Inter Miami will look to reach the second place in the Eastern Conference this weekend on the last day of the MLS regular season, before the decisive playoffs in which the team captained by Lionel Messi will try to avoid closing a year without titles.
Javier Mascherano’s men visit Nashville on Saturday needing a win or a draw to challenge for second place in the East, after the top spot is mathematically impossible.
Inter Miami is on a roll
Inter Miami is currently third with 62 points, the same as Cincinnati, which is ahead in the standings with one more win on the season.
In first place is the Philadelphia Union, with 66 points, and who have already been crowned champions of the regular phase.
But Nashville also has a lot at stake.
Sixth with 54 points, a loss could drop them to the play-in, a game between the eighth and ninth place finishers for the final postseason berth.
Inter Miami enters the final day on a roll, having scored four goals in each of its last two matches, both of which resulted in convincing victories.
The match in Nashville could also serve as an opportunity for Messi to clinch the tournament’s top scorer award.
He currently has 26 goals to 24 for his nearest challenger, Los Angeles FC’s Gabonese striker Denis Bouanga.
Nashville’s Sam Surridge is three goals behind the Argentine.
Messi is also one of the top favorites to win the award for best player of the regular season.
Decision Day’ to define the playoffs
In addition to the matchup between Nashville and Inter Miami, the final day, dubbed ‘Decision Day’ by MLS, will determine the final playoff spots in the East.
Columbus Crew, ninth with 51 points, will look to advance to the postseason at home against a New York Red Bulls team that has nothing to play for.
The Chicago Fire, with 52 points and who will visit the New England Revolution, and Orlando City, with 53 points and who will travel to Toronto, are the other teams involved in this fight along with Nashville.
Leadership is at stake in the West
In the West, the last date may change the conference leader.
A loss for Thomas Müller’s Vancouver Whitecaps against FC Dallas in Canada would hand first place to San Diego FC, should the Californians defeat the Portland Timbers away.
For their part, Los Angeles FC, where South Korean Son Heung-Min plays, will visit the Colorado Rapids with a chance to finish in second place.
The dispute for the playoffs is more open in this conference, where up to four teams have options to take the last two places.
These are FC Dallas, eighth with 41 points, Real Salt Lake, ninth with 40, Colorado Rapids, also with 40, and San Jose Earthquakes, tenth with 38 points and who will host Austin FC.
The ‘Decision Day’ will be played this Saturday simultaneously in two time slots:
The first is reserved for teams from the East (such as Inter Miami), and the second for clubs from the Western Conference.
With information from EFE
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