Welcome to another edition of "Discuss," in which MLSsoccer.com editors debate the topics of the moment in MLS. This week, we take a look at the race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference...
With just two matches remaining in the MLS regular season, the top of the Eastern Conference has come down to the wire.
In fact, both New York City FC (@DC, vs. CLB) and the New York Red Bulls (vs. CLB, @PHI) lead the Eastern Conference tied on 51 points with the exact same number of wins (14), which is the second tiebreaker after total points. (RBNY do have the advantage on the third tiebreaker, with a +14 goal differential compared to NYCFC's +4.)
So how will the East be won? Who will claim the No. 1 seed, which guarantees a place in the 2017-18 CONCACAF Champions League and a potential home MLS Cup date in December?
Without further ado, we let our team weigh in: MLSsoccer.com Contributors Franco Panizo, Charles Boehm and Sam Stejskal, Armchair Analyst Matt Doyle, Senior Editors Ben Couch and Arielle Castillo, Associate Editor Ben Baer and Editor-in-Chief Simon Borg. Readers can do the same in the comments below.
DOYLE: RBNY have the answers
I'm going to be really brave and pick the team that hasn't lost in three-and-a-half months to win a few more games. RBNY haven't had all the answers this year, but nonetheless I think they've got more than the other contenders. Their ace in the hole has, all year, been the damage they do on set pieces, and I see no reason for that to disappear all of a sudden.
BORG: Throw form out the window
Everyone here is going to tell you that NYCFC face an in-form D.C. United, the Union are slumping and therefore the NY Red Bulls, who face the Union on Decision Day, will get more points than NYCFC by season's end.
But they forget that NYCFC, with a highly motivated captain in Golden Boot-chasing David Villa, have played really well on their two previous trip to the expanse of RFK Stadium (NYCFC won there in May and lost a heartbreaker last year). And they're also dismissing how the bruising Union, who don't have to hit the road again this year, are now well rested thanks to the FIFA break. Plus, Philly have an axe to grind with RBNY after a 3-2 loss on October 1 which the Union frankly didn't deserve.
The point totals will ultimately see NYCFC on top in the East come October 23 at 6 pm ET.
PANIZO: Easier schedule prevails
Both NYCFC and the Red Bulls will host Columbus Crew SC during these final two weeks of the regular season and should come out on top, but their other games are where some separation could be created.
The Red Bulls visit the struggling Philadelphia Union, who are on a five-game winless run, in their season finale while NYCFC travel to take on rising D.C. United, who have not lost in five matches and are victorious in three straight, this weekend. Making things even tougher for NYCFC is that D.C. will be seeking to lock up a postseason berth at RFK Stadium while the Union could already be postseason-bound by the time the Red Bulls come to town.
BOEHM: Been there, done that
RBNY. They've been there before, their resilience is proven and their run-in is slightly easier thanks to Philly/DC's respective runs of form. Weird stuff happens all the time in MLS, of course, but most of the winners at this time of year have been there before. NYC haven't, and the conventional trajectory has them making real noise next year.
STEJSKAL: East will be red again
Their remaining opponents are similar, they’re tied on points… There’s really not much separating the Red Bulls and NYCFC. Ultimately, however, I see the Red Bulls winning the East for the second straight season and third time in four years. I see both teams notching wins against Columbus at home, but I think the Red Bulls have a better shot at getting something out of a road game at struggling Philly than NYCFC do at red-hot D.C. If the two teams do end the season level, the Red Bulls hold the tiebreaker barring some truly spectacular attacking work by NYCFC. The East will remain red.
CASTILLO: NYCFC on the road? No problem
Alright, if nobody wants to defend NYCFC, I’ll bite in the name of balance. Both teams will take on Columbus in their final two regular-season games, and, sorry Crew SC fans, but it’s likely both New York sides will make tidy work of them. Each New York team’s remaining game, though, puts them on the road — a place where NYCFC have excelled most of the season, while the Red Bulls have blown plenty of leads. NYCFC fans had better hope that the Bulls somehow repeat this bungling in Philadelphia on Decision Day.
COUCH: D.C. will help their rivals
Look, both teams play Columbus at home, so let’s call that a wash (even though Crew SC are as likely as anyone to take advantage of Yankee Stadium pinball). NYC travel to D.C., where surging United present a more thorough threat than the Union will at Talen Energy Stadium, where RBNY has already collected a point – and nearly three – earlier this year.
BAER: The choice is obvious
With the Red Bulls enjoying a comfortable lead in the goal differential column (+14 to +4), the obvious choice has to be Jesse Marsch’s team. Bradley Wright-Phillips is on fire and they face a virtually eliminated Crew SC side at home, where they’ve been the best team in the league, while also traveling to face a struggling Philadelphia side.
