2025 Matchweek 2 Previews

Matchups for every MLS team's second game

We’re coming up the second week of MLS action. Just a couple notes before we get into the games:

• I’ve made a couple updates to team retention ratings to account for some late-breaking player transfers, like Santi Rodríguez being sold by LAFC and Houston selling Micael

• Philadelphia’s GAM trade for Indiana Vassilev changed their transfer spending amount but wasn’t enough bump them up into the next category

• LA Galaxy are now marked as “New #1” for goalkeeping since it looks like starting Novak Mićović (just two games played last year) instead of John McCarthy was Vanney’s decision, not an injury concern

• I’m planning to wait about four weeks of matches before trying to group 2025 performance measures like offense, defense, etc. Until then, you can see recent results in the lower right of the preview grids.

• A lot of the “storylines” for each team are ongoing, so they’ll be repeats from last week, but in a few cases they’re different; those are marked.

Important reminder: I know less about your favorite team than you do, but I’m hoping I can help you understand a little more about teams you don’t normally see play. If you’re new here and want to understand more about what the colored boxes mean and how I arrived at them, see my season preview series (part 1, part 2, and part 3).

Make sure to subscribe if you haven’t already to get more previews like this and the matchweek reviews (see week 1 here if you missed it).

Enough preamble, let’s see the matchups!

Charlotte FC vs. Atlanta United

Charlotte: Wilfried Zaha ought to still be a devastating attacker in MLS, but is he motivated and bought in to what Charlotte are doing?

Charlotte: Their defense was great last year, but will efforts to improve the offense come at a cost to that solidity?

Atlanta: Other than maybe Miami, they have the most expensive frontline in MLS. Will it live up to the hype?

Atlanta: Is the defense going to remain “decent” this season with the new DPs and Mateusz Klich all on the field?

Real Salt Lake vs. Seattle Sounders

Real Salt Lake: They’ve had a lot of turnover from their offense, so there’s going to be a lot more weight on Diogo Gonçalves and young attacker Diego Luna, can they step up?

Real Salt Lake: Rafael Cabral is one of just a handful of new MLS starting goalkeepers in 2024. He seems to have a good defense in front of him, so can he post strong numbers?

Seattle: They tripled down on using domestic players in the attack, adding Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola to go with longstanding Sounder Jordan Morris. Will they hold their own in a league where most teams lean heavily on foreign attackers?

Seattle: The Sounders were very good last year and finished with their customary strong performance in the regular season, but it’s a lot easier to win trophies with a truly elite DP. Will Pedro de la Vega take a step forward—maybe several steps forward—to help provide that?

New England Revolution vs. Columbus Crew

New England: Carles Gil is a former league MVP coming off a down year. Can the new players around him help him shine?

New England: Leo Campana looked very good in limited action with Inter Miami, but Miami is such a weird team. Will he look as good in this very different situation?

Columbus: Columbus will probably replace Cucho when they can, but until that happens, can Diego Rossi carry the load as the offense’s remaining big star?

Columbus: Was Columbus’ success over the past two years driven more by Cucho’s star talent or by Nancy’s system?

New York Red Bulls vs. Nashville SC

Red Bulls: Are the Red Bulls still going to play with their famous intensity after bringing in some older players, like new DP forward Eric Choupo-Moting?

Red Bulls: Will the Red Bulls recreate the form of their magical playoff run, centered around a hopefully healthy Emil Forsberg, or are they going to look more like they did in their poor run into the playoffs late last season?

Nashville: Hany Mukhtar is still in his prime. Just a few years ago he was the league MVP, can he bounce back this season?

Nashville: Nashville didn’t finish strong last year after a coaching change, but with a full preseason, will BJ Callahan get better results?

Orlando City vs. Toronto FC

Orlando: The front office has put a lot of faith in Marco Pašalić to jumpstart the offense despite what seems (to me, anyway) a distinctly so-so résumé. Will he reward their trust?

[new] Orlando: The defense—decent in 2024 and mostly back in 2025—gave up four goals on relatively low xG to Philly in week 1. Was that just bad luck or are there cracks this season?

Toronto: Bernardeschi has had his off-the-field issues, but he’s a dangerous attacker and works hard against the ball. Is he still motivated, and if so, does he have enough support around him?

Toronto: Can new coach Robin Fraser get more out of a roster that hasn’t really been reinforced since last year’s dismal campaign?

Philadelphia Union vs. FC Cincinnati

Philadelphia: We’re expecting a return to their most direct, car-crash soccer game model, but how will they look after moving on from Jim Curtin after so long?

Philadelphia: Sorry Philly fans, take from someone who followed DC United during the Freddy Adu seasons. This is going to be annoying all year, but…Cavan Sullivan! How much will he play, and is he the chosen one will he look like he belongs?

[new] Cincinnati: For the second straight week, they’re playing an intense team after a midweek CCC match. They handled the Red Bulls; can they do the same with the Union?

Cincinnati: Of course everyone is going to be watching their new DPs, Evander and Denkey. If they are as good as hoped, this is a trophy contending team. Road games in Central America are no joke, but will this offense look as dominant as we expect against MLS competition?

Chicago Fire vs. DC United

Chicago: Will the many new players take a long time to adjust to Gregg Berhalter’s famously complex system of play, or can they be effective right out of the gate?

