It’s that time of year again. Yes, it’s the holiday season, but that’s not what this is about. It’s the time of the year that Major League Soccer announces their opening weekend schedule. There are some juicy matchups coming on opening weekend. MLS’ 21st season will begin on Sunday, March 6, 2016. Let’s take a look at the schedule.

The first day of the season will feature FIVE, that’s right, FIVE matches to be broadcast on national TV. Probably the biggest of the five nationally televised games will be the rematch of the 2015 MLS Cup Final between the Columbus Crew and Portland Timbers. This time around the two teams will play at Providence Park in Portland, OR. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 pm EST and can be seen on ESPN/ESPN Deportes.

The first match of the season will consist of the 2015 Supporters’ Shield winners, the New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30pm EST (TSN) and will feature 2015 MLS Landon Donovan MVP (horrible name) Sebastian Giovinco and U.S. Male athlete of the Year Michael Bradley. Toronto will be looking to start their season off on the right foot while the Red Bulls will look to repeat as Supporters’ Shield winners.

An hour after Columbus and Portland kickoff, there will be an all Canadian affair as the Vancouver Whitecaps play host to the Montreal Impact at BC Place in Vancouver, BC. That game is scheduled to kickoff at 5:30 pm EST (TSN and RDS).

For the second time in three years, the Seattle Sounders and Sporting KC will start their seasons against each other at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, WA. The two teams squared off on opening day in 2014 and Seattle stole the game with the winning goal coming in second half stoppage from Chad Barrett. Game is scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 pm EST (FS1/FOX Deportes).

The last nationally televised match will be against LA Galaxy and D.C United. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:00 pm EST (UniMas) and will be played at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA. It will be a new look Galaxy as they recently lost center back Omar Gonzalez who was transferred to C.F. Pachuca. They will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing exit in the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs.

Here is a list of the other matches that are taking place on opening weekend.

2 pm ET – Orlando SC vs. Real Salt Lake (Orlando Citrus Bowl)

2 pm ET – Chicago Fire vs. New York City FC (Toyota Park)

3 pm ET – FC Dallas vs. Philadelphia Union (Toyota Stadium)

3 pm ET – Houston Dynamo vs. New England Revolution (BBVA Compass Stadium)

3 pm ET – San Jose Earthquakes vs. Colorado Rapids (Avaya Stadium)

There are a lot of interesting matches in the opening weekend of the 2016 MLS season. All 20 teams will be looking to get on the right foot to begin their season.

In week two of the MLS schedule, seven teams will be having their home openers. The following teams will have their openers on Saturday, March 12th: New England vs. D.C. United (Gillette Stadium), Columbus vs. Philadelphia (MAPFRE Stadium), Colorado vs. LA Galaxy (Dick’s Sporting Goods Park), Sporting KC vs. Vancouver (Children’s Mercy Park), Real Salt Lake vs. Seattle (Rio Tinto Stadium) and Montreal vs. NY Red Bulls (Olympic Stadium). New York City FC will host Toronto on Sunday, March 13th for their home opener. D.C United (Colorado) and Philadelphia (New England) will both hold their home openers in Week three.

Toronto will have to wait until week 12, (May 7th) to host their first home match as BMO Field is undergoing renovations.

The rest of the 2016 MLS schedule will be announced, with full national TV schedule, on January 7th. What are your thoughts on the opening weekend games? Let us know in the comment section.