The Major League Soccer season has been in full swing for a few months now, and with a few months remaining until the playoffs get underway, there are a lot of interesting possibilities in the pipeline. Several teams have been all but eliminated from contention already, some are already making plans for the conference semi-finals, and others are somewhere in the middle. You can debate as to whether or not the division is world class all you want, but what you can’t deny is that these players and teams give their all on a week to week basis.

With that being said, it’s time to look ahead to one of the ‘freshest’ match-ups in recent MLS history, as Los Angeles FC prepare to go one on one with Minnesota United. These two teams have had quite the journey thus far and they’ve both only existed for a matter of years, with Minnesota playing their first MLS game in 2017 and LAFC following them in 2018. They represent the future of the beautiful game in the States in more ways than one, as expansion teams and as sides who have come on leaps and bounds in an incredibly short space of time.

Both of these teams currently reside in the Western Conference, which is a division that is wide open as we head into the latter stages of the campaign. Despite there being seven positions separating the two teams there are only ten points between, highlighting just how tight things are – and also, how exciting things are as well.

Minnesota & LAFC have actually already squared off this season, with the California-based side coming away with a convincing 2-0 victory. Alas, that happened two and a half months ago now and while Minnesota hasn’t exactly been the MLS’ most consistent side in that time, they’ve been able to learn from their mistakes ahead of a game which will be held in Minneapolis – which should be viewed as advantage for them no matter how many different ways you look at it.

LAFC are only three points off the pace of FC Dallas at the top of the division, and given that they’re unbeaten in their last six, the smart money indicates that they’re going to come away with the victory here. Obviously the fact that these two teams are so new means that we can never truly know what to expect from them as they steer their way through their first few years of existence, but if Los Angeles are able to set a good tempo from the word go, then their composure and attacking prowess should shine through.

Los Angeles have scored a mammoth 16 goals in their last six games, and when you consider that they were held to a 0-0 draw in their last encounter, that should indicate just how dangerous they can be when they get going. Minnesota, on the other hand, seem to be picking up some momentum with back to back victories under their belt: but is a win over LA a step too far?

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