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MLS Analysis

MLS Western Conference Previews & Predictions: usual suspects LAFC, Seattle, Galaxy are early favorites

ASN's Brian Sciaretta looks at the Western Conference and offers up his previews and predictions. Predicting MLS is always tough or even impossible, but the usual suspects should be the favorites. After the LA teams and Seattle, it is wide open. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
February 21, 2025
6:55 PM

EARLIER TODAY, I tried to preview and predict the MLS Eastern Conference and because I crave self-punishment, I’ll do the Western Conference as well. For some reason, the Western Conference is even harder to predict than the East once you get outside of the top three. There is just a huge range of teams that could all be okay, or simply bad.

It’s tough to figure out, but since I’ve been covering this league and soccer in general, I’ll step up to the plate.

 

Los Angeles FC

Predicted finish: 1st Place

 

Picking LAFC at or near the top of the West in preseason predictions is generally a smart move. It doesn’t always work, but it’s still the most logical move. This year is no different. The club has an established coach, the front office spends money, the team is well supported, and their home games are always tough for opponents.

LAFC lost a lot during this offseason. Mateusz Bogusz is now with Cruz Azul. Eduard Atuesta is now with Orlando. Cristian Olivera in in Brazil. Jesus Murillo is in Mexico.

But LAFC reloaded, as they always do. Cengiz Under joins as a DP forward from Fenerbahce. Midfielder Odin Thiago Holm arrived from Celtic. Ukrainian left back Artem Smolyakov is a U-22 initiative. Brazilian midfielder Igor Jesus is also here on a U-22 deal. Yaw Yeboah was very good for Columbus and is now at LAFC. Mark Delgado is also a winner in MLS and he was brought into the fold from the Galaxy.

There is always a risk with a lot of turnover, but history is on LAFC’s side and Steve Cherundolo knows what it takes.

 

Seattle Sounders

Predicted finish: 2nd Place

 

Picking the Seattle Sounders to be towards the top of the West is also a relatively safe bet in MLS. This year is interesting because the team brought in some much-needed fresh blood. Paul Arriola and Jesus Ferreira have had a lot of success in MLS. Kim Kee-hee also returns to Seattle after success back in his native South Korea.

The big key for Seattle is to have a healthy Pedro de la Vega. He was brought in last year but struggled with injuries and never really got going. If he does, look out.

 

But this team is deep and should be a contender from the opening weekend.

 

LA Galaxy

Predicted finish: 3rd Place

 

The reigning champions will be a good team but have some major challenges at the start. Riqui Puig might return later in the season after his torn ACL. Joseph Paintsil could be out for two months with an injury to his quad. Dejan Jovelji? scored 21 goals last season and he was sold to Sporting KC.

Still, there is a lot to like. Christian Ramirez and Matheus Nascimento (on loan from Botafogo) should be able to score. They received a boost in central defense with the arrival of veteran Mathias Jørgensen from Anderlecht. That should address one of the weaknesses from last season.

 

But Gabriel Pec was a top player in MLS last season and his return will help ease some of the problems they will be dealing with early in the season.

 

Colorado Rapids

Predicted finish: 4th Place

 

The Colorado Rapids have been among the toughest teams to predict. When you think they’re good, they’re bad. When you think they’re bad, they’re good.

But I’d be confident with this team in 2025. They might not have a very high ceiling, but they return their coach in Chris Armas and most of their starting lineup consists of players who have been good in this league. Reggie Cannon and Sam Vines as the fullbacks. Zack Steffen in goal. Cole Bassett, Djordje Mihailovic, and newcomers Ted Ku-DiPietro and Josh Atencio in the midfield. Rafael Navarro scored 15 goals last year. There hasn’t been a ton of turnover with this team, and the consistency should help.

 

Colorado could have serious problems if they have to deal with injuries. But if the team can stay healthy, they should be pretty good. On top of that, Colorado has a solid home field advantage.

 

Portland Timber

Predicted finish: 5th Place

 

Portland had talent last year and looked okay heading into the playoffs. Then it came undone. The Timbers were embarrassed in a 5-0 loss at home to Vancouver. The team’s best player, Evander, ripped the club on social media. Fans were left how bad things were behind the scenes.

Unsurprisingly, Evander is gone. But the Timbers have brought in David Da Costa as the team’s key playmaker to replace Evander. Then there is Kevin Kelsy up top. The Venezuelan forward looked strong at times with Cincinnati but also faded from games for long stretches. The jury is still out.

 

It’s easy to be skeptical of Portland. It might be a justifiable position. Was Evander the problem, or was his correct in saying how bad things were? Do the problems remain? Also, is Phil Neville the right guy to fix what went wrong at the end of last season?

For now, there is enough talent to predict Portland to be pretty good. But we could learn a lot about this team early in the season.

Minnesota United

Predicted finish: 6th Place

 

Minnesota United is coming off a sixth-place finish in 2024 and this season the club will continue with many of the same pieces. They should be around at the same level in 2025 as the offense is led by Kelvin Yeboah (who was terrific since arriving last summer) and Bongokuhle Hlongwane.

 

The roster might not be as deep as needed and it also lacks game-changing talent. It will come down to head coach Eric Ramsay to make the most of it, but the playoffs should be expected.

 

San Jose Earthquakes

Predicted finish: 7th place

 

San Jose will be one of the most interesting teams in any predictions list for the coming of MLS season. People want to know exactly how big of a turnaround Bruce Arena can initiate with a team that was among the worst in league history in 2024.

