Decision Day is finally upon us. The 34-game regular season can be a slog at times, but the final weekend of MLS action always provides the drama.
There is still plenty to play for around the league heading into Saturday’s games — local rivalries, playoff seeding, and the potential broken records.
Let’s dig into the big stories around MLS heading into what looks to be a dramatic decision day.
Fixture of the weekend
There is only place to look when it comes to the biggest match of the weekend, and that’s Inter Miami’s showdown with New England Revolution.
Lionel Messi and his mates head into the affair having already wrapped up the Supporters Shield, but there is one more feat to accomplish down in South Florida.
Should Miami come out victorious on Saturday, they will set a new record for the most points accumulated in MLS regular season history with 74 points.
The current record-holders with 73 points accumulated in 2021?
The New England Revolution, Miami’s opponent on the day.
While Caleb Porter’s side may have nothing to play for in terms of playoff qualification, they will have club history to defend. It should be belter of a game.
What’s at stake in the Eastern Conference
The race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference is perhaps the biggest story outside of Miami’s potential history heading into the weekend.
As the games kick-off at 3:00 pM local time on Saturday, all of D.C. United, CF Montréal, Atlanta United, Philadelphia Union are still alive in the hunt for the two wildcard spots.
D.C. United and CF Montréal currently occupy those two spots in 8th and 9th respectively, and could book their tickets to the MLS Cup Playoffs with wins. Should they fail to earn three points in their respective matches, they will need help from elsewhere to ensure Atlanta and Philadelphia do not steal their spots.
It’s all to play for between 8th and 12th in the east, and we can not wait to see how it shakes out.
What’s at stake in the Western Conference
The Western Conference race may not be as dramatic as it’s counterpart, but there is still plenty to play for up and down the table.
We’ll focus in on the top of the table where a first place finish is up for grabs between two bitter rivals. The LA Galaxy feel they belong at the top of the west, but they may have to get one more result to ensure they finish there. Heading into decision day, the Galaxy sit on 64 points, while LAFC are hot on their tails at 61 points.
Should the Galaxy lose in Houston Saturday evening, a tough place to pick up wins, LAFC could steal their first place finish with a win against basement-dwellers San Jose.
Elsewhere in the west, Cascadia rivals Portland and Seattle will square off for a rare Decision Day derby, and while scheduling issues for Vancouver means Portland will have a home playoff game no matter if they finish in 8th or 9th, they will want to get one over their bitter rivals to the north.
Only two points separate Houston in 5th and Minnesota in 7th, with Colorado sandwiched between them, points will be a premium with major playoff seeding on the line.
Already eliminated from playoff contention
Eastern Conference
Chicago Fire FC
Nashville SC
New England Revolution
Toronto FC
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Western Conference
Austin FC
FC Dallas
San Jose Earthquakes
Sporting Kansas City
St. Louis City
