MLS Decision day schedule, standings: What’s to play for as the Eastern and Western Conferences wrap up

Only one day remains in the Regular season of Major League Soccer. Saturday, Oct. 19th every team in the Eastern and Western conferences except Toronto FC will have simultaneous kickoffs to determine the remaining spots in playoffs and seeding. Due to the league having 29 teams, one team has to be on a bye each week and it was Toronto who drew that on the final day of play. For the Eastern Conference, all kickoffs will begin at 6 p.m. ET and for the West, they’ll begin at 9 p.m. ET. 

Inter Miami may have already won the Supporters’ Shield, securing the number one overall spot in the league but two playoff spots are still up for grabs while other teams will be able to jostle for seeding. In the West, all of the playoff participants are set, but there is a battle of the two Los Angeles clubs to determine who the number one seed is for playoffs.

Let’s take a look at the current standings, tiebreakers, and what teams have to do to make it

Eastern Conference

Bolded teams have already clinched a playoff spot.

Pos	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1	Inter Miami CF	33	21	8	4	73	47	+26	71
2	Columbus Crew	33	18	9	6	69	38	+31	63
3	FC Cincinnati	33	17	5	11	56	47	+9	56
4	Orlando City SC	33	15	7	11	58	48	+10	52
5	New York City FC	33	14	8	11	54	47	+7	50
6	Charlotte FC	33	13	9	11	43	37	+6	48
7	New York Red Bulls	33	11	14	8	53	47	+6	47
8	D.C. United	33	10	10	13	52	67	-15	40
9	CF Montreal	33	10	10	13	46	64	-18	40
10	Toronto FC	34	11	4	19	40	61	-21	37
11	Philadelphia Union	33	9	10	14	61	53	+8	37
12	Atlanta United FC	33	9	10	14	44	48	-4	37
13	Nashville SC	33	8	9	16	35	54	-19	33
14	New England Revolution	33	9	4	20	35	68	-33	31
15	Chicago Fire	33	7	9	17	40	59	-19	30

DC United can clinch a playoff berth if: They win or draw against Charlotte FC. Failure to do that is where things get murky but with a loss by CF Montreal and NYCFC along with a Philadelphia Union loss or draw, DC United will make it as long as they win out on tiebreakers. It’s a similar scenario if Montreal and NYCFC lose and Atlanta United lose or draw, D.C. United will still make the playoffs as long as tiebreakers are in their favor. Finally, if Philadelphia and Atlanta United lose or draw, D.C. will clinch a place in the playoffs.

CF Montreal can clinch a playoff berth if: They win or draw against New York City FC. After that, things again get more complicated as D.C. United losing and Philadelphia losing or drawing will still see Montreal make the playoffs as long as they win out on tiebreakers. If D.C. United lose and Atlanta United lose or draw, it’s similar where it will come down to tiebreakers against Atlanta United. Finally, if Philadelphia and Atlanta United lose or draw, Montreal will clinch a place in the playoffs.

The Philadelphia Union can clinch a playoff berth if: They defeat FC Cincinnati while CF Montreal and D.C. United both lose. With a victory, Philly can also make it if Montreal lose and Atlanta United lose or draw in their match against Orlando City SC. Also winning, Philly can make it if Montreal lose and they win on tiebreakers. If the Union win, they can also advance with a D.C. United loss and an Atlanta United loss or draw. If Philly win and D.C. lose, the Union can also make it based on tiebreakers.

Atlanta United can clinch a playoff berth if: They defeat Orlando City SC and Montreal or D.C. United lose. If Atlanta win, they can also make the playoffs if Montreal lose and the Union lose or draw. If Atlanta win and Montreal lose while Atlanta have the tiebreaker advantage over Philadelphia, the Five Stripes will make the playoffs. Another scenario is that Atlanta can win while D.C. United lose and Philadelphia pick up a loss or draw. Atlanta can also make it with a win, D.C. United draw and a tiebreaker advantage over Philadelphia.

Orlando City can clinch home field advantage in round one with: A win, an NYCFC loss or draw or a draw while holding an advantage in tiebreakers over NYCFC.

New York City FC can clinch home field advantage in round one with: A win over CF Montreal and an Orlando City draw with Atlanta United while winning out on tiebreakers.

Western Conference 

Bolded teams have already clinched a playoff spot.

Pos	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1	LA Galaxy	33	19	7	7	68	48	+20	64
2	Los Angeles FC	33	18	7	8	60	42	+18	61
3	Seattle Sounders	33	16	8	9	50	34	+16	56
4	Real Salt Lake	33	15	11	7	63	47	+16	56
5	Houston Dynamo	33	14	9	10	45	38	+7	51
6	Colorado Rapids	33	15	5	13	59	57	+2	50
7	Minnesota United	33	14	7	12	54	48	+6	49
8	Vancouver Whitecaps	33	13	8	12	51	47	+4	47
9	Portland Timbers	33	12	10	11	64	55	+9	46
10	Austin FC	33	10	9	14	36	46	-10	39
11	FC Dallas	33	10	8	15	52	55	-3	38
12	St. Louis City	33	8	13	12	49	59	-10	37
13	Sporting Kansas City	33	8	7	18	50	64	-14	31
14	San Jose Earthquakes	33	6	3	24	40	75	-35	21

LA Galaxy clinches the number one seed with: A win or draw facing the Houston Dynamo or an LA Galaxy loss or draw vs. San Jose Earthquakes. If they are level on points, it will come down to tiebreakers.

LAFC clinches the number one seed with: A win and an LA Galaxy loss while holding an advantage on tiebreakers.

MLS Tiebreakers

1. Total number of wins
2. Goal difference
3. Goals for 
4. Fewest disciplinary points per match
5. Away goal difference
6. Away goals for
7. Home goal difference 
8. Home goals for 
9. Coin toss or drawing of lots

Decision day schedule 

Saturday, Oct. 19
All Eastern Conference matches kick off at 6. p.m. ET, all Western Conference matches kick off at 9 p.m. ET

Eastern Conference
Chicago Fire vs. Nashville SC
D.C. United vs. Charlotte FC
New York Red Bulls vs. Columbus Crew
Philadelphia Union vs. FC Cincinnati
CF Montreal vs. New York City FC
Orlando City SC vs. Atlanta Unite
Inter Miami vs. New England Revolution

Western Conference 
FC Dallas vs. Sporting Kansas City
Real Salt Lake vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
Houston Dynamo vs. LA Galaxy 
Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers
Minnesota United vs. St. Louis City SC
Los Angeles FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes
Austin FC vs. Colorado Rapids