MLS, USL Championship, NISA & MLS Next Pro previews, May 14-15

After an action-packed weekend, there's a rare (almost) full midweek programme in MLS on Wednesday, with just FC Dallas, Sporting Kansas City, and New England Revolution sitting out. A clutch of 0.30am (all times BST) kick-offs is headed by the visit of Eastern Conference leaders Inter Miami to Orlando City for the Florida derby, with the Lions no doubt itching for revenge after losing 5-0 in Fort Lauderdale at the beginning of March. City managed to get a win in Philadelphia at the weekend to stem a run of poor results but Miami are simply flying at the moment, although quite whether Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez will be up to two games in a week is another matter. Second in the East and fresh off a derby win over Columbus, FC Cincinnati host Atlanta United at TQL Stadium with the visitors reeling from a home defeat to DC United at the weekend. The Garys are playing some lovely soccer of late, with Lucho Acosta in superb form and it's hard to see the Five Stripes returning home with anything solid. After New York Red Bulls beat New England at the weekend, there's another clash of MLS originals when they visit DC United tomorrow night. DC skipper Christian Benteke grabbed a hat-trick of headed goals in Atlanta at the weekend but Red Bulls were on target four times themselves against the Revs and this should be one with goals in it.

CF Montreal were the latest unlucky recipients of the galactico experiment down on Saturday when they saw a 2-0 lead turn into a 2-3 loss against Inter Miami. They're at home again on Wednesday, welcoming a Columbus Crew side who lost the Hell is Real derby match to Cincinnati on Saturday and will be looking to prove that they are still very much a team that can win the CONCACAF Champions Cup on June 1. The last of the half-past-midnight games comes from Subaru Park where Philadelphia Union will no doubt be aiming to avoid four home defeats in a row when they host New York City FC. The Pigeons won away in Toronto at the weekend and can really turn it on when they need to but Union are still a formidable prospect, even if their home form has slipped of late. The pick of the 1.30am kick-offs is the Copa Tejas tie between Austin FC and Houston Dynamo. The home side lost in Dallas at the weekend, their first Copa Tejas reverse of the season, and their mini-revival is still not built on the most solid of foundations. Dynamo, meanwhile, picked up a win in Kansas City and have Hector Herrera back to spark plays in midfield. Chicago Fire are "enjoying" a torrid season so far and were well-beaten by St Louis CITY on Saturday. They are at home to Charlotte FC tomorrow, a team who are not having the best of times themselves, although they did manage to beat Nashville at the weekend. Both sides will no doubt be active when the transfer window opens on July 18 but that seems a long, long way away, especially for the Chicago misfires...

Minnesota United sat out the weekend's action but are still handily placed in the West, just two points off leaders Real Salt Lake and with two games in hand. They play previous leaders Los Angeles Galaxy at Allianz Field on Wednesday night in a game that looks to have goals written all over it. Defeat at Charlotte on Saturday will have been a blow for a Nashville SC side that looked to have turned a corner the previous week, but they have quality throughout their side that can't be ignored. That's something that Toronto FC will have to reckon with when they visit GEODIS Park tomorrow, especially after losing at home themselves at the weekend in an ill-tempered affair. Still, Lorenzo Insigne did make it off the bench to give vital back up to Federico Bernadeschi in the creative ranks and so the Reds will pose threats of their own to the Coyotes defence. The final 1.30am start comes from CITY Park, where St Louis CITY face Los Angeles FC in another potential cracker of a game. CITY have Joao Klauss in excellent goalscoring form of late, while Denis Bouanga turned provider at the weekend for the Black & Gold, but is still capable of conjuring a goal out of nothing.

Colorado Rapids were upset by San Jose on Saturday, letting a two-goal lead slip to give Quakes only their second win of the season. The visit of Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday (a 2.30am kick-off) will give Chris Armas's side a chance to get back on the decent form they've shown so far this season, especially as Caps also had a bad day at the office at the weekend, losing 3-0 at LAFC. Western Conference leaders Real Salt Lake might have looked ahead to their game with Seattle Sounders a few weeks ago and reckoned on an easy win, but Sounders have rallied of late, winning their Cascadia Cup with Portland Timbers on Sunday. Real surrendered a two-goal lead away at LA Galaxy on Saturday but Chicho Arango is finding goals out of thin air and the sometimes frail Seattle defence will be wary of his presence. Wednesday's final game comes from Providence Park, where Portland Timbers will look to bounce back from that derby loss to Seattle by beating San Jose Earthquakes. Again, until a few weeks ago, this would have looked like a gimme, but Quakes have won their last two after a terrible start to the season and will pose problems for Phil Neville's side.

There are two midweek games in the USL Championship this week, beginning with the visit of Loudoun United to North Carolina FC on Tuesday night, a midnight kick-off at WakeMed Park in Cary. The hosts have just one win so far this season and sit joint bottom of the Eastern Conference with The Miami FC, but the youngsters of Loudoun have fared little better, with just two wins and two more points on the board. Neither team have been playing badly and both have potential in spades, but North Carolina possibly just shade this one. Wednesday's game, a 1am kick-off at Protective Stadium, sees Eastern Conference leaders Charleston Battery return to action after sitting out the weekend. They face hosts Birmingham Legion, who managed a 1-0 win away at Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday, but the Battery are in terrifying form of late and Matt van Oekel is sure to be kept very busy in the Legion goal.

Down in the third-tier NISA league, Savannah Clovers welcome Georgia FC to Memorial Stadium for the second Peach State derby of the year, the Atlanta-based visitors having won 3-0 when the teams met at Silverbacks Park last month. Clovers sit bottom of the Eastern Conference with just one win in four games, while Georgia dispatched the previously unblemished Michigan Stars at the weekend, a 4-1 win making the rest of the league sit up and take notice. Both teams had troubled winters, with new owners stepping in to save Georgia and the league guaranteeing wages in Savannah, but Georgia, at least, seem to be turning things around.

There's also action in the third-tier MLS Next Pro league that involves Chattanooa FC, one of two new independent clubs in the MLS reserve league this season. They travel to the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, North Carolina, to play Crown Legacy, the second team of Charlotte FC, and will be confident of coming away with a win and retaining their place at the top of the Eastern Conference, especially as Legacy have won just two of their eight games this season.