Your Saturday Kickoff: Which clubs have the most riding on MLS Rivalry Week? | MLSSoccer.com

A whole handful of games that feel a little more important than normal. I figured we could check in on the state of some of the rivalries, see how intense things have been as of late, look at where each team is heading, and what a win today might mean. Starting with a new one…

Heat check: From afar, there seems to be some serious sporting-based animosity between these two Midwest cities. It may not register for St. Louis fans the same way a matchup with Sporting KC eventually will, but there’s potential here. 

Bragging rights (?): I’m not sure how much this will mean to either team, especially with Chicago in such a strange place. For some reason, Ezra Hendrickson is gone as Fire head coach. And it’s doubtful the team is any better because of that in the long term. It just kind of makes everything weird. Will a St. Louis team that’s immediately on pace to make the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, and match the total number of playoff appearances for the Fire in the last decade in year one, really care about this one in the end?

Heat check: There’s a “big brother meets little brother” feel to the relationship between these two cities. It hasn’t really manifested yet on the field. But there have certainly been some interesting moments.

Bragging rights (?): Atlanta fans will see this as a must-win after a couple of not-very-fun weeks. Charlotte fans would relish ramping up the anxiety in The A. That’s going to be a tough ask for The Crown, especially on the road against a mostly healthy Atlanta team. They’ve pulled out some big wins in Charlotte as of late, but road games have been kind of a disaster. With DP striker Enzo Copetti unavailable, they’re going to need something special to make this happen.

Heat check: Uhhhhh… as hot as it’s ever been? I’m not trying to make light of two totally unacceptable situations from Wednesday’s meeting in the Canadian Championship that you can look up if you want, but we’ll just say everyone will be a bit more on edge than normal. 

Bragging rights (?): Both teams should be very up for this one after CFMTL took down Toronto earlier in the week. That being said, both teams are trending in different directions. Montréal are suddenly playing some decent ball here, winning three straight in MLS and five straight in all competitions. They’ve even technically leapfrogged Toronto in the standings. Toronto… should feel some type of way about that. Things aren’t great right now The 6. 

Heat check: General derby tensions and relative dislike between the good folks of New York. This one has staying power.

Bragging rights (?): This is somehow the second game of a rivalry week where one team is heading into it with a new coach (RBNY mutually parted ways with Gerhard Struber and gave the reins to Troy Lesesne). The “fingers crossed for a new-coach bounce and if we don’t get it we can shrug it off by pointing out this is the new manager’s first league game” approach just might work. New York might need it to work. The Red Bulls are last in the Eastern Conference despite playing some of the best defense in the league. We’ll see if it can slow down all the talent NYCFC have on the field.

Heat check: This is an in-state rivalry that blossomed last year thanks to both teams being two of the Western Conference’s best. Dallas haven’t moved an inch either way. Austin certainly have. Both teams should definitely still care about this one either way. 

Bragging rights (?): Yeah, like I said, they’re heading in different directions here. Dallas don’t want to be embarrassed and Austin could really, really use a big win. 

Heat check: It’s a Cali Clásico. It’s destined to get heated. And it has the extremely high potential to get chaotic. Even if…

Bragging rights (?): So many rivalries, so many teams heading in different directions. This is maybe the biggest difference of them all at this point. The Galaxy are practically last in the league with everyone rubbernecking at the downturn of one of the biggest clubs in the league. San Jose are a popular upstart pick to make a playoff run and even make some noise once they get there for the first time in over a decade. A wire-to-wire win over their biggest rival would be another sign that something special is happening for the Earthquakes. And that things maybe haven’t ever been quite so bad for the Galaxy.

Good luck out there. Bring the passion.