Red Line Report: Sounders now favorites to grab West's final playoff spot

After a big win on Sunday, the Seattle Sounders are in the driver's seat for the Western Conference's final playoff spot.

Seattle now sit on 38 points, just three points behind the sixth-place Portland Timbers – with two games in hand. The Timbers play two of their three remaining games on the road, where they have not won in MLS competition this year.

The Sounders will have a chance to put themselves above the red line on Wednesday when they face the Chicago Fire (10:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE). As of Wednesday, ESPN's Soccer Power Index gives the Sounders a 60-percent chance to make the playoffs.

Another team that significantly improved their playoff chances over the weekend is D.C. United. Their 4-1 win against Orlando City SC moved them above the red line, at 37 points to New England's 36. They hold a game in hand on New England, which will be played on Wednesday night against Columbus Crew SC (7:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE), who sit five points behind United.

If the regular season ended today ...

Eastern Conference Playoff Bracket

Conference Semifinals

1. New York Red Bulls

Conference Semifinals

2. Toronto FC

Knockout Round

3. New York City FC

VS.

6. D.C. United

Knockout Round

4. Philadelphia Union

VS.

5. Montreal Impact

Western Conference Playoff Bracket

Conference Semifinals

1. FC Dallas

Conference Semifinals

2. Colorado Rapids

Knockout Round

3. LA Galaxy

VS.

6. Portland Timbers

Knockout Round

4. Real Salt Lake

VS.

5. Sporting Kansas City

Strength of Schedule and Expected Points

The strength of schedule metric takes into account the average points per game (PPG) that each team's opponents earn at home and on the road. The lower the PPG, the easier the schedule.

For example, if FC Dallas traveled to play the LA Galaxy, who have averaged 2.5 PPG at home, and then hosted the Vancouver Whitecaps, who have averaged 1.53 PPG on the road, their opponents' PPG would be 2.02.

The Expected Points metric is strictly based off of what teams have done up to this point. For example, New York City FC have collected 1.69 points per game at home this season and 1.40 on the road. So if they continue averaging those totals, with five more home games left and four more road games, they would be expected to collect 52.49 points.

Here are both the Strength of Schedule and Expected Points rankings for each conference: