We've passed the halfway mark of the 2015 MLS season, and that can only mean one thing: it's time to scrap to stay above the red line.
With three months to go in the regular season, all 20 teams still have at least an outside chance of finishing in the top six places in their respective conference and thus keeping their MLS Cup hopes alive.
One way to measure which teams have the best chance of booking a place in the MLS Cup Playoffs is to looking at each team's remaining schedule. An easier remaining schedule means a better shot at postseason glory, while a tough slate could mean disappointment come November.
Taking into account average points per game at home and on the road, the graph below represents each team's remaining strength of schedule. The lower the points per game, the easier the schedule.
Remaining Strength of Schedule
As you can see, Toronto FC have the easiest remaining schedule by a wide margin, in large part because 10 of their 14 remaining games will be at home. Toronto still have home games against the Philadelphia Union, Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew SC. All three of those teams have collected fewer than .65 points per game on the road this season.
On the other side of the spectrum are the Fire. Chicago travel to Montreal, averaging 2.11 points per game at home, twice in the remaining months of the season, along with trips to Portland and D.C. Couple this with the fact that the Fire sit near the bottom of the standings themselves, and it's no surprise that they face a tough road to the playoffs.
Another statistic of note, MLS is currently 65 percent of the way through the season, and 76 percent of the out of conference games have been played. That means every match against a conference foe, which will be most, will be crucial as the playoff races come into further focus.
