It’s ‘Rivalry Week’ in MLS, but the Union aren’t among this first batch of foes

Major League Soccer loves to stack batches of its rivalry games on the same weekend to generate buzz. In fact, when the league had more games on traditional TV than it does now, it came complete with a commercial sponsor. And as the league continues to expand (which it still isn’t done with yet), “Rivalry Week” became spread over two weekends instead of one.

This year’s rivalry batch lands right after the Union played at the New York Red Bulls, which in terms of authentic heat is as fierce as there is for the team. On Saturday, the Union play at the Colorado Rapids, a rivalry only insofar as the Union traded Auston Trusty and Keegan Rosenberry there over the years.

The actual rivalry games on the docket come after that, both at Subaru Park: Wednesday against D.C. United, a game on traditional TV (7:30 p.m., FS1 and Fox Deportes); and next Saturday against the New England Revolution (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).

» READ MORE: The Union’s Jack McGlynn, Quinn Sullivan, and Brandan Craig make the U.S. under-20 World Cup team

Adrian Healey, a longtime former ESPN MLS play-by-play voice, will call Union-Rapids in English with Fox veteran and former U.S. national team star Cobi Jones. The Spanish call will have Jesús Acosta (Fútbol de Primera Radio) on play-by-play with analyst Maximiliano Cordaro (Telemundo’s Bay Area affiliate).

The Union’s local radio broadcast of the game is on 97.5 The Fanatic, with Dave Leno and Sébastien Le Toux on the call.

Since the Union has a late game out west this weekend, there’s time to check out some of the other big games around MLS. Two matchups at 7:30 p.m. stand out: the Hudson River Derby between the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC, and the all-Canadian clash between CF Montréal and Toronto FC.

Sunday night brings the renewal of one of the league’s oldest rivalries, the Los Angeles Galaxy against the San Jose Earthquakes, which is also the weekend’s TV game (9:30 p.m., FS1 and Fox Deportes).

After offering just two free games last weekend, MLS and Apple return to offering six free games this weekend. Galaxy-Earthquakes is one, and the rest are on Saturday:

The last of those is a rivalry that dates back to the 1970s era North American Soccer League.

We don’t know yet when the next free Union game on Apple will be, given the league is now announcing the free games just one week ahead of kickoff.

If you aren’t a MLS Season Pass subscriber, Apple is offering a free one-month trial this weekend. Click here for more details and to sign up.

If you have Apple TV+ but not MLS Season Pass, you can watch the “MLS 360″ live highlights show for no extra charge.

The Union’s next game on traditional TV is Wednesday’s game against D.C. It’s the first of three Union regular-season games on traditional TV this year.

» READ MORE: MLS and Apple change some free game live streaming details on MLS Season Pass

Chicago Fire vs. St. Louis City SC, 1 p.m. (free): Nate Bukaty and Kyndra de St. Aubin in English; Bruno Vain and Andrés Agulla in Spanish.

Atlanta United vs. Charlotte SC, 7:30 p.m. (free): Keith Costigan and Maurice Edu in English; Alejandro Figueredo and Diego Tabares in Spanish.

Columbus Crew vs. Orlando City, 7:30 p.m.: Eric Krakauer and Lloyd Sam in English; Juan Arango and Carlos Suárez in Spanish.

D.C. United vs. Nashville SC, 7:30 p.m.: Callum Williams and Calen Carr in English; Raúl Guzmán and Sonny Guadarrama in Spanish.

Inter Miami vs. New England Revolution, 7:30 p.m. (free): Chris Wittyngham and Jamie Watson in English; Sammy Sadovnik and Eduardo Biscayart in Spanish.

CF Montréal vs. Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m.: Matt Cullen and Greg Sutton in English; Jose Hernandez and Pablo Mariño in Spanish; Frédéric Lord and Vincent Destouches in French.

New York Red Bulls vs. New York City SC, 7:30 p.m.: Jake Zivin and Taylor Twellman in English; Oscar Salazar and Carlos Ruiz in Spanish.

Austin FC vs. FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m.: Steve Cangialosi and Danny Higginbotham in English; Sergio Ruiz and Miguel Gallardo in Spanish.

Houston Dynamo vs. Seattle Sounders, 8:30 p.m.: Mark Rogondino and Heath Pearce in English; Adrian Garcia-Márquez and Francisco Pinto in Spanish.

Sporting Kansas City vs. Minnesota, 8:30 p.m.: Jenn Hildreth and Lori Lindsey in English; Moisés Linares and Jaime Macías in Spanish.

Colorado Rapids vs. Union, 9:30 p.m.: Adrian Healey and Cobi Jones in English; Jesús Acosta and Maximiliano Cordaro in Spanish.

Real Salt Lake vs. Los Angeles FC, 9:30 p.m. (free): Max Bretos and Brian Dunseth in English; Rodolfo Landeros and Martín Zúñiga in Spanish.

Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps, 10:30 p.m. (free): Tony Husband and Ross Smith in English; Jorge Perez-Navarro and Marcelo Balboa in Spanish; Olivier Brett and Patrice Bernier in French.

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes, 9:30 p.m. (free): Nate Bukaty and Tony Meola in English on FS1; Mark Followill and Danielle Slaton in English on Apple; John Laguna, Mariano Trujillo and Martín Zúñiga in Spanish on Fox Deportes; Francisco X. Rivera and Claudio Suárez in Spanish on Apple.