A year on from their inaugural game and after the most successful opening season of any incoming MLS team, the Seattle Sounders will open the 2010 campaign in front of a sell-out crowd of 35,000 by welcoming the Philadelphia Union in a meeting of the league's two newest clubs.

The Sounders, with captain Kasey Keller in goal, former Arsenal star Freddie Ljungberg in midfield and talented and dangerous Colombian forward Fredy Montero leading the attack, announced their arrival in the league by becoming the first expansion team in more than a decade to win their inaugural game when they swept aside the New York Red Bulls and they finished their opening season by reaching the end of season play-offs.

If Philadelphia, MLS's 14th club, even comes close to matching that then it will have been a successful campaign.

That they will kick off the new season at all at Qwest Field on Thursday night is thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) thrashed out over months of negotiations between MLS and the MLS Players' Union, and finally agreed last Saturday to head off the threat of a damaging players' strike.

Under the new CBA, which will run until 2014, the major sticking point of guaranteed player contracts has been resolved, team salary budgets will increase each year and individual minimum player salaries will also continue to grow.

The MLSPU's desire to achieve free agency for its players at the end of their contracts was not acceded to but increased freedom of movement has been written into the CBA and now peace has broken out again, fans can look forward to a potentially exciting 2010 season.

Perhaps both the Sounders and Union should look to defending champions Real Salt Lake for a learning curve to follow.

After modest improvements with each season since joining MLS in 2005, Salt Lake finished fifth in the Western Conference behind the regular season-champion Los Angeles Galaxy.

They only qualified for the post-season as a wild card but went on to win the MLS Cup in a penalty shoot-out over a Galaxy side led by Landon Donovan and David Beckham in front of 46,000 fans in Seattle.

While the Sounders will have stewed over seeing their home ground turned over to Real Salt Lake's celebrations, Keller, Ljungberg and Montero and company will return in a settled line-up for the new campaign and looking to build on their impressive debut season.

The Galaxy, who open with a home game on Saturday against Steve Nicol'sNew England Revolution, were already resigned to losing the now injured Beckham until the end of the World Cup finals in mid-July, the halfway point of the MLS season.

Head coach Bruce Arena has drafted in only a trio of young Brazilian loanees from Sao Paulo, including a 21-year-old midfield called Juninho, for the defence of their Western Conference title and Arena will once again look to MLS player of the year Donovan for inspiration, hoping the American forward will be invigorated on his return from loan at Everton.

Perennial Western favourites the Houston Dynamo may take time to find their stride in 2010 following the departures of USA internationals Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark to Bolton and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively.

In the Eastern Conference, the 2008 MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew, under new coach Robert Warzycha, once again ruled the roost last year only to be bundled out of the play-offs by Salt Lake.

The Chicago Fire, losing Eastern Conference finalists, saw Cuauhtemoc Blanco leave and will be looking to Brian McBride and his former Fulham strike partner Collins John for goals.

Saturday will see Chicago travel to New York to face a Red Bulls side on the up after finishing bottom last season.

Former Notts County boss Hans Backe took charge over the winter and the club, without leading scorer Juan Pablo Angel, demolished Brazilian side Santos in their final pre-season game last weekend as their new Red Bull Arena, a 25,000 all-seater, soccer-specific stadium opened its doors for the first time.

In other opening weekend games, the Colorado Rapids go to LA to play Chivas USA at the Home Depot Centre on Friday night, while on Saturday, Columbus host a Toronto side playing for the first time with former Chivas boss Preki at the helm.

Houston are at Texas rivals Dallas, DC United go to the Kansas City Wizards and champions Salt Lake visit the San Jose Earthquakes.