Overview
- FC Cincinnati enters the final two regular-season games sitting on 43 points and needs one victory to clinch a playoff place without relying on other results.
- A win over Philadelphia at TQL Stadium on Saturday will lock in the playoff berth for Cincinnati regardless of other matches.
- A draw or loss would leave Cincinnati dependent on several specific outcomes in other games, chiefly that Toronto FC, New York Red Bulls and New York City FC all fail to win in their remaining matches.
- Cincinnati is tied on points with Orlando City but is seeded lower because Orlando has one more win, so the club could finish eighth or drop to ninth depending on results and wins tiebreakers.
- If Cincinnati finishes eighth or ninth it will host or play the single-game wild-card match before the best-of-three first round, and clinching now would remove Decision Day uncertainty for players and fans.