With most teams around Major League Soccer playing twice this week (midweek games were technically labelled as Week 12), the parity was on full display. Several surprising results make for plenty of movement in the power rankings.
As a reminder, the rankings use an all new model I’ve obnoxiously titled the Overall Performance Index. Click here for a full breakdown of how the model works.
Week 12 & 13 Power Rankings
| Rank | Team | Score | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City FC | 18.67 | — |
| 2 | LAFC | 16.90 | — |
| 3 | Philadelphia Union | 15.16 | +2 |
| 4 | Austin FC | 13.37 | +2 |
| 5 | New York Red Bulls | 13.34 | -2 |
| 6 | FC Dallas | 12.18 | -2 |
| 7 | Colorado Rapids | 7.95 | +3 |
| 8 | Nashville SC | 7.37 | +4 |
| 9 | CF Montréal | 7.33 | -2 |
| 10 | FC Cincinnati | 6.80 | -1 |
| 11 | Houston Dynamo | 5.84 | +4 |
| 12 | Columbus Crew | 5.15 | -2 |
| 13 | LA Galaxy | 4.73 | -5 |
| 14 | Atlanta United | 4.48 | — |
| 15 | New England Revolution | 4.04 | +1 |
| 16 | Real Salt Lake | 3.66 | +4 |
| 17 | Minnesota United | 3.49 | +1 |
| 18 | Orlando City SC | 2.37 | -1 |
| 19 | Portland Timbers | 1.67 | -6 |
| 20 | DC United | 1.48 | -1 |
| 21 | Seattle Sounders | 0.96 | — |
| 22 | Chicago Fire | -0.07 | — |
| 23 | Charlotte FC | -0.61 | +1 |
| 24 | San Jose Earthquakes | -0.68 | -1 |
| 25 | Inter Miami CF | -2.72 | — |
| 26 | Vancouver Whitecaps | -3.56 | — |
| 27 | Sporting KC | -4.71 | +1 |
| 28 | Toronto FC | -5.36 | -1 |
Nashville SC move up to eighth, primarily because of their 2-1 midweek win over CF Montréal. They have yet to lose at GEODIS Park, and their home unbeaten streak stretches back to November 2020.
Philadelphia Union are back into the top three after a 2-0 win in Portland late Sunday night, making up for a drab scoreless draw with Inter Miami at home midweek. They’ve put together the best defensive numbers in MLS by a long shot, allowing just 11.9 expected goals in 13 matches, and conceding just nine times.
The Houston Dynamo are on the verge of breaking into the Top 10 after thumping LA Galaxy on the road. Their midweek loss to Seattle Sounders knocked their score pretty heavily, given how low the Sounders are ranked here.
Speaking of the Sounders, maybe their CCL hangover isn’t quite over? After beating Houston, they lost 1-0 in Colorado and were thoroughly outplayed. The Rapids outshot them 16-9 and more than doubled their expected goals. Seattle have the most talented roster in the Western Conference and are just five points outside a playoff spot. A loss on the road to a good Colorado side isn’t time to hit the panic button, but their (rightful) focus on CCL early has them in a hole.
Portland are the biggest mover of the week, dropping six points just as they had started to climb. They lost on Wednesday to San Jose, which will drop anyone’s score, and then were handily beaten at home by the Union. They’ve won just twice at home this year and have allowed the third-most expected goals against. Defense a major problem in the Rose City.
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