Your Friday Kickoff: Which Rivalry Week games are especially must-see?

What you need to know

MLS clubs learn USOC Round of 16 opponent

The Round of 16 field in the 2023 US Open Cup is set, as 14 Major League Soccer teams and two USL Championship clubs learned their opponent via Thursday's draw. See the full result here.

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WATCHGRIDOMETER CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP

You know the drill at this point. We’re here to make your viewing decisions easier. This is service journalism. You’re welcome.

*The Plusometer is a scientific way to quantify the potential watchability of any given game on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, but can and will also be used for all other channels. Using the elements of "Potential for very good/entertainingly bad soccer," "Chances created," "Narrative," "Aesthetics" and "Totally subjective bonus points," I assign each element a score out of 10 and each game a score out of 50. Twenty-five is average potential. Fifty is greatest game of all-time potential. Yes, I do actually calculate each game. No, I don't know why. Respect for the form, maybe?

Tier One: The delightful hum of a soccer broadcast on television

Soccer is nice to have on. And sometimes you look up and see something fun.

Atlanta United vs. Charlotte FC - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - Free
Plusometer Score: 29/50

Atlanta have hit a bit of a wall and Charlotte will be without Enzo Copetti. It could potentially be a get-right game for the Five Stripes. Or Charlotte could continue a recent trend of making life difficult for some of the East’s best teams. They’ve taken down Columbus and NYCFC in two of their last three.

Sporting Kansas City vs. Minnesota United FC - Sat., 8:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 20/50

Sporting KC finally got a win last week. A second win would potentially bring them out of last place in the Western Conference and a win away from an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs spot.

Colorado Rapids vs. Philadelphia Union - Sat., 9:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 29/50

This is a huge test for the Rapids. They haven’t lost in seven league games, but they’ve also only won twice. And those two wins came against last-place Sporting KC and still pretty last-place LA. This is a different difficulty level. The good news is Colorado isn’t the best place to go to as a high-pressing, direct team that needs to do lots of running.

Real Salt Lake vs. LAFC - Sat., 9:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - Free
Plusometer Score: 25/50

RSL’s grit can only take them so far when facing a talent disadvantage like this (at least in my view). Then again, road games are hard in MLS.

Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Sat., 10:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - Free
Plusometer Score: 24/50

The Whitecaps are looking to continue an eight-game unbeaten streak and continue to prove a lot of nerds who have been excited about their underlying numbers right. Road games are hard, but Portland are mostly in a rough place right now.

Tier Two: The joy of stumbling onto a match you previously weren't invested in but now are

Every now and then, you go into a game not asking for much and come away with more than you ever imagined.

Chicago Fire FC vs. St. Louis CITY SC - Sat., 1:00 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - Free
Plusometer Score: 35/50

The post-Ezra Hendrickson era ends and the…uh…third iteration of the Frank Klopas era begins in Chicago. Seems like it might be interesting. We’ll see how Chicago respond against a team that doesn’t exactly let you sit around and get comfortable in your new surroundings. Bonus points here for potentially being one of the league’s newest rivalries. These two cities don’t seem to care much for each other. We’ll see if that translates on the field.

Columbus Crew vs. Orlando City SC - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 30/50

It’s been kind of a weird one for both teams as of late. Not good. Not completely terrible. Just…kind of weird. And mostly bad to be honest. Columbus have lost two straight to not-good teams. Orlando have traded wins and losses for seven games now. Something will have to give here between two teams that, even with some struggles, seem set to end up in a playoff spot.

D.C. United vs. Nashville SC - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 35/50

D.C.’s winning streak ended last weekend at Cincy. Now they get to head home, but a red-hot Nashville side is waiting for them. This could be really fun. Or it could be another reminder that D.C. have a ways to go before they can compete with the best teams in the East.

Inter Miami CF vs. New England Revolution - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - Free
Plusometer Score: 30/50

Inter Miami are suddenly on a winning streak? They took down Columbus on the road and followed it up with a win over Atlanta United. Now, they’ve worked their way up to a final boss in the East. It’s going to be a tough, tough task to handle the Revs.

CF Montréal vs. Toronto FC - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 30/50

The midweek meeting between these two clubs in the Canadian Championship was…interesting. Tensions might be a little higher than normal in an already-tense rivalry.

Austin FC vs. FC Dallas - Sat., 8:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 31/50

Maybe an in-state rivalry game can spark something in Austin that we haven’t seen so far this year. They need this one.

Houston Dynamo FC vs. Seattle Sounders FC - Sat., 8:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 34/50

There are a whole bunch of big tests this week for upstart teams looking to cement themselves as genuine playoff contenders. Houston could really turn some heads with a win here. And Seattle could be sent into a very strange headspace if they follow up their loss to SKC with another poor result.

LA Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes - Sun., 9:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - Free, FS1
Plusometer Score: 35/50

A California Clásico with a clear favorite isn’t totally unusual. San Jose being far and away the better team is. That being said, these always tend to get extremely weird. I’m guessing this one will follow a similar trend.

Tier Three: The satisfaction of expectations being met

Sometimes you want the best and you get it.

New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC - Sat., 7:30 pm ET
WATCH ON: Apple TV - MLS Season Pass
Plusometer Score: 42/50

A New York Derby immediately after the Red Bulls mutually parted ways with their manager is must-see TV. The vibes are going to be strange and that’s what will make it great. Even if the game itself likely doesn’t show off the most beautiful parts of the beautiful game. Anyway, both teams could really use a win here and everyone will be going full throttle from the start.

Other Things

Postponed Dallas vs. St. Louis match rescheduled: Last Saturday’s Matchday 11 game between FC Dallas and St. Louis CITY SC, originally suspended due to inclement weather, will resume on Wednesday, June 7 at 8:30 pm ET at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. Per league policy, the Western Conference matchup will recommence in the 50th minute with the 0-0 scoreline from when the game stopped. The teams must also field the same players who were last on the field with the same substitutes available (with exceptions for injured or unavailable players).

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