Seeking consecutive victories in MLS for the first time all year, Toronto travel to Geodis Park on Saturday to face Supporters’ Shield contenders Nashville SC.

In midweek, the Boys in Gold shut out the Columbus Crew 3-0, putting them third in the Eastern Conference, while the Reds surprised San Diego FC 1-0 and moved up to 12th as a result.

Match preview

Despite a tough start to the 2025 domestic campaign for Nashville SC, the team have been full speed ahead domestically over the past few months of the year.

BJ Callaghan saw his side drop points in five of their opening nine regular season affairs this year, but they enter this weekend with just one defeat in their previous 14 league contests (4-1 at Inter Miami).

That form has put them in the mix for the best record in the league, with a mere two points currently separating them from the Philadelphia Union in the Supporters’ Shield standings.

With a victory on Saturday, this group will set a new franchise record for wins in a single regular season, currently on 13 heading into this encounter.

Nashville have the joint-most home victories in MLS this year (eight), riding a 10-match unbeaten run at Geodis Park across all competitions, with those last three being wins.

They have points in three of their four games played against Toronto in the Music City and have beaten them in each of their previous three meetings in this competition.

As expected, the Reds were up against it throughout Wednesday’s match with the Western Conference-leading San Diego FC but managed to hang onto a narrow victory.

Robin Fraser’s men had just 30% of the ball throughout the 90 minutes, yet they held the highest scoring team in the league off the scoresheet, only the second side to do so on their home field this season.

Slowly but surely, the Reds have climbed their way up the Eastern Conference table, earning at least a point in four of their previous five league contests.

Over that stretch, this team have looked much more compact and organised defensively, conceding a goal or fewer in four of their previous five games played, while posting two clean sheets.

On Saturday, they can win consecutive matches in this competition for the first time since July-August 2024, when they claimed a pair of away triumphs versus CF Montreal (1-0) and the Houston Dynamo (1-0).

A victory this weekend would only be their second at Geodis Park, and it would equal their number of away triumphs in MLS from the 2024 campaign (four).

Nashville SC Major League Soccer form:

Nashville SC form (all competitions):

Toronto Major League Soccer form:

Team News

An ankle strain kept Jacob Shaffelburg out of the Nashville lineup versus the Crew, Tate Schmitt was sidelined with a sore hamstring, while Taylor Washington, Maximus Ekk and Tyler Boyd were all sidelined with knee injuries.

Los Angeles Galaxy loanee Jonathan Perez will have to sit out of this upcoming match for the Boys in Gold after the Mexican was cautioned once again on Wednesday.

A Sean Zawadzki own goal wound up being the winner on Wednesday, with Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge adding some insurance, with the latter moving into the Golden Boot lead with his 17th of the campaign, one more than Lionel Messi.

Toronto were missing several players against San Diego with lower body injuries, as Henry Wingo, Zane Monlouis, Nicksoen Gomis and Deybi Flores were all sidelined for that reason.

From matchday 21 to 22 of this competition, they made two changes to their starting 11 with Kevin Long and Alonso Coello replacing Flores and Derrick Etienne.

Theo Corbeanu converted a 20th-minute penalty for the Reds in midweek, his team-leading fifth of the campaign, while Sean Johnson only had to make one stop for his first clean sheet since late June.

Nashville SC possible starting lineup:

Willis; Najar, Zimmerman, Maher, Lovitz; Yazbek, Brugman; Acosta, Muyl; Mukhtar, Surridge

Toronto possible starting lineup:

Johnson; Thompson, Stefanovich, Rosted, Petretta; Osorio, Coello; Corbeanu, Dominguez, Longstaff; Brynhildsen

We say: Nashville SC 1-0 Toronto

Consistency has been a problem for the Reds from one match to the next in 2025, while the Boys in Gold always seem to find a way to win at Geodis Park and we believe they will again this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

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