Messi to return for Inter Miami vs. Philadelphia Union
Lionel Messi, who hasn’t played for Inter Miami since June 1, is officially “available” for Saturday’s Matchday 32 home game vs. the Philadelphia Union (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
‘MLS Unites to Vote’ returns as League-wide initiative to inspire voter registration
Prior to National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, September 17, MLS has re-launched MLS Unites to Vote – the League-wide initiative that leverages enterprise-wide platforms to inspire fans and everyone across the MLS community to register to vote and participate in this year’s federal election.
Decision Day may have something to say about this eventually, but, for now, I feel comfortable saying this is the single best day of the MLS regular season. Not only do we have four Tier One games, all four are spaced out evenly for you to take in hour by hour. Hell Is Real, Houston-RSL, Colorado-Portland and El Tráfico will all be played at a playoff level and will all shape the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs race. Here’s a brief look at what to keep an eye on.
FC Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew - 7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass
How healthy is Lucho Acosta? His last official start came in the All-Star Game. He hasn’t started and gone a full 90 in an MLS game since July 13. He’s set to play today, but it will be his first appearance since Cincy’s 2-0 loss to Inter Miami on Aug. 24. He went 45 minutes as a sub in that one.
It’s clear that the Garys have been taking a measured approach to his health. They’ve been saving him for moments exactly like this one. Cincinnati have typically been able to handle gentler matchups without him - see their 4-1 beatdown of CF Montréal before the international break - but now the stakes are raised. Whoever wins tonight is your likely second-place finisher in the East. Whoever wins tonight gets home-field advantage when these two inevitably meet in the playoffs.
That’s a big deal. Is it enough of a big deal for Cincy to put Lucho out there for 90 minutes? Regardless of how many minutes he gets, will he still look like the MVP-caliber version of Lucho we’ve seen all year? Don’t forget, when he’s been on the field, he’s actually been even more productive than in last year’s MVP-winning season. Anything less than that and Cincy may not have enough to keep up with the Crew.
Houston Dynamo FC vs. Real Salt Lake - 8:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass
How good are the new guys? We’re still learning about new DPs like Houston’s Ezequiel Ponce and Real Salt Lake’s Diogo Gonçalves. We’ve only gotten a few minutes of new RSL U22 attacker Dominik Marczuk. If it’s not Chicho Arango changing this game in attack, it feels like it may have to be one of the recent arrivals. And it’s not a given anymore that it will be Arango.
Arango is healthy and available for this one, but has been dealing with some slight injury issues. You may remember that Arango started the year on pace to break Carlos Vela’s goal-contribution record, but he’s only scored once since picking up a hat trick against Austin back on June 1. RSL either need him back in form immediately or the new faces to look like bonafide products. Otherwise, this game may end up being quieter than we hoped.
Colorado Rapids vs. Portland Timbers - 9:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass
Do you have your inhaler? Honestly, I’m not sure what the actual “key” is to this other than trying to outscore the other team. Defense is optional for this one. Both of these teams score in bunches and both of these teams are prone to letting off defensively. Portland have scored the most goals in the West with 55 on the season, while Colorado are right behind them with 54. The Rapids have given up 45 goals while Portland have given up 46.
To be fair, some shaky defending hasn’t slowed down either team as of late. These are two of the hottest teams in the West. Only Seattle have picked up more points per game since the halfway point of the season. The difference is that Portland and Colorado have had the underlying numbers to back up their form.
Still, they’re prone to chaos. This is going to be a delightful mess. Whoever can thrive in the weirdness will end up with a critical win in the race for the last home playoff spot in the conference.
LA Galaxy vs. LAFC - 10:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass
There are two things in particular to keep an eye on in a game that will likely decide who finishes first in the West. The first is whether or not Riqui Puig is going to look like Riqui Puig tonight. He’s been oddly quiet against LAFC the last few times he’s faced them. You may have seen the stat floating around this week that he hasn’t created a chance against LAFC in his last three appearances against them. Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy lost all three of those games. They need more from him today.
The other thing to keep an eye on is the substitutes. The likely substitutes, anyway. Marco Reus and Olivier Giroud could come off the bench and make real impacts in this one tonight. There’s even a chance a familiar face changes the outcome. Look, it would be very, very surprising if Carlos Vela even played tonight, but LAFC reportedly signed him to a deal yesterday right before the roster freeze and he could theoretically show up and score a game-deciding goal. I’m not ruling out. It just seems like the most El Tráfico outcome possible.
Vancouver Whitecaps sign Badwal, Fleuriau Chateau: Vancouver Whitecaps FC have signed homegrown midfielder Jeevan Badwal and forward Fleuriau Chateau from MLS NEXT Pro affiliate Whitecaps FC 2. Badwal joins through 2027 with options from 2028-29, while Fleuriau Chateau's deal lasts through 2025 with options from 2026-27.
- Cucho and Lucho go head to head tonight in Hell Is Real. While Marco Reus and Olivier Giroud will meet in El Tráfico.
- Mauricio Pochettino is bringing World Cup ambitions to the USMNT.
- Schuyler Redpath has your MLS Fantasy Round 26 positional rankings and Pick’em advice.
Good luck out there. Prepare for something special.
