Charlotte FC will aim to end its five-game league winless streak with a home victory against a similarly embattled Toronto FC squad on Saturday evening.

Charlotte (4-6-3, 15 points) has gone nearly a month since its last win against New York City FC on April 18. Improving its stalling offense is a requirement to stop its freefall down the standings.

Charlotte’s home struggles against NYCFC last Saturday embodied their offensive struggles. The team managed only two shots on target, taking a 1-0 loss despite allowing just one shot on goal.

“In the (last) two home games that we’ve had, I would like us to be a lot more forceful in the final third. That’s probably been the biggest gripe of mine with the players,” Charlotte manager Dean Smith said. ” … We didn’t get a lot of players forward in a lot of the play on Wednesday night, and that’s something we spoke about.”

Charlotte will look to key players like Wilfried Zaha to lead the attack. Zaha’s future in Charlotte is in the air as contract negotiations to retain him past the end of his loan on June 30 are still ongoing.

Zaha, who hasn’t scored in his last five appearances, was recently left off the Ivory Coast’s 2026 World Cup roster.

Toronto (3-4-5, 14 points) isn’t doing much better, winless in its last six league games (0-2-4).

“Everyone knows where the standings are at and (that) points are vital, especially during this next stretch,” Toronto midfielder Kobe Franklin said. “We were focused on our home games and getting as many points as we could out of that, and now our focus shifts to being able to play away and pick up points while we’re on the road.”

Getting forward Josh Sargent back from a thigh injury which has sidelined him since March 25 could have been a boost to Toronto’s odds of earning a victory in Charlotte. Although Sargent is progressing well, he’s listed as out for Saturday’s match.

“He’s feeling great and he looks great and he’s moving really well,” Toronto manager Robin Fraser said of Sargent. “I think maybe out of an abundance of caution, if he’s not ready this week then he’ll be ready next week.”

Toronto will also be without key contributors Djordje Mihailovic (pelvis) and Jose Cifuentes (knee) against Charlotte.

–Field Level Media

The Seattle Sounders look to keep defending their home fortress when they host the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday.

The Sounders (7-1-3, 24 points) are unbeaten in their last 22 home matches (16-0-6) across all competitions, including a 4-0-1 mark during the 2026 regular season. Beyond just their home form, the Sounders enter Saturday with a 6-0-3 record in their last nine MLS matches.

Scoring efficiency could be the only flaw within this great start, as only six teams have scored fewer than Seattle’s 17 goals. Despite outshooting opponents 78-37 over their last three matches, the Sounders came away with two 1-1 draws and a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes.

“We’ve put a lot of balls inside the box. I think we’ve done a good job in transition moments,” Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer said. “I think our possession has been pretty good. … It’s just we had two kind of sour results (the two draws) that I don’t think should poison the well.”

The Galaxy (4-5-4, 16 points) have scored at least once in each of their last 23 regular-season games, but translating the offense into consistent results has been the larger challenge. Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City was LA’s second loss this season to Sporting KC, who sit at the bottom of the Western Conference.

“I thought we were low on the intensity level. … I felt like we couldn’t get out of our hotel rooms,” LA coach Greg Vanney said on Wednesday, in a reference to the Galaxy’s schedule.

The stretch of three road matches in eight days saw the Galaxy travel from Atlanta to Kansas City to Seattle.

“Time on airplanes, time zone shifts left and right. … I think you’re trying to make the best of a difficult situation when it comes to the travel part of this week,” Vanney said.

Marco Reus and Gabriel Pec (each with four goals and four assists) share the Galaxy’s team lead with eight goal contributions. Joao Klauss leads Los Angeles with five goals, but is out until at least August 1 due to foot surgery.

Paul Rothrock leads the Sounders with four goals. Albert Rusnak (three goals, four assists) and Jesus Ferreira (two goals, five assists) share the team lead with seven goal contributions.

–Field Level Media

Austin FC looks to lean on their recent success at home to rebound from a definitive midweek loss when they host cellar-dwelling Sporting Kansas City on Saturday in a Western Conference match between teams well below the playoff line.

The teams each have two matches remaining before MLS’s two-month break for the World Cup and hope to finish the first half of the season with some momentum

The Verde (3-5-5, 14 points) return home after a 5-0 walloping at San Diego on Wednesday, as the team’s most lopsided in club history snapped Austin’s three-match unbeaten streak (2-0-1). The Verde have produced shutout wins in the two most recent home games, over Houston and St. Louis, respectively, and look to channel that solid play and a 2-2 road draw against Minnesota on Sunday to respond from its subpar showing on the West Coast.

“We know exactly what we didn’t do well (with Wednesday’s match) and what didn’t work, and we move forward, for what is coming,” Austin coach Nico Estevez said Friday. “Sadly, what you did in the past you cannot change it. Right now, Kansas City is the most important thing that we have in front of us.

“Is it easier said than done to move on? It is good that you have this game so quickly that you can’t really even think about Wednesday.”

Myrto Uzuni leads Austin with five goals this season, with Christian Ramirez second with four tallies. Facundo Torres has distributed a team-best six assists, and Uzuni has recorded four.

Sporting (2-8-2, 8 points) head into the weekend with the fewest points in the West, the fewest goals (11) in MLS and the largest points differential in the league (minus-22). Kansas City travels to Austin after beating the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-1 at home on Wednesday behind a goal and two assists from Calvin Harris.

The win was a solid bounce back after a 6-0 loss at Portland on May 9 and snapped a seven-match winless stretch (0-6-1) dating back to a 2-1 victory on the road over the Galaxy on March 14.

“It’s been too long to sit here without a win,” Sporting coach Raphael Wicky said Wednesday. “I’m very proud of the team and the way we reacted after the loss in Portland. I would be lying to you to say that I was expecting that exactly, but you never really know what you are going to get. I just wanted them to go out there with energy.

“The team stayed focused, concentrated. And that is very important for these guys.”

Kansas City is led by striker Dejan Joveljic’s six goals. He is the only Sporting player with more than one tally this year.

Austin has never lost to Sporting Kansas City at home, winning all five matches.

–Field Level Media