Week 16 MLS Power Rankings

Another week of MLS action means another edition of the Power Rankings. A new team takes the top spot, while Seattle finally break into the top 10.

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 16 Power Rankings

RankTeamScoreMovement
1LAFC20.25+1
2New York City FC19.09-1
3Philadelphia Union15.76+1
4New York Red Bulls13.07-1
5FC Dallas11.71
6Austin FC11.51
7Nashville SC10.07
8CF Montréal8.81+1
9LA Galaxy8.59-1
10Seattle Sounders8.28+5
11Real Salt Lake7.82-1
12New England Revolution6.53
13FC Cincinnati6.44+3
14Atlanta United5.94-3
15Columbus Crew5.71-1
16Colorado Rapids3.93-3
17Portland Timbers3.40+5
18Houston Dynamo3.15+2
19Minnesota United2.36-1
20Orlando City SC2.04-3
21Charlotte FC1.66-2
22Chicago Fire-0.16-1
23Inter Miami CF-1.89+1
24DC United-2.55-1
25Vancouver Whitecaps-2.78
26San Jose Earthquakes-3.29
27Toronto FC-4.29+1
28Sporting KC-7.93-1

LAFC take the top spot in the league and the top spot in the standings. Their 2-0 win over New York Red Bulls puts them three points clear in the Supporters Shield race. Oh yeah, and they have an open DP spot and just signed Giorgio Chiellini and Gareth Bale on TAM deals. They’re about to get even better.

Philadelphia Union also push up a spot after they beat New York City FC in a wild match on Sunday evening with immaculate #MLSAfterDark vibes. Their score is still a little over three points behind NYCFC, but they’re among the most in-form teams in the league and won’t surprise anyone with their consistency.

Nashville SC stay in eighth after a convincing 3-1 win against DC United. After two poor home results, they’ve started making positive progress in the rankings again and are gaining ground on Austin FC and FC Dallas, who battled to a 2-2 draw on Saturday. Nashville need to improve their home form to catch up with the teams at the top, though. Only seven teams have a worse home score than the ‘Yotes, who will play most of their remaining matches at Geodis Park.

The Seattle Sounders have finally broken into the top 10. Their league form took a while to recover from their historic Concacaf Champions League-winning run, but they’ve been really good for the last several weeks and have been steadily climbing. The last three weeks have been electric from the Rave Green, though. After finally getting healthy, they’ve climbed from 21st in Week 13 to 10th in Week 16, gaining more ground than anyone in the league. Tied with LAFC, NYCFC and…. the Vancouver Whitecaps (??) for the best form in MLS, it won’t be long before they begin pushing for a top spot.

Meanwhile, the Vancouver Whitecaps continue to break the model. In 17th place in the overall table, and on a league-best 2.00 points per game in their last five matches, they’re floundering in 25th in the rankings. The OPI dings them pretty heavily for their underlying numbers; -10 goal difference, -5.6 xG against, and the fourth-weakest strength of schedule mean that the model just doesn’t buy their table position. It will be fascinating to see if they can hang around a fringe playoff spot for the rest of the season.


Have thoughts on 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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