This team isn’t deep but has some good pieces if healthy. Chicho Arango and Josef Martinez will score goals playing up top together. The real test will be improving defense, and Arena has already made some changes that will help. Ian Harkes and Mark Anthony Kaye are now on board after working with Arena in New England. David Romney also has worked with Arena and will help in the backline. An improved defense for San Jose will take effort from each line.

 

Arena still has work to do for San Jose, but he will have this team significantly improved simply by helping with the structure and shape. Arena is known for turning around teams and I’d expect nothing less this time around.

Houston Dynamo

Predicted finish: 8th Place

 

The outflow with Houston is significant. Hector Herrera was the identity of the team for nearly three years. Coco Carrasquilla was in Texas for four years and is now one of the team’s biggest sales. Houston spent a lot on Sebastián Ferreira and his contract was terminated.

But Ben Olsen has done a good job with this team, thus far, but the front office needs to step it up. Buying Jack McGlynn is nice because he has talent and he is a good fit with Olsen’s possession-based system., but whether he can lift the Dynamo is another question altogether.

 

Most of the Western Conference teams are in volatile situations to start the season and Houston is in that group. But the team is on the same page as its coach and enough of the core is returning to allow some momentum from 2024 to carry over into this season.

 

FC Dallas

Predicted finish: 9th place

 

It’s never easy to predicted how a team will do when it comes on the heels of an offseason with many changes and a new manager who is taking his first coaching job at a first team level. But that’s where we are with FC Dallas who are led by Eric Quill.

 

They’ve also shipped out Alan Velasco, Paul Arriola, and Jesus Ferreira. On the other side, Luciano Acosta, Anderson Julio, and Shaq Moore are three of the many new faces who have joined up.

Quill’s job isn’t to introduce a complex plan. It’s to create a system that will put Petar Musa into the best possible chance to score on a regular basis. That should be enough to get Dallas into the playoffs.

 

St. Louis CITY SC

Predicted finish: 10th place

 

While St. Louis played better towards the end of the season, it was a bad year that ended in 12th place. This year the team made some additions but nothing terribly significant. Now the team is managed by former Swedish international Olof Mellberg who has only managed in Sweden and Denmark before.

Players like Cedric Teuchert and Marcel Hartel came into the team during the middle of 2024 and helped the team improve. But not much of this team has significant success in MLS and adding a new manager who is new to the league could mean anything. But it’s hard to be confidently optimistic on the eve of the season.

But with Roman Burki, St. Louis will always be a tough out.

 

 

Vancouver Whitecaps

Predicted finish: 11th place

 

Vanni Sartini is out, Jesper Sørensen is in as the head coach. The formula remains the same, however, get it to Brian White close to the goal and he will finish. If White doesn’t score, Ryan Gauld should also be able to contribute.

While this team lost DP Stuart Armstrong, they haven’t gained much. Emmanuel Sabbi was signed from Le Havre but the American winger was having a very tough season in France. He will give the team athleticism but we will see how his skill translates to MLS.

Right now, the roster seems incomplete.

 

Austin FC

Predicted finish: 12th place

 

It will be weird to see Austin FC without Seastian Driussi. The Argentine playmaker was the identity of Austin FC and he left in the offseason to return home. New manager Nico Estevez has some ways to start building the team in his way. Brandon Vazquez did well in limited minutes at Monterrey and his resume in Cincinnati speaks for itself. Buying Albanian international Myrto Uzuni from the second division in Spain for $12.3 million seems like a big risk at that value. The price tag on his deal was surprising.

But the biggest question right now is whether this team did enough to replace Driussi? I’m not optimistic there is enough playmaking talent on this roster yet.

 

Sporting Kansas City

Predicted finish: 13th place

 

Sporting KC got rid of a lot of players from last season's squad that finished in 13th place. Without Alan Pulido, Tim Melia, Andreu Fontas, Remi Walter, and Johnny Russell, the club is trying to take another direction after closing the curtain on an established generation of players.

Yes, adding Dejan Joveljic gives SKC a finisher, but the big question is whether there will be enough service for him? Manu Garcia arrives as a DP playmaker but he has been a European journeyman throughout his career.

SKC knew it had to make a lot of changes, but it still feels like the team is still a “work in progress”.

 

Real Salt Lake

Predicted finish: 14th place

It was a poor offseason for Real Salt Lake, which shipped out many of its top players and didn't do nearly enough to replace them. Chicho Arango didn't have a great second half of the season, but is still among the better MLS forwards. Anderson Julio scored 28 goals during his time with RSL. Matt Crooks returned to England. Marcelo Silva was a dependable centerback for RSL for several years.

RSL was slow to replace these players and one of their efforts, trading for RBNY forward Elias Manoel was a disaster in that Manoel has refused to report to camp with RSL.

Pablo Mastroeni needs Diego Luna and Emeka Eneli to continue to make big strides after good 2024 seasons from each player. If those players don't play well this season, RSL could be in very bad shape.

 

San Diego FC

Predicted finish: 15th place
 

The league’s newest expansion team will begin play this month and expectations are low. Yes, we’ve seen expansion teams do well in this league even recently (St. Louis was a great example in 2023), but San Diego still have too many holes.

San Diego will win games. Hirving Lozano and Andres Dreyer are two DP attackers who can score while U.S. international Luca de la Torre will help the team control the ball. There is some high-level talent that is needed to win, but there is also a lack of depth.


For San Diego’s sake, hopefully the front office continues to make changes during the season and learns quickly what types of players are needed on MLS rosters. Even a bad season in 2025 can be okay for San Diego as long as it helps them construct a long-term plan.

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