Chicago: Is Hugo Cuypers primed for the sort of big year that Berhalter’s forwards often had with the Crew?

DC United: Christian Benteke won the Golden Boot last season, but he’s 34. Can he pick up where he left off, or is he going to be less effective this season due to age and the departure of Matuesz Klich?

DC United: DC spent money in the last two transfer windows bringing in new talent for its defense and goalkeeping, but will coach Troy Lesesne’s style of play continue to leave them too exposed?

Sporting Kansas City vs. San Jose Earthquakes

Kansas City: Can an attacker like Dejan Joveljić who played well for a good team produce the same results dropped into a rebuilding team?

Kansas City: It doesn’t seem like they’ve done enough to improve the defense, but maybe the switch to a new starting goalkeeper (John Pulskamp) will help?

San Jose: Cristian Arango had two very good years with Real Salt Lake, but can he still be effective on a rebuilding team?

San Jose: He’s done it before, but can Bruce Arena once again resuscitate a team with clever (and a bit idiosyncratic) veteran acquisitions?

Minnesota United vs. CF Montréal

Minnesota: They finished strong last season and beat Real Salt Lake in the playoffs. Most of the players are back, so can they continue that momentum?

Minnesota: Tani Oluwaseyi went from 17th overall in the college draft to posting some of the league’s best attacking statistics in limited action last year. Was that a small sample flash in the pan, or can he pick up where he left off?

Montréal: They have bet heavily on youth. Will that pay dividends or will the suffer from their lack of high-end talent?

Montréal: Is the change of scenery going to unlock more production from Vrioni?

Colorado Rapids vs. FC Dallas

Colorado: They have brought back most of their good 2024 attack, plus some reinforcements, so is this the season Djordje Mihailovic steps into the ranks of the league’s elite players?

Colorado: Zach Steffan had very bad shotstopping statistics in the 2024 regular season. Is this a problem with him that’s going to continue, or will the changes to the defense in front of him help?

Dallas: Is Lucho motivated, or will he still be carrying some of the unhappiness that drove him out of Cincinnati?

Dallas: Are the big changes to the defense going to reduce goals allowed?

LAFC vs. NYCFC

LAFC: They moved on from a lot of midfielders and forwards in the offseason. Will the new offense be effective or it be Bouanga against the other team?

LAFC: Last season Giroud was on track to join the list of extremely famous but extremely disappointing designated players. After a full preseason, can he turn that around and be more effective?

[new] NYCFC: Can the defense step up and play well enough to compensate for what likely is going to be some offensive regression?

NYCFC: Alonso Martinez had an amazing season last year and was statistically one of the league’s best attacking players. NYCFC badly needs him to repeat that, especially with Santi Rodríguez gone. Can Martinez get off to a quick start?

Portland Timbers vs. Austin FC

[new] Portland: David da Costa got his visa faster than expected and got playing time in week 1. Can he integrate quickly and help the team bounce back from its week 1 loss?

Portland: It’s hard to imagine their offense will be as good this year without Evander, so the defense probably needs to improve to keep them in the playoffs. Will the additions they’ve made there raise the level?

Austin: They poured money into fixing their poor offense with some big transfers. Will Uzuni and Vázquez provide the immediate impact their price tag suggests?

Austin: Their defense last season was good in terms of goals allowed, but it overperformed expected goals allowed by a good margin. Which stat is going to tell us more about what to expect from their defense this year?

San Diego FC vs. St. Louis City

San Diego FC: San Diego scored two goals in a surprising upset of the LA Galaxy in week 1, but the Galaxy did them some favors. Can the attack continue to be effective against a well-organized St. Louis?

San Diego FC: Their coach says he wants to play beautiful, possession-based soccer. Are they going to be able to execute this right away or do they need more time to get in sync?

St. Louis: Marcel Hartel hit the ground running in eight games last season. With a full preseason, will he be the elite player St. Louis needs him to be?

[new] St. Louis: Their defense shut down Colorado almost completely in week 1. Can they do the same on the road?

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. LA Galaxy

LA Galaxy: LA are back after winning MLS Cup, but they’re missing two DPs to injury (Puig for months, Paintsil for several weeks). Can veteran Diego Fagúndez and new arrival Christian Ramirez keep the offense humming?

LA Galaxy: Marco Reus didn’t play a ton of minutes last year. Does he have enough left in the tank at age 35 to be the focus of the team while Puig recovers?

Vancouver: After poor run-in and then a really rough offseason, can their new coach Jesper Sørensen help them improve despite a roster that pundits think hasn’t really improved on overall talent?

[new] Vancouver: After crushing Portland, can they do the same to a Galaxy side coming off an embarrassing week 1 loss?

Houston Dynamo vs. Inter Miami

Houston: How will Jack McGlynn fare as he takes over the keys to the offense from Héctor Herrera?

Houston: They had a great defense in 2024 and have brought pretty much all those players back, but can their new starting goalkeeper (Tarbell) match the shotstopping numbers Steve Clark put up last year?

Miami: Messi went 90 minutes in the freezing cold on Wednesday. Is he going to go 90 again—as he often did last season—or will he allow the team to manage his minutes when he’s healthy?

Miami: Does Miami’s new manager have any new wrinkles to help cope with the fact several starters can’t provide any meaningful energy on defense?