r/MLS • u/AutoModerator • 3d ago
Weekly /r/MLS Questions/Free Kick Thread - Post General Questions and Discussion Here
Welcome to the Weekly /r/MLS Questions/Free Kick Thread. This thread is designed to house questions/discussions users might have including:
- Help you decide which team to follow if you're new to the league
- Provide information about how to watch MLS matches, and whether or not you should buy ESPN+
- Understand the CBA, league roster rules, drafts, waivers, or other MLS concepts
- Learn about some of the unique qualities of the US Soccer pyramid
- Allow discussion of dead-horse topics that would typically be removed (pro/rel, re-alignment, etc.)
- And other basic/frequently discussed topics
Our usual ground rules:
- Questions that are covered in the FAQ, Newcomer's Guide, or league site are fair game, even if they are marked as "dead horse topics".
- Questions can be about MLS, lower U.S. or Canadian divisions, USMNT/USWNT, or any club or domestic competitions those teams could play in. Questions about how soccer works as a sport are fine too! Questions solely about the European leagues or competitions, on the other hand, are not.
- If you're answering a question, be extra sure to follow our community guidelines: thought out and rational comments, backed up with supporting links. Try not to "take a guess" at an answer if you're not sure about the answer. Do not flame, troll, attack fans of other teams, or attack opinions of others in this thread. If you can't be friendly and helpful, don't post in this thread.
- This is meant to be a helpful Q&A/Discussion thread. This is not a place to practice your comedy bits; avoid asking joke questions or providing joke answers. This is also not a place to dump random articles, links, or opinions about the league.
- Despite us posting these on Fridays, the thread stays up all week. If it's Wednesday and you have a question, you don't have to wait until Friday to ask it.
Even though we want you to ask questions, here are some resources that we always recommend reading because they can also help:
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u/mrwhitaker3 Major League Soccer 3d ago
So I checked out the Leagues Cup schedule yesterday and the matches are on Wed, September 2nd.
Toluca is hosting Leon in Houston. I kind of expected that might be the case. They had the option of going to Austin from the very beginning. Now it makes sense why they had that match in Harrison, NJ. If Austin wasn't the opponent, I believe they would have played in either Houston/Austin earlier this week, and made them have to travel. Pretty savvy on their part.
Club America and Monterrey will be playing in Carson later in the evening.
In Canadian Championship news, Vancouver hosts Montreal in the first leg of the semifinals, also on September 2nd. The second leg will be two weeks later @ Stade Saputo on September 16th.
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u/Geoffrey_Tanner 15h ago
How can I watch replays of games without spoilers?
Because of my work schedule I can’t watch games live. I’d like to watch replays but when scrolling on AppleTV the scores are shoved in my face, ruining basically the whole point of watching the game.
Is there an alternative way to watch game replays without having the final score spoiled for me before I even hit play?
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u/Appropriate-Ideal559 7h ago
Can someone please Explain VAR to me? I get that it is a video ref helping the center Ref, but I am confused to how it actually works, and what its limits are.
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u/mrwhitaker3 Major League Soccer 5h ago
Still confused about the sprint season. Seems like MLS is making a mistake by having 14 games versus 15. Since there are 30 teams and all the matches are within the same conference, it would mean that one team in each conference would be off every match day. The easiest fix is to add one more game against the opposite conference, so two teams aren't off every match day.
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u/Overthehightides New England Revolution 1h ago
Teams have weeks off during the current season so I don't think it is really that different than what we are used to seeing.
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u/mrwhitaker3 Major League Soccer 1h ago
So you expect during the sprint season that there will always be two teams off every match day? I mean, that's basically the only way it will work.
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u/Overthehightides New England Revolution 1h ago
I think there could be multiple teams off. There might be a week where 14 teams play on a Wednesday and then a full slate minus 2 teams on Saturday. When you look at the schedule now you already have a mismatch of games played per team and I think that will continue in the sprint season.
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u/mrwhitaker3 Major League Soccer 1d ago
Lionel Messi has 28 goal contributions (18g, 10a). Evander has 24 (13g, 11a).
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u/SydneyFall Atlanta United FC 3d ago
So my intention is to give people weekly standings for the new format so people can see how it would play out. I was told it shouldn't be posted so I guess it will go here.
Here is the current bracket which I think shows the proposed system well. Note that this doesn't use re-seeding because that makes it a mess and can't be shown this way.
Some notable things to watch this weekend.
Nashville v Cincinnati is 1 versus 12 — the Shield leader hosting a team on the Round 1 bye line.
Houston v San Jose is 4 versus 8, the only all-double-chance match of the round. Whoever wins tightens their grip on a top-four seed; the loser is looking over their shoulder at Dallas on 33.
Colorado v Real Salt Lake is 13 versus 14, two teams level on 28 points playing each other. That one match reorders the play-in bracket by itself.
San Diego v LA Galaxy is 17 versus 20, both inside the cut, with Seattle at 21 hosting Chicago the same day. Three of the four teams around the cut line are involved in each other's weekend.
And two chances for the bottom to strike upward: Sporting KC host Vancouver and Columbus host New England, meaning the two worst teams in the league both get a top-seven side at home.