Coming off an impressive win against the defending Western Conference champions, the LA Galaxy hit the road to face New York City FC in the league’s highest-profile game of the week.
There are plenty of other storylines to follow in week two of the MLS season, including whether LAFC and Columbus can keep their positive momentum and whether TFC gets back to its league winning ways.
Here’s a look at our preview for MLS Week 2:
LA Galaxy at New York City FC -- 5 p.m. Sunday
Behind first half goals from new striker Ola Kamara and midfielder Romain Alessandrini, the new-look Galaxy held on for the win against the Portland Timbers, while New York City FC went into the Cauldron in Kansas City and wiped out Sporting KC, 2-0.
Working in NYCFC’s favor on Sunday is the announcement that Alessandrini will miss the upcoming match at Yankee Stadium with a hamstring injury, but at the same time NYCFC will be without starting centerback Maxime Chanot after the French-born defender was red carded in the opener. Either way, it should be an exciting game, with Giovani Dos Santos and Kamara attacking on one side and Maxi Moralez, Jesus Medina and David Villa on the other.
10 - @LAGalaxy's Romain Alessandrini was one of the four players to tally 10+ goals and 10+ assists in the 2017 @MLS season. Dynamic.
— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) March 5, 2018
Los Angeles FC at Real Salt Lake -- 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Diego Rossi spoiled the weekend for Seattle while bringing the crowd to life at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles to give the expansion club a dream 1-0 win to start the year.
But Real Salt Lake did some spoiling of their own last week, holding on for a 1-1 draw at FC Dallas. Now back home, and with Mike Petke’s side looking as dangerous as ever, RSL can make their mark as a team to watch out for in the west. Fun fact: This will be Bob Bradley’s first trip to the Rio Tinto Stadium as an MLS coach.
124 - @LAFC coach Bob Bradley has won 124 MLS games during his previous stints in the league, good for the fifth most in @MLS history. General.
— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) March 4, 2018
Columbus Crew at Montreal Impact -- 1:00 p.m. Saturday
The Crew kick off the MLS weekend slate for the second week in a row and are coming off a massive win at rival Toronto FC, in which Gyasi Zardes looks a natural in the black and gold. Pedro Santos also looked dangerous out wide and Columbus is showing early signs that it can be a legit contender this year.
The Impact, under Remi Garde’s management, fell on the Pacific Coast at Vancouver last weekend but back home at Stade Saputo, they’ll have a better shot. Look for Saphir Taider and Ignacio Piatti to combine in the middle of the park and lead to dangerous attacks.
34 - @impactmontreal's Ignacio Piatti has scored 34 goals over the last two @MLS seasons, the 4th most over that span. Lethal.
— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) March 4, 2018
Full schedule (all times EDT)
Columbus at Montreal -- 1 p.m. Saturday
Colorado at New England -- 1:30 p.m. Saturday
LAFC at Real Salt Lake --3:30 p.m. Saturday
Sporting KC at Chicago -- 6 p.m. Saturday
Vancouver at Houston -- 6 p.m. Saturday
Portland at New York Red Bulls -- 7 p.m. Saturday
Minnesota at Orlando -- 7:30 p.m. Saturday
D.C. United at Atlanta -- 3 p.m. Sunday
LA Galaxy at NYCFC -- 5 p.m. Sunday