MLS Week 9 Preview: Bulls lock horns and Toronto ends road trip in Portland

Week 9 of the 2016 MLS season is jam-packed with football, with 13 fixtures planned over four days in this round of action.

On Wednesday, New York City FC's star-studded team squared off against the Montreal Impact, as did the New England Revolution and the Portland Timbers, and the Vancouver Whitecaps and Sporting Kansas City. All three matches ended with 1-1 scorelines.

Here are three key matchups to watch during the Week 9 weekend:

New York Red Bulls lock horns with FC Dallas

There's going to be a bullfight at Red Bull Arena on Friday as the New York Red Bulls take on the Toros of FC Dallas. These two teams share a common club theme, each paying homage to the mighty bull in their logos, but there's a bit of bovine bias this season favoring Dallas, as the Red Bulls have struggled in the early goings.

Dallas leads the league in points, securing 17 in nine games, while the Red Bulls sit tied for last place with only six points in eight matches. The disparity between the two teams is massive in the standings, but the Red Bulls are coming off a resounding 3-2 win over Orlando City, while Dallas dropped a 3-0 result to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

It all makes for one heated encounter between these two teams, which went toe-to-toe (or hoof-to-hoof) last season in the battle for the MLS Supporters' Shield.

Toronto FC makes one final stop on the road

It's been a long slog for Toronto FC at the start of the 2016 season, left homeless due to ongoing construction at BMO Field. The Reds have started this campaign with an eight-game road stretch similar to the one the team faced last season - however, Sebastian Giovinco and Co. have handled this year's toil with resilience, and have subsequently garnered positive results.

Toronto's bosses identified an eight-point target in those eight games; the Reds have 11 in seven matches and one final stop on Sunday against the Portland Timbers to further add to their haul. Canadian newcomer Will Johnson, who Toronto acquired out of Portland, will be particularly fond of this final stop.

"It's a club that meant a lot to me," Johnson said, according to The Oregonian. "It's a club that I put a lot of hard work into, a lot of energy, a lot of passion. I'm excited to see all the familiar faces, all the supporters."

Dark horses of the East and the West meet

The Philadelphia Union have turned quite a few heads this season as C.J. Sapong and the rest of Jim Curtin's men sit second in the Eastern Conference with four wins and three losses out of seven matches. In the West, the San Jose Earthquakes have enjoyed a similar run of strong results as Chris Wondolowski's goal-scoring heroics led to a 4-2-2 start.

Both teams were firm basement fodder last season.

Now? Not so much. These two dark horse teams, defying expectations in the early part of the 2016 campaign, will do battle Saturday in search of three more points. Only one team will come out alive (or they draw 1-1, too).