MLS preview: What to expect from Lionel Messi, plus other key storylines to watch

Soccer analysts Taylor Twellman and Bradley Wright-Phillips break it all down.

Major League Soccer is back.

The regular season kicks off Saturday, as Los Angeles FC hosts Minnesota United FC. Then, that evening, all eyes will be on Lionel Messi’s return when Inter Miami takes on New York City FC at 7:30 p.m. ET.

How will Messi and Inter Miami fare this season? What about new expansion team San Diego FC? MLS Season Pass analysts Taylor Twellman and Bradley Wright-Phillips spoke with NBC News about those topics and more ahead of this weekend's kickoff.

Editor’s note: The following interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What is your level of excitement for this upcoming MLS season?
Twellman: It’s crazy to think I’ve been in and around this league since 2002. For the beginning 10 years of this league, it was all about surviving. And I would say for the last 12 to 15 years, it’s about thriving. If you would have asked me in 2005 or 2010 when MLS was thinking of expansion and really building these gorgeous stadiums, the owners would have said, "We need to find our way to get into two markets: St. Louis and San Diego." And I think it’s only fitting that San Diego is the 30th team in the 30th year of the league.

Wright-Phillips: For me, it’s the new signings, first of all. I always look at who’s coming to the league, and straightaway, one of my favorite players to watch in the Premier League ever was Wilfried Zaha. I feel like it’s been a little bit quiet, but (joining Charlotte FC) is really good for the league and for himself. He’s one of those players that runs at defenders all game long. He looks like he’s going to be very fun to watch. 

Also coaching changes. You’ve got Gregg Berhalter back in the league and Bruce Arena. They’ve both taken over clubs that — I’ll be honest — have been sorry. For the last few years you don’t think about Chicago. You don’t think about San Jose. And now they got two new managers that have done very well in this league.

How big of a deal was it to bring a team to San Diego?
Wright-Phillips: I love that the league has added another team. It’s more excitement. They add Chucky Lozano, a big name, a huge Mexican player. I’m up in the air with what they’re going to do. They don’t have an excuse of being an expansion team. St. Louis just recently won the West, so there’s no excuse for them. But there’s some exciting players that joined the roster, and I think Chucky Lozano leads that. 

Twellman: San Diego is one of those markets that’s always been in the top 10 of viewership of the U.S. men’s and women’s national team. Locally, they live and die and breathe the sport of soccer. So it’s just one of those few cities in the United States where soccer is kind of in the fabric of the city. It’s kind of in the heartbeat. I think it’s great that San Diego is in the league.

Right now, where do you put MLS among the world’s best leagues? 
Twellman: They’re not at the Premier League level, and nor should they be. English football has over a 100-year history. Naturally, when you’re trying to establish yourself in credibility, you got to do so in the world market. And I would say over the last five to seven years, Major League Soccer has exponentially grown. 

The way I judge that is, when you talk to scouts around the world, how quickly are they getting to the United States and Canada and Major League Soccer? They’re getting there very quickly. I think Cavan Sullivan is a great example of that with Manchester City deeming him the best 14-year-old in the world. He’s now playing for Philadelphia Union before he goes to Man City. 

Wright-Phillips: I love and hate this question because it’s so hard. My personal opinion, just having played in both (the MLS and English Premier League) ... let’s take the top teams like Inter Miami and Columbus Crew, the teams that have been very dominant over the last year or so. They would have no problems in the Championship, maybe bottom of the Prem. That’s how I see it and how I like to see it. It’s so difficult to judge.

Lionel Messi had an incredible first full season in MLS. What are your expectations for him this season and how good can Miami be?
Wright-Phillips: We weren’t sure how he would react to being in the MLS, but he’s taken it by storm. He’s the Messi we’ve known and loved over the years. 

What I do know is that, especially in America, Inter Miami won’t be seen as a successful side until they win the MLS Cup. So Javier Mascherano, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets — I think that’ll be the No. 1 thing on their list. Until they win that, I don’t think people will say it’s been a huge success. But saying that, they’ve been a joy to watch. 

Twellman: He had 36 goal contributions in 19 games last year. If not for a horrific ankle injury from a slide tackle in Copa America, he would have played probably 25 or 26 games, and he could easily have had 45 goal contributions. 

If he’s healthy this year and he plays 25 games, I think he could be the first repeat winner of the MLS MVP ever because the way he changes Luis Suárez, the way he changes everyone around him. I’m nervous for Miami because I don’t think they’re as deep as they were last year. They’ve got to figure that out. 

Besides Messi, what players are must-watch this season?
Wright-Phillips: You’ll always enjoy watching Darlington Nagbe. I think a young striker like Patrick Agyemang for Charlotte is very exciting and upcoming. Jack McGlynn just went to the Houston Dynamo. This will be good for him, starting every week. Talking about young players starting every week, I’m thinking of Brian Gutiérrez for Chicago under Gregg Berhalter. 

Twellman: On LAFC, Denis Bouanga is one of the best players this league has ever seen. You do not have to be a soccer fan to see his impact and to see how he plays. He plays at a high level, 90 minutes of just relentless pursuit of goals and assists. He’s had 20-plus goals in two straight years. An unreal player. 

What other storylines are you watching for?
Twellman: The FIFA Club World Cup being in this country, two MLS teams being a part of that, all the eyeballs around the world are going to be on the United States in 2025. It’s a perfect preview of what the World Cup is going to be in 2026.

Major League Soccer now has the infrastructure, the momentum to really catapult itself with all the eyeballs in the world in 2025 and then ultimately in the World Cup. That’s where it’s going to be different than 1994.

Wright-Phillips: I don’t think the casual MLS fan realizes how good of a player Wilfried Zaha is. I was surprised that there isn’t a lot more noise around his name for how good he is as a player. We got to remember, this guy was tearing it up at Crystal Palace in the Premiership. It didn’t work out for one reason or another, but this is the kind of talent we’re talking about that’s coming to the league. And I think very soon after Matchday 1, we’re going to see a top player and you’ll hear his name a lot throughout the season.

What team that missed the playoffs last season could take a big step? 
Wright-Phillips: I’m going to go with Chicago. [Gregg Berhalter] has all the pieces. He has a good young No. 10 in Brian Gutiérrez and then they brought in a really good winger in Jonathan Bamba. He’s another player that loves to run at defenders. And then if you were worried about their defense, they bring in Jack Elliott from the Philadelphia Union, who I think is a really underrated center back in the league.

Twellman: I’m interested to watch Austin this year. They went out and spent $10 million on Brandon Vázquez. He comes back from Mexico and is a goal scorer. There’s a new manager (in Nico Estévez). I don’t know if the manager gets them to winning the MLS Cup, but I think he improves Austin to a point that the fan base is now rejuvenated the way they were in the first couple years of their existence.

Who is your pick to win the MLS Cup?
Twellman: The transfer window changes everything in the summer. The teams you see on Feb. 22 are not the teams you see come MLS Cup playoffs. A lot can change. But as of Feb. 20, I think people are really overlooking Atlanta United and Cincinnati. They had the best transfer windows.

Wright-Phillips: You have to look at Cincinnati. Over the years, Cincinnati has always been a team that doesn’t concede many goals. ... Now you add Evander, one of my favorite players. You’re putting him on a side that is defensively sound. He has a striker in front of him now in Kévin Denkey who is very efficient in front of the goal. When you talk about attacking talent, adding Evander, and you talk about how good they are defensively, that’s a team that’s built for the playoffs.