LA Galaxy have dropped two in a row and in both cases their defense was the culprit. As a result, they go into the MLS playoffs in fifth place. Which team will show up? The team that took three straight wins or the one that then gave up two straight losses? As it is, they could get bounced in the first round or make a run all the way to the finals!
Meanwhile, their crosstown rivals LAFC are on the top of the standings and the odds on favorite (53% according to 538) to win the whole thing. They have the most points ever with 72 and Vela has the single season goal scoring record with 34.
In the Swedish top league, the race for the championship is close among the big city clubs Malmo and the three Stockholm teams (Djurgardens, Hammarby, and AIK).
My family teams Elfborg and Falkenberg have their goals. Elfborg is in eighth and realistically the gap to seventh is too far. However, they could slip down so finishing eighth would be satisfying at this stage. As for Falkenberg, avoiding outright relegation is the goal. They have 19 points in 15th place. They are close enough to Sundsvall (20 points) to move up into the playoff relegation spot.
Over in England, Liverpool is off to a 8-0-0 start outpacing traditional top dog Man City and venerable top-6 Arsenal. Leicester City and Crystal Place are surprise top-6 right now. Chelsea sit in 5th. Shockingly, typical top-6 Man U is 12th and Tottenham is 9th. LFC's eight wins include some nervey one goal wins. Will this be the year they finally win a EPL championship after so many decades?
Defending the Champions League title would be a bonus but having gotten it last year I think they would not be too disappointment if they don't win it again. However, I think they would like to at least get out of group stage. Thus far Liverpool's champions league performances have been shaky with a loss to Napoli and a too close for comfort win against Salzburg.
QPR is doing stunningly well! They are ninth! However, will they be able to hold it together in the marathon 46 game season that is the Championship. They only have one draw as they give up goals but score them as well. They have managed to come out on top more than not.
Showing posts with label MLS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLS. Show all posts
MLS playoffs
The Premier League and other levels of the English soccer pyramid awards the title to the team with the best record. There are no playoffs for that prize.
However, in the promotion part of the competition, there are playoffs.
For example, in the English League Championship (tier 2), the top team wins the title and promotion to the Premier League. The second place team gains promotion to the Premier league. The third place team plays the sixth place team in one of the semi-finals, while the fourth and fifth place clubs play in the other semi-finals. The respective winners match up in a final with the winner gaining the third promotion slot to the Premier League.
MLS does it entirely differently. There is no promotion/relegation. The regular season winner gets the Supporters Shield (and an automatic bid to the CONCACAF Champions League) but the MLS Cup goes to the winner of the playoffs. The MLS is divided into Eastern and Western Conferences. The top two teams in these conferences are slotted into the Conference semi-finals with their opponents determined by knock-out matches between #3 vs. #6 and #4 vs. #5. The Conference semi-finals are two-legged as are the Conference finals. The MLS Cup is a single match at the home field of the finalist with the best regular season record.
This year Toronto dominated the regular season and are expected to win their playoff contests for the Eastern Conference's slot in the MLS Cup. It isn't clear who is the strongest in the Western Conference as the regular season point separation between #1 through #5 was a mere 4 points. An indication of the parity of the West is the first leg results between Portland/Houston and Seattle/Vancouver yielded the identical scores of 0-0!
Portland scored the most goals in the Western Conference. Seattle had the second best defense in the Western Conference. Using the "defense wins in playoffs" rationale, am picking Seattle.
In a Seattle vs. Toronto re-match for MLS Cup.... will it be 0-0 like last year with Seattle winning in PKs? I suspect this year Toronto wins it in regular time!
However, in the promotion part of the competition, there are playoffs.
For example, in the English League Championship (tier 2), the top team wins the title and promotion to the Premier League. The second place team gains promotion to the Premier league. The third place team plays the sixth place team in one of the semi-finals, while the fourth and fifth place clubs play in the other semi-finals. The respective winners match up in a final with the winner gaining the third promotion slot to the Premier League.
MLS does it entirely differently. There is no promotion/relegation. The regular season winner gets the Supporters Shield (and an automatic bid to the CONCACAF Champions League) but the MLS Cup goes to the winner of the playoffs. The MLS is divided into Eastern and Western Conferences. The top two teams in these conferences are slotted into the Conference semi-finals with their opponents determined by knock-out matches between #3 vs. #6 and #4 vs. #5. The Conference semi-finals are two-legged as are the Conference finals. The MLS Cup is a single match at the home field of the finalist with the best regular season record.
This year Toronto dominated the regular season and are expected to win their playoff contests for the Eastern Conference's slot in the MLS Cup. It isn't clear who is the strongest in the Western Conference as the regular season point separation between #1 through #5 was a mere 4 points. An indication of the parity of the West is the first leg results between Portland/Houston and Seattle/Vancouver yielded the identical scores of 0-0!
Portland scored the most goals in the Western Conference. Seattle had the second best defense in the Western Conference. Using the "defense wins in playoffs" rationale, am picking Seattle.
In a Seattle vs. Toronto re-match for MLS Cup.... will it be 0-0 like last year with Seattle winning in PKs? I suspect this year Toronto wins it in regular time!
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