A quality matchup between two teams in the top five of the Western Conference standings takes place Saturday when the San Jose Earthquakes host Los Angeles FC in Santa Clara, Calif.

LAFC (5-0-3, 18 points) are the only team in the league without a defeat so far this season. The defending MLS Cup champions have played just eight games because of a heavy CONCACAF Champions League schedule, which contributed to MLS postponing LAFC’s scheduled regular-season match against the Houston Dynamo last weekend.

After steamrolling three teams in aggregate-goal series to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League final, LAFC face another postponement of its May 31 game against St. Louis City SC and a match against Atlanta United the following week to play in the two-leg final against Club Leon of Mexico on May 31 and June 4.

Forward Denis Bouanga has been a force this season with a team-high seven goals.

“It’s really focusing on what’s next. There’s always room for improvement,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. “From Day 1 of last season, also this season, we’ve made it very clear in the locker room that we’re going to need every single player.”

The Earthquakes (4-3-3, 15 points) have been better than expected this season, in no small part because of the play of April’s MLS Player of the Month, Cristian Espinoza.

Espinoza already has six goals and three assists this season. He and Bouanga are two of the top players in MLS and will go share a pitch Saturday in front of what could be upward of 40,000 fans at Levi’s Stadium, home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.

“I’m a person who firmly believes that work and effort always end up paying off,” the native of Argentina told the MLS website. “I think right now, after such a long time and so much work, things are coming together for me.”

–Field Level Media

The Vancouver Whitecaps are closing in on a franchise record for not allowing a goal as they host Minnesota United on Saturday night.

The Whitecaps have blanked four straight opponents and haven’t allowed a goal in 410 minutes since playing Minnesota United to a 1-1 tie in Saint Paul on March 25.

The club’s single-season franchise record is 427 consecutive scoreless minutes in 2012, with the overall mark of 433 set across the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

The stellar goalkeeping by Yohei Takaoka (four shutouts) and fine defensive play that combined to allow just seven goals isn’t translating into victories. The Whitecaps (2-2-5, 11 points) are unbeaten in their past seven games (2-0-5) but have scored one goal or fewer in six of those matches.

In fact, Vancouver has played to a scoreless draw in each of its past two games.

“I think it’s obviously another shutout for us, which is the biggest thing,” defender Tristan Blackmon said after last weekend’s 0-0 tie with the visiting Colorado Rapids. “You have a bunch of individual performances that come together and, obviously, that translates to the clean sheet.”

The Whitecaps have scored just 11 goals with five of them coming in a shutout win over CF Montreal on April 1.

Minnesota (3-3-3, 12 points) has scored just eight goals all season.

The Loons are 0-3-1 over their past four matches and have been blanked in each of their past two. The first was a 1-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders and the other was last weekend’s home scoreless tie with FC Dallas.

Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair is enjoying a stellar season with three shutouts in eight starts.

But offensively, Loons coach Adrian Heath is perplexed with the club’s difficulties.

“The longer that goes, the more the pressure and anxiety builds and you start to overthink it instead of just being free,” Heath said. “That’s easier said than done, but that’s what they’ve got to do.”

Part of the struggles are due to the absence of suspended star Emanuel Reynoso.

MLS suspended Reynoso when he didn’t report to training camp with Minnesota. He remains away in his native Argentina and the team’s latest attempt to lure him back came up empty.

Reynoso, 27, led the Loons in goals (10) and assists (11) last season.

In their first meeting, Mender Garcia scored in the 40th minute to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead. Simon Becher tallied the equalizer in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time.

–Field Level Media

The New England Revolution look to extend their unbeaten streak to eight games when they visit Toronto FC on Saturday.

The Revolution (6-1-3, 21 points), who are tied atop the Eastern Conference with FC Cincinnati, are 4-0-3 since March 18. They have conceded one goal or fewer in each game in that span, including a pair of shutouts and have allowed just nine goals against through the first 10 games, seventh fewest in the league.

Four of those nine goals allowed came in their lone loss of the season, a 4-0 defeat to Los Angeles FC on March 12, bust before the unbeaten run began.

Already without several players due to injury, New England will be without promising midfielder Dylan Borrerro for the rest of the season after the 21-year-old sustained a torn ACL against FC Cincinnati last week.

Despite the injuries, players have stepped up, notably veteran midfielder Emmanuel Boateng, who has started each of the past two games after being a substitute for the first eight.

“He’s performed each game so far,” Revs midfielder Matt Polster said of Boateng. “He was probably our best player in the first half, maybe in the entire game, against Cincy. … I think it’s going to take everybody, especially now dropping more players, so we just need to focus and go now on the road and find ways to get points.”

Toronto (2-2-6, 12 points) will be looking to build off a 1-0 win against New York City FC last Saturday. The victory was its first since defeating Inter Miami 2-0 on March 18.

Newly acquired forward C.J. Sapong made a good first impression with his new club, scoring the lone tally against NYCFC. He lined up between Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi in his club debut.

“They’re always threats, guys that you know at any moment can make something happen,” Sapong said. “It’s motivation and inspiration to want to be in positions to allow their quality to show. It’s going to help me out and it’s going to help the team out.”

Toronto has lost just once to the Revolution over their past nine matchups, going 4-1-4 in that stretch. New England’s lone win in that run came on Aug. 14, 2021 at Toronto.

–Field Level Media

Nashville SC are still trying to win back-to-back MLS games for the first time this season, while victories remain hard to come by for the Chicago Fire.

Looking to build on an impressive home triumph, Nashville tries to stay undefeated against the visiting Fire on Saturday night.

Nashville (4-3-3, 15 points) was amid an 0-1-2 stretch when it broke out for its highest-scoring MLS game of the season, winning 3-1 over Atlanta United last weekend. Star Hany Mukhtar assisted on two goals, while Fafa Picault scored for the second time in 2023, and Jacob Shaffelburg increased his overall goal total to three.

Nashville last won consecutive league games during a four-game winning streak spanning August and September of last season. Mukhtar, meanwhile, has just three goals after posting 23 during his 2022 MVP season, but does have five assists.

According to MLS, Mukhtar has contributed toward multiple goals in a home game 11 times since the start of the 2021 season.

“I think, in general, I can score goals,” Mukhtar said. “But, I think it’s also important to help the team with assists, with being creative, with putting the guys in action.”

Mukhtar has faced Chicago just once, and posted a hat trick during a 5-1 home victory on July 17, 2021. Nashville is 1-0-2 all-time against the Fire, but the teams last met in September 2021.

Chicago (2-2-5, 11 points) has certainly been competitive through the first two months of the season, but has only a couple of wins to show for the effort. After Kei Kamara scored his team-leading fourth goal in the 34th minute last weekend, the Fire conceded an 89th-minute equalizer for a 1-1 home draw with the New York Red Bulls.

The Fire have allowed a league-high six goals in the final 15 minutes of contests this season.

“We just have to get people on the pitch who are going to man up in situations like this — when the game is on the line,” Chicago coach Ezra Hendrickson said. “It’s just ridiculous and it has to stop.”

Chicago is 1-2-0 on the road this season.

–Field Level Media