Charlotte have made a positive start to the season, particularly at home. Dean Smith’s side have won both of their games at home this campaign against Atlanta and Cincinnati which are quite tough fixtures.

Even more impressive is the fact that they won both of these games to nil. Their one loss of the campaign came against the best side in the Eastern Conference in Inter Miami, and that was only by a one goal margin, so the home side are in a good place coming into this game.

San Jose have won two and lost two of their opening four fixtures in the MLS. They’ve scored seven goals across these games which is a pretty solid record, but they could struggle to penetrate a side that is yet to concede at home this campaign, having already seen off two strong sides in Atlanta and Cincinnati.

San Jose had the worst away record in the Western Conference last season, winning just two of their 17 games on the road and conceding 46 goals in the process.

Charlotte won nine of their 17 games at home last season which was a record only bettered by three sides in the Eastern Conference. They only conceded 15 goals across these games which indicates that defensive solidity is the root of their success at home and is something they’ve carried into the early stages of this campaign.

Columbus Crew have made an unbeaten start to the season, winning two and drawing two of their opening four games of the MLS campaign. Only Inter Miami boasted a better home record in the Eastern Conference last season with Columbus winning 10 of their 17 games at home, only losing three of these encounters. Their scoring power was particularly impressive at home, with only Inter Miami again scoring more goals at home last campaign.

New York City have recovered from a laboured start to the season to win each of their last two games against New England and Orlando. However, both of these victories were by one goal, New York didn’t have complete control of these games and could be susceptible to the scoring power and impressive home record of Columbus spilling over from last season.

Columbus have a recent positive record against New York City, remaining unbeaten across their last six meetings with the away side in a run stretching back to 2022. They ran out 4-2 winners in this fixture last year which was a perfect example of Columbus’ ability to blow sides away at home with their significant scoring power.

Orlando have arguably been the most entertaining side in the MLS so far this season. Their four games have produced 19 goals which is more than any other side across both conferences. Orlando have only picked up all three points in one of these games and there is still work to be done to allow this high volume of goals to translate into wins.

They have seen BTTS in all four of their fixtures so far and now welcome a DC United side that are unbeaten across their opening set of fixtures. They’ve seen BTTS in three of their four games so far, with the exception coming in a 0-0 draw against Montreal last time out in a game that should have really produced goals, with DC United racking up an xG of 1.51 and having 15 shots.

These sides faced off twice last year in two games which looked very different but ultimately ended up with the same result. Orlando won both games, winning one 5-0 and the other 3-2 winners. Orlando should continue their streak of seeing BTTS in all of their fixtures so far against a DC United side that is yet to lose in the MLS this campaign.

Both of these sides have made promising starts to their campaigns, St Louis are unbeaten across their opening four games of the MLS season whilst Philadelphia have lost just one of their four games. The early signs from these sides suggest two very different approaches that should see chances generated at both ends of the pitch.

Philadelphia have scored 11 goals across their four games in the MLS so far, more than any other side across both conferences. Unsurprisingly, they’ve found the back of the net at least once in every game so far, managing to score 2+ goals in three of these games. Philadelphia’s scoring power is spearheaded by striker Tai Baribo who has already scored six goals across his four appearances in the MLS.

St Louis City have been a bit more conservative in their performances so far, their first two games ended in 0-0 draws but they have started finding the goals in recent weeks, firing three past LA Galaxy as well as beating Seattle Sounders.

St Louis were particularly porous on the road last season – they only managed to win one of their 17 games away from home, conceding 42 goals in the process, which should offer scope for Philadelphia to create an entertaining game here.