The 2020 Major League Soccer Season gets underway on February 29 with a newly-expanded 26-team line-up.
Inter Miami CF have joined the Eastern Conference, while Nashville SC are in the East Conference. The teams will play a 34-game regular season with 17 home games and 17 away.
Every team plays its 12 fellow conference teams twice, with the remaining 10 games coming against sides in the other conference.
Seattle Sounders head into the new campaign as the reigning MLS Cup holders, but they are plenty of teams in with a chance of toppling them this term. Read on as we preview the 2020 MLS season.
Inter Miami eager to make their mark
It has been a roller-coaster ride for Miami to make it to the MLS, but the dream is set to finally become a reality in 2020.
Their new stadium is on track to be ready for their first home game against LA Galaxy, while the club’s roster is already taking shape.
Miami’s $23 million offer for River Plate midfielder Exequiel Palacios is a huge statement of intent and would see their odds slashed in the MLS betting if they could secure his services.
The club has already signed South Americans Julian Carranza, Matias Pellegrini and Christian Makoun, but Palacios’ acquisition would be a huge coup.
With former Manchester United star David Beckham part of the ownership group at Miami, it would be no surprise to see the team enjoy immediate on-field success.
Sounders FC aiming to follow up
Surprise winners of the MLS Cup last season, Seattle will be eager to prove their success wasn’t a fluke this time around.
The Sounders finished second in the Western Conference during the regular season, but they were expected to find the likes of Los Angeles FC and New York City FC too strong in the play-offs.
However, they safely navigated their way through the post-season to reach the final where they defeated Toronto FC to claim the trophy.
They have yet to make any major transfer moves during the close season, although they have been linked with numerous quality players.
The Sounders have been one of the most consistent teams in the MLS over the past few years, but they will find it tough to win back-to-back titles.
Big guns eager for redemption
LAFC and New York City were the standout teams during the 2019 regular season, but both came up short in the play-offs.
LA’s defeat against Seattle in the Conference Finals was a big surprise, while New York were disappointing against Toronto in the Semi-Finals.
With just two seasons under their belts LA can be proud of what they achieved and are strongly fancied to go all the way next season.
New York are yet to confirm who their new head coach will be, but whoever takes charge will have plenty of resources at his disposal.
Both teams will be tough to beat next season, but LA appeal as the more likely of the two to win the MLS Cup.
