Four of the 26 Major League Soccer matches from Oct. 27 through Nov. 1 are set to be screened on national TV. The remaining 22 games are scheduled to be televised regionally or locally and exclusively available on MLSsoccer.com, ESPN+ and fuboTV.
The first game to be televised nationally is a Southeast rivalry matchup between Orlando City and Atlanta United on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The game’s broadcast is set to start at 7:30 p.m. ET through Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes.
The Portland Timbers and LA Galaxy game will be screened on ESPN and ESPN Deportes also on Wednesday, starting at 10 p.m. ET.
The Texas Derby is third in line in terms of games televised nationally and set to start on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 8:30 p.m. ET. You will be able to see FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo go head-to-head through TUDN USA and Univision.
And to close a week filled with MLS action, the Columbus Crew and the Philadelphia Union will face-off on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 3:30 p.m. ET. ABC and ESPN Deportes will take care of the broadcast for this game.
Game of the Week: Columbus Crew vs. Philadelphia Union
Two Eastern Conference heavy hitters will take the ring on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 3:30 p.m. for you to watch live through ABC and ESPN Deportes.
Columbus Crew
Columbus was in control of the Eastern Conference until Toronto FC came knocking on Sept. 27 with a 3-1 win, ending the Crew’s then six-game undefeated streak. The Black & Gold proceeded to lose two games – to Montreal and Cincinnati – draw two and win one. Now, the Crew finds themselves in third place in the east with the possibility of dropping to fourth if they fail to win their upcoming game against Supporters’ Shield frontrunner, Philadelphia.
Columbus Crew head coach Caleb Porter relies on striker Gyasi Zardes and attacking midfielder Pedro Santos in scoring. Together, Zardes and Santos have 17 goals and ten assists this season and were involved in seven of the Crew’s last eight goals. Zardes, who is chasing LAFC’s Diego Rossi (12 goals) for the golden boot, and Santos, who is still in the race for most assists this season, will be looking forward to getting involved in the scoring against Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Union
The hottest team in MLS at the moment, the Philadelphia Union, can potentially seal their first Supporters’ Shield in franchise history with wins over the Fire on Wednesday and the Crew on Sunday. Ever since The U’s 2-1 loss to Toronto FC, they have won four of their five games (4 wins and a draw), including a 5-0 home win over Toronto last Saturday. Head coach Jim Curtin has developed the perfect formula to win: a core of homegrown players surrounded by efficient experienced and international players.
Twenty-year-old attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson, 21-year-old attacking midfielder Anthony Fontana and 21-year-old center back Mark McKenzie have gained the attention of European clubs, combining for a total of 12 goals and nine assists. Meanwhile, International players Sergio Santos, Kacper Przybylko, Jamiro Monteiro, Jose “El Brujo” Martinez, Jakob Glesnes and Kai Wagner have all been instrumental in the growth of the young players and results on the pitch throughout the season. Add the experience in club veterans Alejandro Bedoya, Raymon Gaddis and Ilsinho and you get the perfect mix for success in a league like MLS.
Talk of the Week: Supporters Shield and race to playoffs
Last week’s “Talk of the Week” revolved around the Supporters’ Shield Foundation’s attempt to revoke the 2020 Supporters Shield trophy from the team with the most points at the end of the MLS regular season. The members of the foundation decided to change their minds after backlash and further review of their initial decision.
— Supporters' Shield Foundation (@SupporterShield) October 23, 2020
The following Twitter thread debunks each of the three initial arguments the Supporters’ Shield Foundation presented in their initial decision.
I’m so glad that I’m not the only one who believes that the decision to not award an #MLS team the #SupportersShield is unnecessary and selfish.
— Juan Aguerrevere (@J_Aguerrevere) October 22, 2020
These are the 3 points that the @SupporterShield Foundation made to forego awarding the Shield and my rebuttal to each one of them:
Turning to the race to playoffs, the eastern and western conferences have tight battles going on.
Eastern Conference
All eyes are on Montreal Impact (9th place, 23 pts.), Inter Miami (10th place, 21 pts.), Chicago Fire (11th place, 21 pts., one game in hand), Atlanta United (12th place, 19 pts.) and DC United (13th place, 18 pts.). Anything can happen with these five sides separated by just five points.
The key to this playoff race is the Chicago Fire since they have a game in hand. However, they have a difficult schedule ahead facing the Philadelphia Union, Nashville, Minnesota and NYCFC.
Inter Miami and the Montreal Impact will aim to collect at least six points in their last three games. By doing so, they will maximize their chances to secure their current play-in Round spots.
Western Conference
The race for playoffs in the Western Conference is tighter than that of the Eastern Conference. Anything is possible in the west given that LA Galaxy, who are in the last place, and the Vancouver Whitecaps, who are in seventh place, are only separated by six points with three to four games to go. But the teams to really look at are FC Dallas (6th place, 25 pts.), Vancouver (7th place, 24 pts.), San Jose (8th place, 24 pts.), Real Salt Lake (9th place, 22 pts.), and Houston Dynamo (10th place, 21 pts.). All these sides have three games left except for FC Dallas, who have four.
The following are important matches between the sides mentioned above:
- San Jose vs. Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, Oct. 28
- FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo on Saturday, Oct. 31
