Photo by Greg Bartram/USA Today Sports

By RYAN TOLMICH

Following a tumultuous offseason, the New York Red Bulls have emerged as one of the league’s best, while their opponents, the San Jose Earthquakes, have made a habit of taking down those very teams.

The Earthquakes have already topped Western Conference contenders Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps, leaving Friday night’s matchup against the New York Red Bulls as the logical next step for a team that has seemed to bring its best against elite opposition.

Two of the league’s recent elite are also set to collide on Saturday, as the LA Galaxy and Sporting KC match up in a meeting of the winners of each of the last four MLS Cups.

In addition, FC Dallas hosts Toronto FC, the Vancouver Whitecaps visit the unbeaten Real Salt Lake and the Columbus Crew take on Orlando City.

Here is a closer look at this weekend’s MLS action:

NEW YORK RED BULLS vs. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (Friday, 7 p.m., UniMas)

Entering the weekend unbeaten, the New York Red Bulls look to continue their hot start to the season against the visiting San Jose Earthquakes.

The Red Bulls could be boosted by the returns of Ronald Zubar and Roy Miller, both of whom have been hampered with injuries in recent weeks. Head coach Jesse Marsch could opt to take it slow with the defensive duo in favor of Matt Miazga and Kemar Lawrence.

The Earthquakes, enter on an interesting run of form, with victories over the Whitecaps and Sounders sandwiched between three losses.

D.C. UNITED vs. HOUSTON DYNAMO (Saturday, 7 p.m., MLS Live)

Two sides with polar opposite reactions to last week’s result are set for a faceoff at RFK Stadium.

D.C. United suffered a late-game collapse to the Red Bulls to settle for a draw, while the Houston Dynamo picked up an emphatic 3-0 win over the lowly Impact. With Raul Rodriguez and Boniek Garcia set to miss out, the Dynamo are in for a challenge as Jairo Arrieta likely leads a forward line that will see the return of Fabian Espindola next week.

COLUMBUS CREW vs. ORLANDO CITY (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., MLS Live)

Orlando City have consistently stepped up on the road early in the season and the latest stop is set to take the team to the home of a weakened Eastern Conference contender.

The Columbus Crew have struggled a bit out of the gate following last season’s successes, slumping to 1-2-2 on the season. Without Wil Trapp due to a concussion, the Crew could be up against top overall pick Cyle Larin, who scored the first goal of his professional career last week in a win over the Timbers.

FC DALLAS vs. TORONTO FC (Saturday, 8:30 p.m., MLS Live)

After surging through the opening weeks of the season, FC Dallas has come back down to earth.

Swarmed in a 4-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas has struggled in recent weeks and could be without Mauro Diaz on Saturday against Toronto FC.

TFC will have to push through with an injury-riddled backline with the banged-up Damien Perquis and Mark Bloom, while Steven Caldwell is set to miss out due to an achilles injury

COLORADO RAPIDS vs. SEATTLE SOUNDERS (Saturday, 9 p.m., MLS Live)

The Colorado Rapids secured the team’s first win in emphatic fashion last week in a 4-0 drubbing of FC Dallas, but Pablo Mastroeni’s side is now tasked with taking on another Western Conference power.

The Seattle Sounders could be noticeably weakened as Clint Dempsey’s status remains up in the air with a hamstring injury. Regardless, Obadfemi Martins, as well as a returning Gonzalo Pineda, should provide a tough test for a Rapids backline that opened the season with three straight clean sheets.

REAL SALT LAKE vs. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (Saturday, 9:30 p.m., MLS Live)

Without Pedro Morales, the Whitecaps face a tough task Saturday night at the Rio Tinto.

Morales will be suspended after picking up a red card last time out in a loss against the San Jose Earthquakes. Although Saturday could see the return of Mauro Rosales, the recently-cooled Whitecaps face a Real Salt Lake team that has put together two straight clean sheets and remains unbeaten this season.

LA GALAXY vs. SPORTING KC (Saturday,10:30 p.m., MLS Live)

Saturday night presents a matchup of the last two MLS Cup champions.

Last year’s winners, the LA Galaxy, did just enough to knock off the Seattle Sounders last week without Robbie Keane, who remains questionable due to a groin injury. Sporting KC are far from untouched by the injury bug as well following the ruptured achilles of Ike Opara, while Graham Zusi and Seth Sinovic remain questionable

PHILADELPHIA UNION vs. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (Sunday, 5 p.m., ESPN 2)

Following the benching of goalkeeper Rais M’Bolhi, the Philadelphia Union have responded with back-to-back results.

Picking up four points from a pair of games against NYCFC, the Union have started to show the grit and fight that defined the team for a majority of last season. That fight will be necessary in the midfield against the New England Revolution, who will likely start Lee Nguyen and Jermaine Jones in arguably the league’s most formidable midfield.

NEW YORK CITY FC vs. PORTLAND TIMBERS (Sunday, 7 p.m., Fox Sports 1)

NYCFC has struggled with closing out games these past few weeks, a problem that has plagued their opponents, the Portland Timbers, throughout the season as well.

After back-to-back late mishaps, NYCFC have dropped four points in less than a week due to late goals. With David Villa’s status in question due to an injured hamstring, NYCFC now play host to a Timbers side that sits bottom of the Western Conference despite looking the better side in several of their opening six games.