How Will MLS Say Goodbye?

Major League Baseball has spent decades perfecting the long goodbye, culminating in the occasionally maudlin Derek Jeter tributes we're seeing this year. But Major League Soccer has never really seen a player like Landon Donovan, so it will be interesting to monitor how the league sends off its most iconic player.

Yes, the Landon Donovan Farewell Tour begins in earnest this weekend, and the matchup couldn't be much better: The Galaxy will host Donovan's former team, the San Jose Earthquakes, in a Friday night bout.

StubHub hubbub aside, the Galaxy is playing great soccer in recent weeks and is once again a strong contender to win MLS Cup this year. Now with a hungry Donovan (still just 32) who is eager to go out on top, the Galaxy could make a run at the Supporters Shield. The SoCal side currently ranks fifth in points but has between one and three games in hand on the teams ahead of it.

D.C. United and Real Salt Lake face off

D.C. United’s clash with Real Salt Lake is by far the best of the weekend in MLS. United had a disappointing 1-0 loss to Houston just before the All-Star break but first place in the East is well within reach for Ben Olsen's team. Real Salt Lake also has first place in its sights, trailing Western Conference leaders Seattle by two points. (Seattle has two games in hand.)

This weekend will be a good test to determine whether D.C. United—second in Eastern Conference—is a true MLS Cup contender or simply a playoff team. Salt Lake is coming off a productive road win against Colorado.

Suddenly slumping Seattle looks to rebound

For most of the first half of the season, Seattle breezed through the MLS calendar. But the winds shifted over the past two weeks as the Sounders fell to a surging Galaxy side and the the last-place Earthquakes.

Now returning home to CenturyLink Field, the Sounders will look to rebound against a hungry Dynamo team that desperately needs points to get back into the playoff race. Seattle is now in jeopardy of losing the top spot in the West should it fail to win.

Three veterans of the U.S. World Cup team will be on-hand: Clint Dempsey, Brad Davis, and DaMarcus Beasley. DeAndre Yedlin is currently in London, deep in negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur.

Dallas vs. Colorado has playoff implications

Dallas and Colorado may not be top teams in MLS these days but the match between the two should be interesting as both are hovering around the playoff line in the West. Colorado is a talented but young team playing under a new head coach in Pablo Mastroeni. After a strong first half of the season, Colorado has lost its last two and Mastroeni needs to get his team back on track quickly.

Dallas, on the other hand, has been in top form recently, going undefeated in its last seven contests with three wins in its last four. Still, the Texan team sits just four points clear of the playoff line. Both teams have a lot to play for on Saturday night and it should be a bellwether of how things will shape up down the stretch.

Here is the full slate of games—all times Eastern.

Friday

San Jose Earthquakes at Los Angeles Galaxy (10:30 p.m.; NBCSN)

Saturday

Montreal Impact at Philadelphia Union (7 p.m.; MLS Live)
Toronto FC at Columbus Crew (7:30 p.m.; MLS Live)
Colorado Rapids at FC Dallas (9 p.m.; MLS Live)
DC United at Real Salt Lake (10 p.m. MLS Live)
Chivas USA at Portland Timbers (10:30 p.m.; MLS Live)

Sunday

Sporting Kansas City at Vancouver Whitecaps (8 p.m. MLS Live)
New York Red Bulls at Chicago Fire (8 p.m.; UDN)
Houston Dynamo at Seattle Sounders (10:30 p.m.; ESPN2)