FC Cincinnati enter their regular-season finale against visiting CF Montreal on Saturday with an eye on seeding for the upcoming MLS Cup playoffs.
Entering Decision Day, Cincinnati (19-9-5, 62 points) is in second place in the Eastern Conference thanks to a tiebreaker edge on Inter Miami, who also have 62 points. With a win on Saturday against Montreal, the Orange and Blue would clinch the No. 2 seed.
Miami plays at Nashville SC on Saturday. Even if FC Cincinnati stumble, they would finish no worse than third.
The top two teams in each conference are guaranteed home-field advantage for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs. The top four teams in both conferences will be at home twice in best-of-three first-round series.
Every Eastern Conference team will kick off at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, meaning the table will be fluid until the final minute of each match.
“There’s no reason to score-watch,” FC Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said. “If we go and control what we control, if we win a game, we know we hold on to the two-spot, so there’s no reason to be paying attention to anything else.”
Still, they can’t overlook CF Montreal (6-17-10, 28 points). Despite being in 13th place in the Eastern Conference and eliminated from postseason contention, they haven’t been packing it in down the stretch. They have three wins and four draws in their past nine matches, and they are unbeaten in their past two contests.
CF Montreal are coming off a 1-1 draw with Nashville SC on Oct. 4.
“We’ve earned points in two games now, and we have one game left, so we have to stay positive,” goalkeeper Thomas Gillier said. “We really want things to change, for Montreal to get back on top and fight for points and championships.”
Forward Prince Owusu leads Montreal in both goals (13) and assists (five).
Cincinnati won 3-1 in Montreal on June 25, when Evander scored two of his team-leading 17 goals for the Orange and Blue.
–Field Level Media
