Week 30 of the MLS season will begin on Wednesday night, with four games – all teeming with playoff implications – set for tonight.
Here’s a rundown of Wednesday’s contests, complete with a rundown of how each match could affect the playoff race:
Toronto FC vs. Orlando City SC
7:30 pm ET, FS1 in the US, TSN4 in Canada
Toronto FC have already clinched their playoff berth, but they still have plenty to play for. The Reds are currently locked into a three-way tie atop the East with the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC. Wednesday’s match represents Toronto’s game in hand on their New York foes. A home win would go a long way toward TFC – who could get Sebastian Giovincoback from injury on Wednesday – potentially locking up the conference’s top spot.
Orlando are currently stuck at the other end of the red line. The Lions are in eighth in the East, two points behind seventh-place New England and three behind sixth-place D.C. (who host Columbus on Wednesday, more on that in a second) in the chase for the conference’s final playoff berth. With just four games left to make up ground, a loss on Wednesday night could be crippling for Jason Kreis and Co.
D.C. United vs. Columbus Crew SC
7:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE
D.C. and Columbus will both look to make hay at RFK on Wednesday night, with each team in need of a result to either shore up or keep alive their playoff hopes.
A win could move sixth-place United as much as four points above the red line and potentially move them past Montreal, who host San Jose on Wednesday, for fifth in the East. A loss, on the other hand, could drop D.C. into seventh, as Orlando would pass United with a win in Toronto and a D.C. loss.
Columbus, who hold one game in hand on D.C., Orlando and Montreal and two in hand on New England, will look to continue their climb up the table after winning their last two matches. A win on Wednesday would move Crew SC to 35 points, just two points behind whoever the sixth-place team would be at the end of the night.
While a win would be a huge boost, a loss would be nearly catastrophic for Columbus. A defeat would drop Crew SC at least six and potentially as many as eight points out of sixth-place with just four games left on their schedule heading into the weekend.
Montreal Impact vs. San Jose Earthquakes
7:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE in the US, TVA Sports in Canada
Winless in their last four and losers of their last two, fifth-place Montreal are scuffling toward the finish line. They’re now in real danger of missing out on the playoffs, and could fall within one point of the red line with a certain combination of results on Wednesday night.
Things would look dire with a loss, but a win would be a huge sigh of relief for the Impact. Montreal would move to 41 points with a victory, just one point behind Philadelphia for fourth in the East. Pending other results on Wednesday, the Impact could potentially be five points above the red line with three games remaining, a relatively comfortable – if not ironclad – margin.
San Jose have five games remaining on the schedule, but things are looking pretty dire for the Quakes. The Bay Area club are in ninth in the West, one point behind eighth-place Vancouver, four behind seventh-place Seattle and seven back of Portland for the sixth and final playoff spot.
A win in Montreal would be valuable for the Quakes, who would move within a point of Seattle with a win at the Impact and a Sounders loss at home against Chicago. A loss wouldn’t eliminate San Jose from the playoff race, but it’d make a potential climb up the table much, much tougher.
Seattle Sounders vs. Chicago Fire
10:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE
Assuming we won’t see a miracle this October, this one won’t matter much for the last-place Fire.
It will mean a great deal to the seventh-place Sounders, who would move past the sixth-place Timbers and above the red line with a win on Wednesday night. It’d be the latest step in what’s been a remarkable turnaround for the Sounders, who are 5-1-3 under interim coach Brian Schmetzer and will still hold a game in hand on Portland following Wednesday’s contest at CenturyLink Field.
