Major League Soccer
Seven teams can clinch playoff spots this weekend and join four that have already punched tickets: Inter Miami CF, Cincinnati, Columbus (Eastern) and the LA Galaxy (Western).
Clinching on Saturday is linked to other results for Orlando, the Red Bulls, Vancouver, Houston and Real Salt Lake.
But LAFC (vs. Dallas) and Colorado (vs. Toronto) are in if they win.
- Golden Boot Race: Saturday’s Philadelphia-D.C. United clash features two of the league’s Top 5 leading scorers.
Top 5 scorers
19g Christian Benteke (DC United) at Philadelphia
17g Chicho Arango (Real Salt Lake) vs. Portland
17g Denis Bouanga (LAFC) and Dallas
17g Luis Suarez (Inter Miami) at NYCFC
15g Daniel Rich (Philadelphia) vs. D.C. United
📺 SATURDAY Games:
APPLE TV/MLS SEASON PASS
NYCFC vs. Miami 2 p.m.
Charlotte vs. New England 7:30 pm.
Columbus vs. Orlando 7:30 pm.
Montreal vs. Chicago 7:30 pm.
NYRB vs. Atlanta 7:30 pm.
Austin vs. Houston 8:30 pm.
Dallas vs. LAFC 8:30 p.m.
Kansas City vs. Minnesota 8:30 p.m.
Nashville vs. Cincinnati 8:30 pm.
Colorado vs. Toronto 9:30 pm.
Real Salt Lake vs. Portland 9:30 pm.
LA Galaxy vs. Vancouver 10:30 p.m.
San Jose vs. St. Louis 10:30 pm.
All times ET.
📺 SUNDAY Game:
APPLE TV/MLS SEASON PASS
Philadelphia-DC United 6:15 pm
* Also on FX1 & Fox Deportes.
Time ET.
National Women’s Soccer League
Racing Louisville, just three points below the playoff zone, pulled off its first comeback win last weekend, 2-1 over Angel City. Useful momentum perhaps ahead of hosting North Carolina, which has beaten Louisville in their last eight regular-seasons meeting.
If Ji So-Yun scores for Seattle against Houston Dash she’ll match match the feats of former Reign players Megan Rapinoe and Kim Little three straight road games. The Houston Dash is on a six-match losing streak.
A late San Diego Wave surge to reach the playoffs started to look somewhat more realistic when it beat Portland, 3-2, in Concacaf W Champions Cup play after ending its 12-game NWSL winless streak last weekend against at Utah.
📺 SATURDAY Games:
ION
Racing Louisville vs. NC Courage 7:30 pm.
Chicago vs. San Diego 9:30 pm
NWSL+
Houston vs. Seattle 8:30 pm.
All times ET.
📺 SUNDAY Game:
ESPN2/ESPN DEPORTES/ESPN+
Gotham FC vs. Utah 1 pm.
Time ET.
USL Championship
New Mexico United, Louisville City and Charleston Battery have clinched playoff spots; FC Miami is the lone team already eliminated.
A meeting between recent USL Championship champions, San Antonio (2022) and Phoenix Rising (2023), has playoff implications. Only two points separate 10th-place San Antonio and 7th-place Phoenix, which has a game in hand.
Orange County can maintain its 8th-place spot, the lowest in the playoff zone, with a win over Monterey Bay, which is winless in its last nine outings.
📺 SATURDAY Games:
ESPN+
Hartford vs. Oakland 7 pm.
North Carolina vs. Indy 7:30 pm.
Charleston vs. Tampa Bay 7:30 pm.
El Paso vs. Colorado 9 pm.
Monterey Bay vs. Orange County 10 pm.
Las Vegas vs. Sacramento 10:30 p.m.
📺 SUNDAY Games:
ESPN+
New Mexico vs. Loudoun 4 pm.
Birmingham vs. Miami 5 pm.
All times ET.
Americans Abroad
What’s next for Weston McKennie?
Juventus coach Thiago Motta seemed eager to unload the U.S. midfielder ahead of the season and kept him on the bench for the first two Serie A games. But after 23 minutes of field time in four games, McKennie started in Juve’s Champions League opener 3-1 over PSV. He scored and marshaled the midfield well.
Weston McKennie celebrates his goal for Juventus against PSV. (Photoe: © Best Images/Action Plus Sports via ZUMA Press Wire/ISI Photos)
Motta responded with lukewarm praise for the 26-year-old who’s worked his way back from the fringes at Juve before. After two scoreless ties, Juve is looking for a third Serie A win, against Napoli on Saturday.
- American encounter: Ninth-place Leeds United is coming off its first loss in five games. Brenden Aaronson has two goals and three straight starts going into Saturday’s with Cardiff City, which is last in the 24-team league. Cardiff’s Ethan Horvath conceded 10 goals in four starts and was benched for last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Derby.
📺 SATURDAY Games:
English Premier League
NBC/TELEMUNDO
Crystal Palace (Chris Richards, Matt Turner) vs. Manchester United 12:30 pm.
PEACOCK
Fulham (Antonee Robinson) vs. Newcastle 10 am.
English Championship League
PARAMOUNT+
Norwich City (Josh Sargent) vs. Watford 7:30 am.
Sunderland vs. Middlesbrough (Aidan Morris) 7:30 am.
Cardiff City (Ethan Horvath) vs. Leeds United (Brenden Aaronson) 10 am.
French D1 Arkema
DAZN USA
Montpellier vs. PSG (Korbin Albert, Eva Gaetino) 3 pm.
German Bundesliga
ESPN+
Union Berlin (Jordan Pefok) vs. Hoffenheim 9:20 am.
Ein. Frankfurt vs. Borussia M’Gladbach (Joe Scally) 12:20 pm.
Italian Serie A
PARAMOUNT+/FOX DEPORTES
Juventus (Weston McKennie, Tim Weah) vs. Napoli noon.
Mexican Liga MX
TUDN/UNIVISION
Necaxa vs. America (Alex Zendejas) 9 pm.
All times ET.
📺 SUNDAY Games:
Dutch Eredivisie
ESPN+
Fortuna Sittard vs. PSV (Richard Ledezma, Ricardo Pepi, Malik Tillman) 10:40 am.
English Women’s Super League
ESPN+
Arsenal (Emily Fox) vs. Manchester City 7:30 am.
French Ligue 1
BeIN SPORTS/BeIN SPORTS in SPANISH
Monaco (Folarin Balogun) vs. Le Havre (Emmanuel Sabbi) 9 am.
Brest vs. Toulouse (Mark McKenzie) 11 am.
Lyon (Tanner Tessmann) vs. Marseille 2:45 pm.
Italian Serie A
PARAMOUNT+/FOX DEPORTES
Inter Milan vs AC Milan (Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah) 2:45 p.m.
Scottish League Cup
PARAMOUNT+
Celtic (Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty) vs. Falkirk 10 am.
Spanish La Liga
ESPN SPORTS/ESPN+
Athletic Club vs. Celta de Vigo (Luca de la Torre) 10:15 am.
All times ET.
Saturday morning: What We’re Reading
1. FIFA scrambling together 2025 Club World Cup, a grand venture riddled with uncertainty By Henry Bushnell (Yahoo Sports)
2. Mexico: Women’s soccer players, muscled and sweaty, are a new kind of influencer By Lorena Rios & Veronica Gabriela Cardenas (Washington Post)
3. Fulham ‘protected’ women’s players from Mohamed Al Fayed By By Laura Scott (BBC Sports)
