Week 12 & 13 MLS Power Rankings

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

RankTeamScoreMovement
1New York City FC18.67
2LAFC16.90
3Philadelphia Union15.16+2
4Austin FC13.37+2
5New York Red Bulls13.34-2
6FC Dallas12.18-2
7Colorado Rapids7.95+3
8Nashville SC7.37+4
9CF Montréal7.33-2
10FC Cincinnati6.80-1
11Houston Dynamo5.84+4
12Columbus Crew5.15-2
13LA Galaxy4.73-5
14Atlanta United4.48
15New England Revolution4.04+1
16Real Salt Lake3.66+4
17Minnesota United3.49+1
18Orlando City SC2.37-1
19Portland Timbers1.67-6
20DC United1.48-1
21Seattle Sounders0.96
22Chicago Fire-0.07
23Charlotte FC-0.61+1
24San Jose Earthquakes-0.68-1
25Inter Miami CF-2.72
26Vancouver Whitecaps-3.56
27Sporting KC-4.71+1
28Toronto 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.


Have complaints about the rankings? Let me know on Twitter.

Author: Ben Wrightis the Director of Soccer Content and a Senior MLS Contributor for Broadway Sports covering Nashville SC and the US National Team. Previously Ben was the editor and a founder of Speedway Soccer, where he has covered Nashville SC and their time in USL before journeying to Major League Soccer since 2018. Raised in Louisville, KY Ben grew up playing before a knee injury ended his competitive career. When he is not talking soccer he is probably producing music, drinking coffee or hanging out with his wife and kids. Mastodon

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