“Go West, young man.”
The famous saying, attributed to author and newspaper editor Horace Greeley, has always been used with regards to sports in North America—seemingly telling players that fortune and glory reside in the west, with the east always marked as the inferior conference.
And the phrase has never been more true with this season’s Major League Soccer, with the Western Conference looking to be a tight finish up until the final day of the regular season, compared with the Inter Miami-dominated Eastern Conference.
As of writing, only five points separate the seventh-seed Vancouver Whitecaps (47 points) and second-place LAFC (52 points)—the latter are tied with Real Salt Lake (only leading through goal difference) and are two points behind Colorado Rapids and Seattle Sounders.
Meanwhile, Houston Dynamo are in sixth with 48 points.
Even with a six-point advantage this late into the season, league leaders LA Galaxy (58 points) are not safe and could still be knocked off the top spot, especially with their closest competitor having a game in hand.
With all of the West’s top clubs in action on October 3, the race at the top gets more exciting as each day passes.
I’m pretty sure SBOTOP football fans cannot wait for the MLS Cup playoffs.
Colorado Rapids vs LA Galaxy
Despite being in a top four spot, Colorado’s place is not secure, and if their form suffers with three games left, then Chris Armas’ side could very well tumble down the standings.
Losers of two in their last three matches (routed 3-0 by Minnesota in their last outing, whilst suffering a 4-1 beatdown in the hands of Sporting Kansas City before winning 2-0 against Toronto), the Rapids can close the gap on Thursday against LA Galaxy at home.
Galaxy, meanwhile, aren’t as invincible as they seem. They were unable to keep a clean sheet in the whole month of September and had three straight 4-2 results (2W-0D-1L).
This match will definitely present plenty of Major League Soccer 2024 highlights, so don’t dare to miss it out.
LAFC vs St. Louis City
LAFC are in the midst of a slump and are in danger of losing their spot should they continue to be out of form.
The Denis Bouanga-led squad had only won twice in the entire month of September, losing thrice and levelling twice.
But even with an inconsistent form, the home side can take comfort in the fact that they’re facing an already eliminated club in St. Louis. However, John Hackworth’s men aren’t to be underestimated, as they have won three of their last five games—including back-to-back wins in their last two—and had a win over LA Galaxy last month.
Vancouver Whitecaps vs Seattle Sounders
Heading to the playoffs for the second year in a row, the Whitecaps will be looking to start their last four games with a win after settling for a draw in three of their last four outings.
Ryan Gauld and Brian White will hope that they can steer Vancouver in the right direction.
However, they face a tough outing against the in-form Seattle Sounders, who have won three of their last four matches, with their only defeat coming against the Portland Timbers last September 1.
With Jordan Morris, Raul Ruidiaz and Albert Rusnak leading the charge, Seattle can still disrupt the proceedings at the top.
Real Salt Lake vs Minnesota United
Real Salt Lake are looking to leapfrog LAFC in the standings with a good result against Minnesota United.
RSL have drawn their last two games against Portland and Austin, whilst they were given a scare by Dallas in a 3-2 win.
Pablo Mastroeni must ensure his club don’t waste any more points, with Colorado and Seattle right behind their tracks.
Minnesota, on the other hand, will look to avoid a wildcard scenario with the Portland Timbers.
Currently sitting eighth on the table, they are only two points behind Vancouver and three points behind Houston.
They have won their last two matches and have kept clean sheets in both, so they’ll be heading to America First Field in fine form.
Houston Dynamo vs New England Revolution
A tale of two sides, Houston Dynamo have already clinched a postseason spot in the Western Conference, whilst New England Revolution—despite being placed second-last—can still, shockingly, make it to the playoffs.
Historically, New England have dominated this matchup, but with the team struggling this season, Houston are the favourites to win this one according to the Major League Soccer 2024 odds. A loss to Houston can effectively eliminate the Revs from playoff contention.
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