MLS Preview: What To Watch

MLS soccer is finally back!

The 2018 MLS season kicks off tonight, March 3, with a flurry of games and intriguing matchups and storylines. You have Toronto FC coming off a great season that resulted in a championship, you have the worry about the Sounders FC after losing Jordan Morris for the whole season, and you have the new team in LAFC that's hoping to make a dent in LA's tight sports city, especially with the more established LA Galaxy to the south. So what should we expect out of the MLS season and what are a couple of storylines to follow? Let's take a look at a couple of them.

LAFC
The biggest storyline of the season may be the new team in the league: LAFC. This team is essentially a redo of the Chivas USA team that went defunct years ago. It's got new players, its got a new mission, and it's going to play closer to downtown than the LA Galaxy, who continue to play too far to the south. It will be led by former US head coach Bob Bradley, who knows something about leading expansion teams, having led the Chicago Fire expansion team to a Cup in 1998. They have more celebrity ownerships, starting with Magic Johnson, and by April, it will have $350 million stadium to play in. While the LAFC may still be building, it's clearly getting more hype in this LA market. Not sure why, since the Galaxy are still the premier team there, but maybe not for long. How about the Galaxy get a stadium in downtown?

Sounders Without Morris
You can tell me a bunch of players on the Seattle Sounders FC, and I would only know three: Stefan Frei, Jordan Morris, and Clint Dempsey. Well, one of those players is now out for the season, as Jordan Morris will undergo surgery, and now the Sounders are wondering what the hell they are going to do to replace his speediness and his quick ability to score goals.

 Unfortunately, that's easier said than done. It's not just Morris that's out. You also have to worry about Dempsey leaving, as he's most likely done after this year, and there's a couple of names still on that team that's likely to leave after the season.

It's a little concerning going into this season, as Morris was the best player and you don't know how everybody else is going to adapt. However, the Sounders FC are still a big team in the MLS and they went to the MLS Cup Finals two years in a row. Whether or not they can make it three in a row will depend on how this team does without Morris.

Atlanta Taking The Next Step?
Atlanta United FC may have been the biggest surprise of last season, especially late in the season. Not only did they play well on the field, but they broke attendance records in its inaugural season and they signed a big-time player Ezequiel Barco from Argentina for $15 million.

Barco is now added to a lineup that includes Miguel Almiron, Josef Martinez, and Hector Villalba. You can expect a lot of goals to be scored for this team.

It's possible that if this works out, Atlanta could become a new beast in the East. Then again, Toronto did win last year and you can count they're taking notice.

It should be a fun season and I'm looking forward to it. I'm actually going to an MLS game tonight, as the Earthquakes are having their home opener at Avaya Stadium against Minnesota United FC. Can't wait for tonight and can't wait to see what the season has in store.