One of the fiercest rivalries in Major League Soccer opens its latest chapter on Saturday night, as Real Salt Lake visits Sporting Kansas City at Children's Mercy Park. 

Fireworks are guaranteed when these two sides come together in any contest, whether it be the regular season, the U.S. Open Cup or the MLS Cup playoffs. 

The rivalry heated up once again in 2015, as Sporting KC moved over to the Western Conference following the arrival of New York City FC and Orlando City in the Eastern Conference. 

That led to three regular-season showdowns and an extra one in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup. RSL defended its home turf with a pair of 2-1 wins, while Sporting KC won the Open Cup semi and drew 0-0 inside its stadium. 

Saturday's matchup in Kansas City will have a little extra meaning for RSL if it comes out on top. The Claret and Cobalt have not won in Kansas City since 2009, and the visiting team in the rivalry has failed to win since July 2013, when Sporting KC was victorious at Rio Tinto Stadium thanks to a 97th-minute winner from Ike Opara. 

The clash at Children's Mercy Park will also have some early-season implications at the top of the Western Conference. RSL would love nothing more than to end Sporting KC's three-game winning streak and in the process pull within a point of its rival in the standings. 

In order to do that, RSL must avoid its fourth ejection of the season. Demar Phillips, Kyle Beckerman and Jamison Olave have all been delivered marching orders by referees over the first three weeks of the season. Beckerman and Olave both picked up red cards in Week 3's 2-2 draw with the Timbers, which means the two vital parts of the RSL setup will not be available for selection. 

Sporting KC will also be missing a key member of its midfield since Roger Espinoza was sent off in its Week 3 win over Toronto FC. Peter Vermes' team will be without one of its midfield enforcers, but at least it will have Soni Mustivar patrolling the space in front of the back four. 

As for who will be on the pitch on Saturday night, RSL's Joao Plata and Sporting KC's Dom Dwyer will face off in a battle of forwards. Plata earned Player of the Month honors for March thanks to his three goals and two assists. Dwyer hasn't been as productive in the numbers department, but he's had a massive influence on his side's attacking game plan. 

Given the form of the attackers on each side of the pitch and the history of the two clubs, we should be treated to another fiery clash between the pair of Western Conference rivals. 

In addition to the showdown at Children's Mercy Park, there are plenty of other intriguing matchups in Week 5. We'll have a look at them below. 

Week 5 Schedule

New York Red Bulls at New England Revolution (Friday, 7 p.m. ET, UniMas) 

Philadelphia Union at Chicago Fire (Saturday, 5 p.m. ET, MLS Live) 

Toronto FC at Colorado Rapids (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, MLS Live) 

Real Salt Lake at Sporting Kansas City (Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Live) 

Columbus Crew at FC Dallas (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET, MLS Live) 

LA Galaxy at Vancouver Whitecaps (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET, MLS Live) 

Montreal Impact at Seattle Sounders (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET, MLS Live) 

D.C. United at San Jose Earthquakes (Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Live) 

Portland Timbers at Orlando City (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1) 

Players to Watch

Clint Irwin, GK, Toronto FC 

Clint Irwin returns to Dick's Sporting Goods Park for the first time as an opposing player on Saturday. The 27-year-old was traded to Toronto FC by the Colorado Rapids in January to fill the Reds' void in between the pipes. 

Irwin comes back to Colorado alongside Drew Moor, who also joined the Reds from Colorado in the offseason. 

A strong performance in net from the American should help the Reds end their two-game winless run.

Harrison Afful, RB, Columbus Crew

The Columbus Crew come into Week 5 in need of a positive result after a rough March. However, that task will not be easy to accomplish since Gregg Berhalter and company head down to Toyota Stadium on Saturday to play FC Dallas. 

In order to leave Frisco, Texas, with points, Harrison Afful must contain the influence of Fabian Castillo on the left wing. If the Ghanian right back can stop Castillo, it will allow the Crew to commit multiple players to Mauro Diaz. 

If the focus remains on Diaz for 90 minutes, the Crew have a shot at stopping the owner of one goal and four assists. 

Gyasi Zardes, FW, L.A. Galaxy

Fresh off a two-assist showing for the United States men's national team on Tuesday, Gyasi Zardes will have to carry the load of the L.A. Galaxy attack against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday. 

The United States international will be tasked with replacing Robbie Keane, who is out for four to six weeks after undergoing knee surgery, per the club's website. 

