MLS Week 8: Eastern Conference Preview | OneFootball

MLS never fails to deliver with drama, and this weekend, there are plenty of exciting dramatic games waiting for us.

This article will mainly focus on games between Eastern Conference teams. If you want to read about the Western Conference, then click here.

Otherwise, without any further ado, let’s dive in.

CF Montréal vs. Red Bull New York

Kickoff: 2:30pm ET/ 11:30am PTStade Saputo, Montreal, Canada

This is a battle of two teams in very different positions. Montréal have lost six of their seven games, results which saw Marco Donadel get the sack this week. Meanwhile, Red Bull New York are doing well under young manager Michael Bradley.

Last week, Montréal suffered a loss at home to Philadelphia Union while the Red Bulls earned a 2-2 draw at Inter Miami’s new home. But New York did have a midweek game in the U.S. Open Cup (a win over Pittsburgh Riverhounds) so they might be a little tired this weekend.

A new manager bounce is a real thing. Could Montréal play better with Donadel gone? They could, and they might end up earning a point here.

Prediction: Montreal 1-1 Red Bulls

Atlanta United vs Nashville SC

Kickoff: 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PTMercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

‘Tata’ Martino is back in Atlanta but the golden days aren’t quite back yet. In fact, they are winless in last three MLS games, so they need a strong showing against their Southern neighbors this week.

On the other hand, Nashville are in a dreamland.

On Tuesday they become the first MLS team to win a game in Mexico’s Azteca Stadium, defeating Club América 1-0 courtesy of Hany Mukhtar. B.J Callaghan is doing fantastic work there and they are currently first in the East.

This will be an exciting game. On paper, Nashville should win but because of their midweek game, they might be physically and mentally exhausted. It could be a draw.

Prediction: Atlanta 1-1 Nashville

FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire

Kickoff: 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PTTQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is in trouble. They have conceded 19 goals in last five games. With only one win in that same timeframe their head coach Pat Noonan is under real pressure.

Meanwhile, Chicago Fire are loving life under Gregg Berhalter. They won their last four games and conceded just twice, which is something Berhalter was working on during the offseason: tightening up at the back.

Cincy will be at home though, and their home is a fortress. So despite the two teams being in opposite run of forms, this might end up being a stalemate especially since Chicago don’t score a lot of goals.

Prediction: Cincinnati 0-0 Chicago

New England Revolution vs Columbus Crew

Kickoff: 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PTGillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

It’s been a mixed bag of results for New England Revolution under Marko Mitrovic with three wins and three losses in MLS. But that’s expected, considering how bad they’ve been in the last few seasons. He needs time to build his project.

Meanwhile, Columbus are struggling under their new manager Henrik Rydstrom. They’ve only won once in seven games so far. Star striker Wessam Abou Ali’s recent injury is just making things worse.

Based on the current forms, it should be the home team taking all three points this week.

Prediction: New England 2-0 Columbus

NYCFC vs Charlotte FC

Kickoff: 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PTCiti Field, Queens, NYC

This will be a great matchup for a Saturday night with two teams currently on a great form. In fact, they both have same amount of points after seven games.

NYCFC knocked out Charlotte in three-game series in last year’s playoffs. So Charlotte will be hungry for revenge. But as we all know, playing NYCFC in one of their baseball stadiums (the other one being Yankee Stadium) is one of the hardest things to do in MLS.

We will probably see a lot of drama, and quite a few goals for this one. But ultimately, NYCFC should get the win.

Prediction: NYCFC 3-2 Charlotte

Orlando City vs Houston Dynamo

Kickoff: 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PTInter&Co Stadium, Orlando, Florida

After Oscar Pareja left, Orlando City suffered back-to-back embarassing defeats. First, they lost 5-0 to Nashville and then 6-0 to LAFC. In the last two games though, they managed a 1-1 draw against Columbus and a narrow 1-0 win over USL League One side FC Naples.

Things aren’t any better for Houston Dynamo. They did bully USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive in the Open Cup, but they lost last three games in MLS– giving up 11 goals. Ouch.

How is Ben Olsen still employed? Nobody knows at this point. This is a matchup of two terrible teams, and it looks like a stalemate.

Prediction: Orlando 0-0 Houston

Philadelphia Union vs D.C. United

Kickoff: 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PTSubaru Park, Chester, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Union won the 2025 MLS Supporters’ Shield, but they’ve started this season in an awful fashion: only winning one game out of seven so far. They lost the other six games.

Is it any better for D.C. United? Just barely. They’ve won two games and currently have seven points out of seven games.

Despite their awful form though, the Union still have a talented squad and at some point, they will pick up from where they left off last season. Could that be this weekend? It very well could be.

Prediction: Union 3-1 D.C. United