SOME SUNDAY SUPERLATIVES
Atlanta United vs. D.C. United | 4 p.m. ET - Univision, TUDN, Twitter
Most Likely to Make You Wonder About Next Year
We're only…[checking]...like 28 weeks from the beginning of the 2023 MLS season. For both of these teams, those 28 weeks will hopefully go by quickly. For D.C., 2022 is a wash. For Atlanta, 2022 will, at the very least, end far, far below expectations.
Like we've said a lot lately, D.C. United is spending the rest of the season working on themselves. The Wooden Spoon seems probable but they've gone ahead and started their offseason in the middle of the current season. This kind of result always seemed a bit likely all considered. What didn't seem likely is D.C. shutting off so completely that they get blasted 6-0 by Philadelphia to stretch their winless streak to five. That's not the kind of effort you'd expect from a group of players who are effectively fighting for their spot on the team in 2023, and playing to earn the good graces of a new, internationally famous manager in Wayne Rooney. Maybe, just maybe, their loss to Philly last week came as a wake-up call.
And, honestly, they might need it to survive against an Atlanta United team that's looked a lot more like the Atlanta we expected in attack over their last two, non-Red Bulls games. They've progressed the ball quickly, they've found space at the top of the box and they've piled on shots against playoff-caliber teams in Columbus and Cincinnati. It hasn't been perfect and they haven't created a ton of high-quality chances, but it has been an improvement. It's too little too late in regard to their playoff hopes. It's nice to see some proof of concept at this point though.
That hasn't helped them defensively though. The Five Stripes still found creative ways to shut off and allow goals they probably shouldn't. If D.C. can withstand another decent attacking performance from Atlanta, Taxi Fountas and company will have their chances. If they can capitalize, D.C. may end up with a result that gets them back on track as they try to close out the season.
Orlando City vs. NYCFC | 7:30 p.m. ET - FS1, FOX Deportes
Most likely to be a playoff preview
The Lions are in fifth. NYCFC are in third. It's not all that unlikely that these teams meet in the first round of the playoffs. But, right now, neither team feels all that likely to go much further after the first round. NYCFC have forgotten how to play defense and Orlando, in general, is somehow making their way along with a bit of luck and steady average play. Those aren't the characteristics of title winners.
All we can really do with this one is see if either team starts to shift towards something a little more positive down the stretch. I mean, if you've watched NYCFC as of late and Orlando all season, all you really know is that on a game-by-game basis, you don't really know anything at all. It's a potential playoff preview, but maybe not one we can actually learn a whole lot from.
New England Revolution vs. LA Galaxy | 8 p.m. ET - MLS LIVE on ESPN+
Most definitely going to shape the playoff race
Like, all of it. New England and LA both entered the weekend in eighth place in their respective conferences. No other game will have as many outside eyes on it from the rest of the teams chasing the playoffs. It's critical for both sides.
Especially for the Revs, who need to get healthy ASAP. Giacomo Vrioni, Dylan Borrero and Gustavo Bou are all listed as questionable. Djordje Petrovic and Carles Gil can only do so much. If any of the three questionable players are available to go at least 60 minutes, it will be a massive boost for this game and for New England's playoff chances as a whole.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy are just looking to find some consistency. Their last three games have seen them lose 4-2 to Sporting KC, a 5-2 win over Vancouver and a 3-3 draw with Seattle, where they went up 2-0, gave up three second-half goals and then stumbled into a late equalizer. That three-game stretch is a decent encapsulation of the entirety of their season. The Galaxy have swerved back and forth between one of the league's best teams and one of the teams in the league most likely to step on a rake and smack themselves in the face.
Defensive errors and objectively bad finishing by any measure from key players are the reason they came into the weekend in eighth place in the first place. But these are things that feel like they can be ironed out over the next few weeks before the playoffs. The Galaxy, in a strange way, have almost quietly been one of the best teams in the league according to their underlying numbers. Per ASA, they're currently eighth in the league in expected goal differential.
It's tough to find much consistency though when you're making major changes to your midfield. This will likely be Riqui Puig's first start and he'll probably join relative newcomer Gaston Brugman in the center of the pitch. They're both going to have to bear a heavy load down the stretch. The learning curve might be steep for Puig and for his teammates learning his play style considering how little time they have left to not only make the playoffs but get to the point where they can play well enough to make a run once they get there.
With players on the mend for New England and new faces entering the lineup for LA, this is the kind of game where "grinding out a win" becomes an appropriate cliche. No matter what the outcome though, about a dozen other teams are going to be very interested in the final score.
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