The good news for the Galaxy is Zardes bagged a brace in Week 3 against San Jose. If he banks off the momentum created from the last two weeks, the 24-year-old should have no problem scoring against Vancouver at home. 

Game of the Week

Portland Timbers at Orlando City

The final contest of the weekend at the Citrus Bowl pits two of the league's best forwards against each other. 

Portland's Fanendo Adi and Orlando City's Cyle Larin have been in great form to start the year, and they could easily extend their respective scoring runs in central Florida on Sunday. 

Adi scored his 10th career brace since joining the Timbers in 2014 in Week 3, while Larin has netted a strike in each of Orlando's first three matches. 

The other position worth watching on Sunday is defensive midfield. Portland's Diego Chara is one of the top destroyers in the league, while the underrated pair of Darwin Ceren and Cristian Higuita will challenge Diego Valeri every time he gets on the ball. 

Joe Tansey covers MLS for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90. 

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Only six teams were in action in Major League Soccer this past weekend due to the international break. However, there was still some movement in the power rankings.

As always, the following criteria were used to grade every club:

Here is where every MLS team stands after the international break.

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The international break may have halted the strong starts of many Major League Soccer players, but a few playmakers were able to impress during the small slate of matches in Week 4. 

Due to the strong numbers put up by some players on Saturday, we saw a little bit of a shift in our latest MLS Player Rankings. 

Among the changes were a new entrant into the top 10 and a high riser who secured a top-three position after four weeks of play across North America.

Our player rankings take into account the last four performances of everyone in MLS with the most recent showing carrying the most importance.

Continue reading on to see who made the biggest leaps in our latest MLS Player Rankings.

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The international break did not stop Major League Soccer from squeezing in a few matches over the weekend. 

Six clubs took to the pitch on Saturday during a shortened Week-4 slate across the United States and Canada.

FC Dallas caught the most attention for their win at RFK Stadium over a D.C. United side that is having trouble putting things together early in the season. Vancouver was the other winner in Week 4, while New York City FC and New England played to a draw. 

Due to the limited options for selection, we shaped our MLS Team of the Week in a 4-5-1 formation. 

Continue reading to see who was named to our best XI from Week 4.

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David Beckham has reportedly singled out his former Real Madrid team-mate Roberto Carlos as the man to manager his Miami franchise.

That’s according to Dani Hidalgo of AS, who wrote that while the team is not scheduled to become a part of Major League Soccer until 2018, plenty of planning is being done. It’s said part of that planning is to find a manager, and the legendary Brazil left-back is on Beckham’s shortlist.

Carlos is currently in charge of Indian Super League outfit Delhi Dynamos. During his time with Los Blancos, he was revered as the best full-back in world football, winning the UEFA Champions League three times and La Liga four times with the capital club. Additionally, he represented Brazil a whopping 125 times, winning the World Cup in 2002.

Hidalgo adds further colour to the reasons why Beckham thinks the 42-year-old is the right man to take on what’ll no doubt be a difficult job.

“He [Beckham] has always attributed great importance to the ability of the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti to place themselves in their charges' shoes,” he says. “Carlos meets that requirement, and has now built up four years of coaching experience. On top of that, his image fits the bill.”

Indeed, it’s suggested Carlos would be a popular choice among the region’s Hispanic community and the estimated 44,000 Brazilians who live in Miami and its suburbs.

Of course, the former defender's name carries a significant amount of clout, too. Here is a reminder of why he was such a special footballer:

However, it seems as though Carlos may not have been the first choice for the position. The same source reports that according to AS USA, Beckham initially had his former Manchester United team-mate Paul Scholes top of his wishlist, although that appointment seems unlikely “due to his lack of draw in the Latin American market.”

The wheels are now well in motion when it comes to the Miami franchise. As the MLS Twitter feed notes here, with an accompanying picture, the space has been isolated for a stadium to be built:

Beckham and Carlos played at Madrid together for four years during the Galacticos era, giving Los Blancos two of the world’s most potent free-kick options at the time. 

The Brazilian has accrued a lot of coaching experience since retiring from football, although he has failed to shine in any of his managerial roles as of yet. Prior to taking on the job with Delhi in India, he had a small spell as interim manager with Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala, then spells in Turkey with Sivasspor and Akhisar Belediyespor.

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The third round of matches in Major League Soccer were shrouded in controversy. As a result, there has been a shake-up of the power rankings for this week. 

Now that there is a larger sample size of games, last season's results will no longer affect the rankings. The following criteria will be used to grade each team:

Here is how every club stands after Week 3.

