From MLS Communications:
NEW YORK (August 16, 2021) – Major League Soccer has teamed up with the League’s media partners in the United States to present thrilling matches to fans during MLS Rivalry Week. This year’s iteration, highlighted by back-to-back weekends of excitement on August 20-22 and August 27-29, will bring fans nine national broadcasts on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, FOX, FOX Deportes, FS1, Univision, and TUDN.
ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will kick off Rivalry Week on Friday, Aug. 20 at 10:30 p.m. ET with one of MLS’ longest rivalries: the LA Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes. The matchup features the League’s all-time leading goalscorer, Chris Wondolowski of the Earthquakes, against a Galaxy side led by Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, who is in the race for the 2021 Golden Boot with 10 goals.
The following day welcomes a doubleheader of Rivalry Week matches starting with Minnesota United FC - Sporting Kansas City on ESPN at 3:30 p.m. ET. The New York Derby concludes the evening as the New York Red Bulls and NYCFC battle for local bragging rights on Saturday night on FS1 in their first matchup of the season.
Bridging the rivalry weekends is the MLS All-Star Game presented by Target with the first-ever matchup between the best of MLS and best of Liga MX. A highlight of All-Star Week is the MLS All-Star Concert on Tuesday, Aug. 24 at The Torch, located at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This year, the party before the big showdown will feature Kaytranada and Big Boi. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster and TheTorch.LA.
The focus turns back to League play with a pair of ESPN matches on Friday, August 27 as Columbus Crew take on Ohio foes FC Cincinnati at 6:30 p.m. ET before Orlando City SC faces Florida rival Inter Miami CF later that evening.
On Saturday, Aug. 28, Atlanta United takes on Nashville SC on Univision at 3:30 p.m. ET, followed by the highly anticipated matchup of Los Angeles Football Club versus LA Galaxy on FOX. LAFC standouts Carlos Vela, Diego Rossi, Eduard Atuesta and Jesús David Murillo and LA Galaxy stars Hernandez and Julian Araujo will go from teammates with the MLS All-Star Team to fierce competitors in a four-day span.
To cap off Rivalry Week, fans will watch the newest rivalry in MLS – Austin FC versus FC Dallas – on FS1 and Fox Deportes, followed by the oldest rivalry in North American soccer on ESPN: the Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders FC. Dating back to 1975, Portland and Seattle have faced off 113 times overall.
Fans can join the conversation on social media using #RivalryWeek, the official Rivalry Week hashtag. The schedule of MLS Rivalry Week matches is detailed below. Twitter will livestream the Atlanta United versus Nashville SC match. For more information on #RivalryWeek, visit MLSsoccer.com.
Rivalry Week National Broadcast Schedule: August 20 - 29
Friday, August 20
- 10:30 p.m. ET: LA Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes (ESPN2, ESPN Deportes)
Saturday, August 21
- 3:30 p.m. ET: Minnesota United vs. Sporting Kansas City (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
- 8 p.m. ET: New York Red Bulls vs. NYCFC (FS1, FOX Deportes)
Friday, August 27
- 6:30 p.m. ET: Columbus Crew SC vs. FC Cincinnati (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
- 8:30 p.m. ET: Orlando City SC vs. Inter Miami CF (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
Saturday, August 28
- 3:30 p.m. ET: Atlanta United vs. Nashville SC (Univision, TUDN)
- 7 p.m. ET: LAFC vs. LA Galaxy (FOX, FOX Deportes)
Sunday, August 29
- 8 p.m. ET: Austin FC vs. FC Dallas (FS1, FOX Deportes)
- 10:30 p.m. ET: Seattle Sounders FC vs. Portland Timbers (ESPN, ESPN Deportes)
Edited by Sean McCaffery