When the 2017 Gold Cup set to kick off on Friday, Major League Soccer will go into hibernation mode for two weeks — but not before a full round of midweek games with so many of the league’s stars already away on international duty.
[ MORE: Dwyer, Acosta power USMNT to win over Ghana | Three things ]
Portland Timbers vs. Chicago Fire — Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. ET
The Timbers are winless in four and have just two wins from their last 11 games, while the Fire have dropped all of four points in nearly the same length of time (10 games). Chicago’s Nemanja Nikolic (16 goals, four ahead of second-place Erick Torres) is running away with the 2017 Golden Boot after scoring two more in a 4-0 thrashing of Vancouver on the weekend. For the first time since July 2005, Chicago sit atop the league table.
Don’t expect to see: David Guzman (int’l duty), Liam Ridgewell (injury), Diego Chara (injury), Dax McCarty (int’l duty), Bastian Schweinsteiger (injury)
Sporting Kansas City vs. Philadelphia Union — Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET
No team has been hit as hard by the combination of international call-ups and injuries as Sporting KC, who’ll be without arguably their four best players this season when the Union visit Children’s Mercy Park on Thursday. Peter Vermes’ side managed a 1-1 draw with Portland on the weekend, but they lost star winger Gerso Fernandes, who’s set miss a few weeks after separating his shoulder and suffering structural damage, in the process. Sporting’s home unbeaten streak in MLS play reached 18 games with the result, which bodes well against a Philadelphia side with just one win away from home this season.
Don’t expect to see: Dom Dwyer (int’l duty), Matt Besler (int’l duty), Graham Zusi (int’l duty), Gerso Fernandes (injury), Alejandro Bedoya (int’l duty), Andre Blake (int’l duty)
FC Dallas vs. D.C. United — Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. ET
The FC Dallas of the 2017 season’s first half was largely unspectacular in the absence of Mauro Diaz. Now, fully recovered from the achilles injury which cost him the 2016 playoffs and the first three months of 2017, Diaz showed in FCD’s 3-1 victory over then-first-place Toronto FC that he’s still the same game-changing playmaker he’s always been. Already one of the deepest teams in the league, FCD would have gotten by without Diaz’s return and finished first or second in the Western Conference anyway. But, with the Argentine magician back in the fold, a second-half sprint to the top of the table is almost certainly in order for Oscar Pareja’s side.
Don’t expect to see: Kellyn Acosta (int’l duty), Matt Hedges (int’l duty), Walker Zimmerman (injury), Patrick Mullins (injury)
Full MLS schedule
Tuesday
Atlanta United vs. San Jose Earthquakes — 7 p.m. ET
Minnesota United vs. Columbus Crew SC — 7 p.m. ET
Colorado Rapids vs. Seattle Sounders — 9 p.m. ET
LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake — 10:30 p.m. ET
Wednesday
New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bulls — 7:30 p.m. ET
Orlando City SC vs. Toronto FC — 7:30 p.m. ET
Houston Dynamo vs. Montreal Impact — 8:30 p.m. ET
Vancouver Whitecaps vs. New York City FC — 10 p.m. ET