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Offense continued to be the theme across Major League Soccer in Week 3 as 27 goals struck the back of the net over three days of play. 

Some of the same players who thrived over the first two weeks of the season extended their terrific starts into this past weekend. 

Selecting a No. 1 in our latest edition of the MLS Player Rankings was a difficult task since seven attackers are tied for the Golden Boot, and six have contributed to at least four of their team's tallies so far. 

Our player rankings take into account cumulative performance over the last three weeks with a emphasis on the most recent showing by the players considered for the list. 

Continue reading to see who topped our listing of the top-20 in-form stars after Week 3. 

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The madness of March in Major League Soccer reared its head again in Week 3. 

From a seven-goal thriller on Saturday to a game in which a goalkeeper saved two penalties and still lost on Sunday, there were no shortage of talking points after the 10-game slate concluded. 

Six players recorded two-goal performances over three days, but due to overcrowding at certain positions, only four of them found their way into our MLS Team of the Week. 

The plethora of strong attacking showings across the league in Week 3 led us to choose a 4-3-3 formation for our best XI of the weekend. 

Continue reading to see who made the latest Bleacher Report MLS Team of the Week.

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Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard will join MLS team Colorado Rapids this summer after 10 years with the Toffees.

The club announced the news via their official Twitter feed on Sunday:

Howard arrived at Goodison Park from Manchester United and has so far made over 400 appearances for Everton.  

Uninterrupted first broke the news on Twitter:

Howard spoke of his love for the Toffees, per Everton's official Twitter feed:

Everton chairman Bill Kenwright hailed his time with the club:

Major League Soccer welcomed the American, who has made 105 appearances for the United States national team:

The Times' Henry Winter wished Howard luck, while Goal USA's Thomas Floyd noted the "buzz" his capture will bring to the Rapids:

Everton will now be left with the choice of replacing the 37-year-old in the transfer market or with backup stopper Joel Robles.

The Spaniard has enjoyed run-outs in cup competitions and recently in the Premier League this season. He looked fairly assured, so he may get the nod—particularly if he can continue to stake a claim in the side for the remainder of the campaign.

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Earning points on the road in Major League Soccer is never an easy task. For Toronto FC to remain relevant over the first three months of the season, the Reds have to do just that. 

In their first two matches of the 2016 campaign, Greg Vanney's side used three second-half goals to pick up a late victory and a come-from-behind draw in the New York City area. 

"We've started eight games on the road and we talked about giving ourselves a chance to win games," Vanney said after TFC's win over the New York Red Bulls in Week 1. "However we get results, we get results, that's all that matters." 

Toronto didn't appear to be headed for a positive result in the season opener at Red Bull Arena, but the improved back line held firm against pressure from the Red Bulls and allowed Sebastian Giovinco to work his magic in the final 10 minutes. 

Giovinco was isolated for most of the match, but he was able to break free in the latter stages of the Eastern Conference clash as he created a penalty, scored from the spot and assisted on his team's second tally.

The Atomic Ant was at it again in Week 2 as he provided the Reds with a goal and an assist at Yankee Stadium to help his side earn a 2-2 draw with New York City FC. 

While Giovinco may be the name on the marquee every time Toronto visits a city, Vanney is getting solid contributions from some of the lesser-known players in the squad as well. That bodes well for the Reds during the summer when Giovinco, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley are expected to miss a good chunk of time due to international duty. 

"We try to build depth into our roster," Vanney said. "That's the only thing we can do. Create over this preseason and early [in the] season and develop a system where we can kind of plug guys in and it makes sense for the vast majority of our guys."

"When we miss guys, we plug young guys in or other guys who are hungry and looking for minutes and looking to make a case for themselves and [make] a career," he continued. 

Two young players have already made an impact with Altidore out of the lineup due to a hamstring injury. First-round draft pick Tsubasa Endoh and 20-year-old Marco Delgado have shown bright spots over the first 180 minutes of action this season. 

"I thought Tsubasa has an enormous engine, and he'll work, and he'll run, and he'll track, and he's got a good education for the game in terms of his decision making and his tactical understanding of where to be and when," Vanney said following Endoh's key contributions in the second half versus the Red Bulls. 

"[Marco] had a great year last year and he's ready to help us this year," Vanney said of Delgado, who netted a strike in the victory over the Red Bulls. 

The play of the young attackers as well as the effort put forth by the new-look back line has given Toronto hope of earning valuable points while the big three are off representing their respective nations. 

