up a single goal in their loss to Philly last week (the last 25+ minutes of which they played with 10 men). Backup keeper Benjamin Lundt was outstanding in that match. We’ll see if he’s earned another start here. Austin FC are a bit enigmatic. Every game this season has been decided by a single goal. Newly arrived striker Brandon Vázquez has yet to find his form, with only one goal in five matches. They’ll need him to step up in this one.

The Other Fixtures

All games streaming on MLS Season Pass