Ahead of this weekend\u2019s decisive Game 3s, I\u2019m predicting how every Round One Best-of-3 Series will finish.<\/p>\n
Which teams will book their spots in the Conference Semifinals? And which teams will see their Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs dreams come to an abrupt end?<\/p>\n
Predicted Winner: New York City FC<\/strong><\/p>\n Charlotte FC<\/a> haven\u2019t been great in this Round One series. Actually, check that. Charlotte haven\u2019t been great since Pep Biel<\/a> got injured during Leagues Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t believe me? See for yourself here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Their non-penalty xG differential has been dwindling for months. Not coincidentally, their struggles started to pop in the underlying numbers at almost the moment their Best XI-level No. 10 went down. For as much as Wilfried Zaha<\/a> could be that ball-dominant threat for Charlotte this year, he largely hasn\u2019t been. He was suspended for Charlotte\u2019s Game 1 loss<\/a> before starting and was only slightly more noticeable during a narrow Game 2 penalty shootout victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n Charlotte don\u2019t seem to have the horses in Biel\u2019s absence. That’s a huge problem.<\/p>\n New York City FC<\/a>, for their part, do have the horses \u2013 at least relative to their Round One opponent. While Pascal Jansen has been incredibly conservative with his lineup choices through two games, he at least has game-changers like Alonso Mart\u00ednez<\/a> who can tilt the game towards his team.<\/p>\n NYCFC have more talent, more balance, and they\u2019ve been the better team in this series. I don\u2019t expect that to change in Game 3, even back on the road.<\/p>\n Predicted winner: Seattle Sounders FC<\/strong><\/p>\n Now that was more like it from the Sounders<\/a>. After a lackluster, scoreless opening loss in their series against Minnesota<\/a>, Seattle looked like a different team for long stretches of Monday night\u2019s emphatic 4-2 win<\/a>.<\/p>\n In part, the Sounders were a different team: Danny Musovski<\/a> started up top at the No. 9 while Jordan Morris<\/a> moved into the right halfspace. With more players rotating between the lines, Seattle had much more success breaking through Eric Ramsay\u2019s 5-4-1 block, to the tune of a three-goal first half. Cristian Roldan<\/a>\u2019s third-man runs out of Seattle\u2019s double pivot posed an especially great challenge that the visitors had no answer for at Lumen Field.<\/p>\n Now heading back to Minnesota for Game 3, there\u2019s little reason for Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer to change his recipe. Ramsay, however, may want to do so given the lack of attacking threat shown by his team for most of Game 2. But due to fitness and personnel shortages, making those adjustments could prove difficult.<\/p>\n With more depth, quality and tactical answers, Seattle have the edge in this series.<\/p>\n Predicted winner: FC Cincinnati<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s make one thing very clear: FC Cincinnati<\/a> had a dreadful Game 2 of their Hell is Real matchup with the Columbus Crew<\/a> on Sunday night, making sloppy errors on the ball and losing 4-0<\/a>. They didn\u2019t register a clear-cut shot, let alone a dangerous shooting chance. But there was one crucial moment in the first half that created the conditions for the Crew\u2019s revenge-filled drubbing: Yuya Kubo<\/a>\u2019s red card.<\/p>\n Deciding to commit a red-card foul to stop a Columbus attack, Kubo\u2019s first-half exit changed things from a \u201cwow, the Crew look a little better than they did in Game 1, let\u2019s see if they keep it up\u201d sort of game to a \u201cwow, this version of the Crew might be the best team MLS has ever seen\u201d sort of game. Of course, we know this year\u2019s Columbus team isn\u2019t the best MLS has ever seen. It\u2019s not even the best Columbus have seen. This 2025 Crew have allowed the most non-penalty xG and have the worst xG differential of any of Wilfried Nancy\u2019s three Columbus outfits.<\/p>\n In short, the Crew aren\u2019t nearly as good as they showed in a weird Game 2.<\/p>\n Instead, I\u2019m inclined to think that Cincinnati will reset, be more physical between the lines against an undersized Columbus forward group, press their attacking talent advantage, and continue this series\u2019 theme of the home team winning.<\/p>\n Predicted winner: Inter Miami CF<\/strong><\/p>\n It couldn\u2019t happen twice in a row, could it?<\/p>\n By “it,” of course, I mean “Inter Miami<\/a> getting bounced in Round One.” Despite Nashville<\/a>\u2019s more aggressive and clinical performance in their Game 2 victory<\/a>, I can\u2019t shake the feeling that Lionel Messi<\/a> & Co. will put this series away in Game 3.<\/p>\n At this stage, Javier Mascherano and the club\u2019s other strategic minds have two games\u2019 worth of tape on the new 4-3-3 defensive structure B.J. Callaghan rolled out for this series. With the stated goal of Callaghan\u2019s shape shift being to “keep the ball in the wide areas, not allow it through the middle,” as per the Nashville coach via SixOneFive Soccer<\/a>, Messi\u2019s touch count dropped from 62 on Decision Day<\/a> (before the structural swap) to 45 in Game 1<\/a> and 48 in Game 2. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a coincidence.<\/p>\n While Miami aren\u2019t above a few head-scratchers in their own third, it feels foolish to ignore their attacking firepower ahead of Game 3.<\/p>\n I back Inter Miami to find the weak points in Nashville\u2019s defensive approach and outscore their Eastern Conference foes on Saturday night.<\/p>\n Predicted winner: San Diego FC<\/strong><\/p>\n San Diego<\/a> were seconds away from clinching a Conference Semifinal spot on Saturday night before a 98th-minute equalizer from Gage Guerra<\/a> sent the Providence Park crowd into a frenzy. One penalty shootout later, and the Timbers<\/a> had forced a Game 3.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t an entirely undeserved result for Portland, either: with a very, very high press that was so bold as to leave a trio of defenders back defending against San Diego\u2019s front three in man-to-man fashion, Phil Neville\u2019s team got rewarded. The press worked for long spells, forcing turnovers high up the field that occasionally turned into shots for the Timbers.<\/p>\n Even factoring in Portland\u2019s newfound defensive intensity, it\u2019s difficult to picture anything other than a San Diego win in this weekend\u2019s decider \u2013 and for a very specific reason. No team in MLS has been better at finding ways through an opposing high press than the newcomers. You can bet Mikey Varas and his staff are crunching the tape of the Timbers\u2019 press and calculating how to beat it.<\/p>\n