The next test presented to Toronto comes on Sunday, when it travels to Children's Mercy Park to play Sporting Kansas City in the final game of the weekend. The Canadians' trip to the Sunflower State is the third of eight road matches on the team's docket to begin the season before it opens its home slate on May 7 against FC Dallas at the newly-renovated BMO Field. 

The games don't get any easier after Sunday as New England, D.C., Montreal and Portland await after a visit to Colorado that all of a sudden doesn't look as easy as it did a few weeks ago since the Rapids downed the LA Galaxy at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Week 2. 

If they continue to make strides in building their depth and keep pace with the majority of their Eastern Conference rivals, the Reds must be considered a true contender when the business portion of the regular season rolls around. 

Toronto's visit to Kansas City is just one of the things to watch in Week 3. Below we'll have a look at the players and games to keep an eye on over the next three days. 

Week 3 Schedule

Orlando City at New York City FC (Friday, 7 p.m. ET, UniMas)

Columbus Crew at Chicago Fire (Saturday, 5 p.m, ET, MLS Live) 

Houston Dynamo at New York Red Bulls (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, MLS Live) 

Montreal Impact at FC Dallas (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET, MLS Live) 

Vancouver Whitecaps at Seattle Sounders (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET, MLS Live) 

Real Salt Lake at Portland Timbers (Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Live) 

San Jose Earthquakes at LA Galaxy (Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Live)

New England Revolution at Philadelphia Union (Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET, MLS Live)

Colorado Rapids at D.C. United (Sunday, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

Toronto FC at Sporting Kansas City (Sunday, 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1) 

Players to Watch

Cyle Larin, FW, Orlando City

An in-form Cyle Larin should wreak plenty of havoc on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

The Canada international, who has two strikes and one assist through two matches, is going up against a New York City FC defense that has let in five goals over 180 minutes. 

There are few things we are able to guarantee when it comes to weekly predictions in MLS, but one of them is Larin producing yet another standout performance for Orlando City. 

Lloyd Sam, RM, New York Red Bulls

The entire New York Red Bulls attack is under pressure as the defending Supporters Shield winners enter Week 3 without a goal in 2016.

Lloyd Sam and the rest of the front four will look to turn that shocking record around on Saturday against a Houston team facing its first true road test of the season. 

If Sam creates space between himself and DaMarcus Beasley on the right flank, he will force the Dynamo defenders to swing over to the wing and help mark him, which in turn could lead to plenty of open territory for Bradley Wright-Phillips to pounce. 

Victor Cabrera, CB, Montreal Impact

There will plenty of pace on the pitch at Toyota Stadium on Saturday, and it will be Victor Cabrera's job to halt the speedy FC Dallas attackers in their tracks.

Cabrera has formed a solid center-back partnership with Belgian Laurent Ciman in a part of the field where the Impact don't receive a ton of attention. 

The 23-year-old enters Week 3 second in interceptions per game with 6.5 and tied for fourth in blocks per contest at 1.5, per WhoScored.com. 

If Cabrera disrupts the FC Dallas attack from the start of the match, Montreal has a chance to leave Texas with its third consecutive win. 

Kevin Doyle, FW, Colorado Rapids

Not even the best hype men in the fighting business could find a way to get you excited for Sunday's clash between D.C. United and the Colorado Rapids. 

However, there are a few players worth watching if you decide to tune in. Republic of Ireland international Kevin Doyle is one of them since he will be forced to create on his own up top for the Rapids. 

The 32-year-old will be without strike partner Shkelzen Gashi, who was suspended one game by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for entering the field of play while he was on the bench in Week 2, per a league release. 

If Doyle puts shots on target, he could get lucky since D.C. is down to its third-string goalkeeper Travis Worra after injuries to starter Bill Hamid and backup Andrew Dykstra. 

Game of the Week: Toronto FC at Sporting Kansas City 

The final contest of the weekend should be the best of the bunch in Week 3 as Toronto heads to Children's Mercy Park.

The Reds have a ton of confidence at the moment from two positive road results, while Sporting KC enters on a high after a pair of wins to open the new season. 

Both teams have dynamic forwards in Sebastian Giovinco and Dom Dwyer, and they also possess defensive-minded midfielders that have the potential to destroy any attacking moves. 

Toronto and Sporting KC are evenly matched at almost every spot on the pitch, and it may take a moment of individual brilliance—or a few—to break the deadlock on Sunday night. 

Joe Tansey covers MLS for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. 

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