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After a frantic round of Wednesday night games in Major League Soccer, it’s time for our MLS Week 20 predictions 2023 for the upcoming weekend.
With so many permutations left this season, it’s going to be a critical weekend in MLS. Sadly, still no sign of Lionel Messi…
MLS Week 20 predictions 2023
New England Revolution vs Toronto FC
Sunday 25th June, 00:30 BST
Our Week 20 MLS preview starts at Gillette Stadium as the New England Revolution hosts Toronto FC. The subplot is here that both teams are coached by former USMNT bosses, as Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley are two of the most decorated and revered names in US Soccer history. Arena edges the overall series between the two men with three wins to Bradley’s two and two other draws.
New England had the mid-week off giving them a whole week to prepare for this match. After a little wobble in the middle of the campaign, Arena has seemingly got the team back to its high standards as they’ve posted consecutive 3-1 victories, against Inter Miami and Orlando City.
By comparison, Toronto…the team can’t get any rhythm. When Insigne came back from injury supporters thought the inconsistency would subside. If anything, it’s got worse. One win in its last nine speaks volumes to the deep issues with this franchise.
Prediction: Not only did Toronto lose their last game 3-0 but they looked awful as FC Cincinnati punished them despite having much less possession. New England won’t even afford them the ball.
Columbus Crew vs Nashville SC
Sunday 25th June, 00:30 BST
Two of the most exciting teams in Major League Soccer should be mentioned in every MLS Week 20 predictions 2023 piece ahead of the fixtures. Of course, it’s the big match at Lower.com Field between the Columbus Crew and Nashville SC.
After two wins with Armenia, Lucas Zelarayan should be back in Columbus to help the Crew. Without him, the team labored to a 1-1 draw with New York City FC at Yankee Stadium to extend their unbeaten run to four games.
These two teams actually played the reverse fixture of this game at GEODIS Park less than a month ago. Fafa Picault, Teal Bunbury, and Hany Mukhtar all got on the score sheet to overcome Yaw Yeboah’s early goal for the Crew as Nashville ended up winning 3-1. While good form followed, eyebrows were raised when they lost 1-0 to CF Montreal in mid-week.
Prediction: It’s a collision of two good teams in the Eastern Conference. Zelarayan and Mukhtar are essentially fighting for the goals. This one could be a high-scoring draw with both of the talismen scoring.
D.C. United vs FC Cincinnati
Sunday 25th June, 01:30 BST
Results have been hard to come by for D.C. United this season, making their match-up with FC Cincinnati a prime candidate to be in our MLS Week 20 predictions 2023. Wayne Rooney might have scored a lot of goals and succeeded as a player with DC (and Manchester United, obviously) but his managerial knack has come under fire. Most recently he’s attacked the level of officiating in Major League Soccer. Sounds a bit like the other former Manchester United and Everton player, Phil Neville, who used every excuse under the sun until he was sacked.
FC Cincinnati is objectively one of the best MLS teams this season. They reside at the top of the Western Conference standings after consistently good results. 13 wins from 18 games is indeed the form of a team realistically eyeing up the Supporters’ Shield. In mid-week, they confidently dispatched another struggling franchise as they defeated Toronto 3-0.
Prediction: This could be a conclusive victory for FC Cincinnati. D.C. might get one as they’re on home turf but it’s hard to see them avoiding defeat.
Seattle Sounders vs Orlando City SC
Sunday 25th June, 03:30 BST
Brian Schmetzer will be disappointed in both the result and performance in mid-week. The Seattle Sounders went down 1-0 in the first minute to LAFC and never looked like getting back in the game, as the contest was marred by both teams being wasteful.
Orlando City produced a performance that made them look like the best MLS players currently in mid-week. Well, for the first 60 minutes. After that, the team seemingly welcomed Philadelphia Union in and ended up dropping two points with a wonder goal from Josef Martinez.
Given these two teams are at opposite ends of the US landmass and Orlando City has only been playing in MLS since 2015, there have only been six prior meetings. The results of this fixture have been very one-sided despite Orlando getting better and Seattle dropping off in recent years. Orlando has won just won a meeting but never at Lumen Field.
Prediction: Despite Orlando City being seventh in the east and Seattle being third in the west, this one could be a lot closer than it looks on paper. After all, the amount of points amassed by both teams is not too dissimilar, only separated by a single point.
