Friday 1st June
Colorado Rapids vs Vancouver Whitecaps
We kick off June in Colorado as they welcome a Vancouver side who will believe they can put an end to their five-game winless run.
The team they’ll be facing will still be without Dominique Badji and as they sit in a six-game losing streak, its increasingly hard to see that coming to an end.
To take full advantage of this opportunity to stop the rot, Vancouver will hope Cristian Techera travels in the same mood as last week. The Uruguayan hit a hat-trick against Brad Friedel’s Revs which should be him great confidence going into this game.
Hat. Trick. Hero. #HereWeCome #VWFC pic.twitter.com/c5jZcIjukM
— Vancouver Whitecaps (@WhitecapsFC) May 27, 2018
Portland Timbers vs LA Galaxy
Coming off a win in Colorado last week, Portland can extend their winning streak to seven games against a somewhat resurgent LA Galaxy.
After two back to back wins the Galaxy fell to FC Dallas in midweek but Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to the scoreboard twice.
However, those goals did come after the Galaxy were already 3-0 down and if they turn up in Portland in the same manner, they can say goodbye to three points returning to Los Angeles with them.
Especially as Portland have only conceded once in their last three home games. If the visitors do manage to win though they’ll climb to just a point behind Portland.
Saturday 2nd June
Atlanta United vs Philadelphia Union
Despite sitting at the top of the Eastern Conference, Atlanta’s form has taken a slight dip recently. Claiming just one win from four games they’ll be looking to steady the ship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
One player that’ll be key to this is MLS’ top scorer, Josef Martinez who bagged his ninth goal of the season in midweek action. The striker also scored in the last meeting between the sides so will want to keep that record up.
Philadelphia may not be a guaranteed three pointer however, as they’ve been in relatively good form.
Two wins and a goalless draw against the Red Bulls (who Atlanta drew with in midweek) could indicate that Philly could be more than a match for Tata Martino’s side.
One thing that’s for sure is this’ll be a much more interesting match than it first would’ve seemed when the fixtures were released.
Columbus Crew vs Toronto FC
Following Federico Higuain’s dismissal last week, Columbus did well to leave Sporting KC with a point.
Proving that they can hold strong against one of the form sides in the league’s home stadiums could be a great motivator for this week.
Toronto have continued to have a topsy-tervy season as they’ve only won one in four, like Atlanta. Looking at this game, its very hard to see Toronto coming away with a win even though they are the current champions.
Montreal Impact vs Houston Dynamo
Similar to their Canadian comrades, Montreal are in shocking form. Five losses from their last six games signifies that.
With Alberth Elis coming into the game in great form this could signal even more danger for Remi Garde’s men. The striker has scored seven in 11 this season (four in three) and looks unstoppable at the minute.
Despite losing to RSL last week, Houston should be coming into this with great confidence with a chance of hitting 3rd place in the West.
New England Revolution vs New York Red Bulls
In an all East Coast encounter we look set for a very tight match as the last five meetings between these sides have been settled by just one goal.
Looking at the Eastern Conference, its also hard to separate the teams as they sit 4th and 5th respectively.
The Red Bulls are 4th and have had an impressive run, not losing in six games which included a Hudson River Derby and a trip to Atlanta.
Also, they host both the 2nd top scorer and the top assister in the league in Bradley Wright-Phillips (eight goals) and Kaku (nine assists) so containing them could be a tough task.
As for New England, they could also use a result against Atlanta to encourage them ahead of this weekend. Without as strong an attack as the Red Bulls they may have to heavily rely on their solid defence yet again.
New York City FC vs Orlando City
Having slipped up over the last few weeks, NYCFC will be very grateful that they’ll be returning to Yankee Stadium.
After an impressive start to the season, NYCFC’s last five games have been spoiled by away form which saw them lose twice in four games.
However, in every game at Yankee Stadium they’ve come out on top which should be the case this weekend. Especially considering the form of David Villa (four goals in three games).
As for Orlando, they’ve had a similar slip to NYCFC. After winning six straight games, they’ve lost their last three, all by a 2-1 scoreline. So, don’t be surprised if Orlando stay in the game but miss out slightly.
FC Dallas vs LAFC
Meeting on Saturday are too impressive yet inconsistent sides who have already crossed paths this season.
Just last month, LAFC hosted FC Dallas in a 1-1 draw which is a great way of showing how close the two sides are to each other.
FC Dallas currently sit 2nd in the West on 23 points while LAFC are chasing behind them in 3rd on 21 points so this could be a massive game if they are able to be separated.
The key players to look out for during this game will be Maximilliano Urutti (six goals) and Carlos Vela (seven goals).
Chicago Fire vs San Jose Earthquakes
Usually returning home bodes well for sides but that hasn’t been the case for Chicago recently. They’ve lost three of their last four home games but coming up against struggling San Jose could help them get back on track.
San Jose, who are yet to reach 10 points so far this season, despite the exploits of Danny Hoesen, have only secured two wins this season.
Looking towards this game, even if six goal Hoesen turns up, it doesn’t seem that’ll be enough for San Jose. They’ve already conceded in 17 straight games, they’re worst run before that was 18 games in 2009.
The recent history also favours the hosts who have won the last two meetings between the teams.
Real Salt Lake vs Seattle Sounders
RSL didn’t have the best start to the season but they’ve started to build momentum and move into 5th in the West.
One of those momentum building wins even came against Seattle last weekend so that could see them play without fear this weekend.
However, having played (and won) in midweek, this’ll be a big test of the fitness of the RSL players. That paired with the fact that Seattle will be adamant to get revenge should make this one of the more interesting games of the weekend.
Sunday 3rd June
Sporting Kansas City vs Minnesota United
Like Atlanta United, SKC’s form has taken a little dip with two back to back draws but remain at the top of the Western Conference.
Taking on a Minnesota United side who have lost their last four away games they may have a great chance to taking the driving seat at the top again.
However, a big miss for SKC will be Felipe Gutierrez (joint top scorer on five goals) which could see them continue their dry-ish spell in front of goal.
Knowing that SKC aren’t in the scoring form they were in at the start of the season they could have the confidence to really take it to them and possibly leave with three points.
