We have one week left in the MLS regular season, and the playoff bracket is the West is not decided yet. There are four teams vying for three playoff spots, so the stakes will be pretty high. Who’s in? And who’s out? Which team will be up to the task in the biggest game of the year? Those are some of the questions we are looking to answer ahead of the final week of the campaign.
As things stand right now, the West is pretty crazy. Real Salt Lake, the Seattle Sounders, Sporting Kansas City and the Portland Timbers all have chances to reach the postseason. These four franchises are battling for the fourth through the sixth spot. Only two points separates the fourth-place RSL from seventh-place Portland, so the one team that commits a mistake will regret it.
Let’s break it down, shall we?
Seattle will play against Real Salt Lake. Each win would clinch with a win, and RSL would also secure a playoff berth with a draw. Seattle could also clinch with a draw, but they’d need either SKC or Portland to draw or lose in their finale.
Speaking of SKC, they’ll take on the already-eliminated San Jose Earthquakes. Sporting KC is sixth and they ‘re tied with Portland on points, but they have a one-goal lead in the goal differential category. Things are pretty simple: if they win they’re in, but either a draw or a loss would complicate them a lot.
Portland doesn’t depend on themselves, but that doesn’t mean they have been eliminated. They’ll play against the Vancouver Whitecaps and even though the Canadian franchise is out of the playoff race, they will be a tough opponent. Plus, the fact that this is a rivalry game should only make things sweeter. Portland needs to win and wait for a draw or loss from Sporting KC to secure a playoff berth.
Pretty interesting, isn’t it? Portland has the most difficult scenario, but they might be able to pull the upset. I don’t see Seattle losing, especially considering their recent form and the play of Nicolas Lodeiro and Jordan Morris. And it’s a coin toss between SKC and RSL. The only thing that’s certain is that no one can’t miss the final week of the regular season. No one know how things will shake out. But that’s the beauty of it, isn’t it?