Expected Goals: Upcoming Milestones for Matchday 9

Plenty of Donuts for Djordje Petrović

The New England Revolution’s Djordje Petrović has a tradition after every shutout he produces – he brings in donuts for the rest of the club to highlight the zero goals allowed. In his short MLS career, the Serbian international has brought in dozens of donuts with 11 shutouts in his first 29 regular season appearances.

If Petrović records a clean sheet on Saturday against Sporting Kansas City (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass), he would become the sixth goalkeeper in MLS history to record 12 shutouts in his first 30 games. Petrović has also been a force on penalty kicks, saving four in his career, joining Joe Cannon (four) and D.J. Countess (four) as the only other players to do so in their first 30 career games.

Will some historic donuts be consumed in New England after Matchday 9?

Cristian Espinoza Spearheading Earthquakes’ Strong Start

The Earthquakes are off to one of their best starts to a season in the past decade, entering Matchday 9 at 4-2-2, while sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference. A key piece to their strong start is midfielder Cristian Espinoza, who is further cementing himself as a club legend.

Espinoza has five goals and two assists in 2023, including three crucial game-winning scores. For the Argentine, his play-making ability has vaulted him up San Jose’s all-time assist rankings, ranking third in club annals with 46. With his next assist, Espinoza will tie Ronald Cerritos (47) for the second-most in club history and he is only four behind Shea Salinas (50) for the most by a ‘Quake.

Can Kei Kamara Be the First to Score Against 27 Teams?

Chicago Fire FC forward Kei Kamara ranks highly across many historical leaderboards in MLS history, but on Sunday, he can stand atop one. In his 397-game career, Kamara has scored against 26 different opponents, tied with Ola Kamara for the most in league history. One he hasn’t scored against – Atlanta United, who the Fire will host on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass / FS1).

Kamara has only played in three matches (two starts) against Atlanta since the club entered the league in 2017, failing to hit the target across 196 minutes of action. As Kamara (142 career goals) chases Landon Donovan (145) for the second-most goals in MLS history, he will look to hit another record and keep Chicago’s strong form going.

Seattle’s Nicolás Lodeiro Enters Weekend on Assist Streak

For Seattle in 2023, Jordan…