MLS
The two teams that Inter Miami are likely to face in the playoffs
As MLS Decision Day approaches, the Herons have a good idea of who they will play in their postseason opener.
Inter Miami wrapped up the Supporters’ Shield title last week and followed that up with a dramatic late win over Toronto FC on Saturday, meaning that their pursuit of the single-season points record will continue into the final game.
But while the points record would be a nice bonus, the Herons’ focus is now firmly fixed on MLS Cup. Miami have secured the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and they now have a good idea of who their Round One opponents could be.
After last weekend’s MLS action there are now 16 teams who have booked their place in the playoffs. The nine qualifiers in the Western Conference are all confirmed, but there’s still four teams battling it out for the final two Wild Card spots in the Eastern Conference.
As it stands DC United and CF Montreal are in possession of the final two playoff berths in the East, three points ahead of both Philadelphia Union and Atlanta United. This means that Philadelphia and Atlanta would have to win their Decision Day games and hope that DC and Montreal lose to progress to the postseason.
Who will Inter Miami play in the playoff?
Considering that Philadelphia and Atlanta take on Cincinnati and Orlando, respectively, on the final day of the regular season it seems unlikely that they’ll manage the turnaround needed to make it to the playoffs.
That would leave DC United and CF Montreal to compete in the East’s Wild Card game, a one-off fixture to secure a place in Round One of the playoffs. As the top seeded team, Inter Miami look set to face either DC United or Montreal in their first postseason fixtures.
Round One of the MLS Cup playoffs is a best-of-three series between teams from the same conference. The No. 1 seed takes on the No. 8, the No. 2 takes on the No. 7, and so on.
The higher seed, Inter Miami, would get the home advantage in the first and third games of the three-match series. If either team wins the first two games then they advance to the next round. Beyond this point all games in the playoffs are single-match knockouts, all the way to MLS Cup on December 7.