The debate has been raging for several weeks now: Does the current playoff system encourage teams to tank?
MLS Final Week: It’s All About Positioning For Sounders, Rapids and Earthquakes
The Sounders, for instance, can find themselves seeded as high at No. 3 if they beat the Dynamo today. The can fall all the way to No. 8 if they lose. Finishing in eighth, though, is probably the easier path to the MLS Cup. It’s hard to make the argument that playing in the Eastern Conference, where none of the teams will have to visit Rio Tinto Stadium, is preferable.
For better or for worse, though, the Sounders are using most of their normal starters against the Dynamo. Only Fredy Montero is being held out, and that's only because of his yellow-card suspension. Nate Jaqua, who scored five goals in U.S. Open Cup play this season and was a starter last year, will start in Montero's place.
Even as the No. 8 seed, the Sounders would have the much more reasonable task of having to play the Red Bulls. As the No. 3 seed, they would play either the Galaxy or Real Salt Lake in the first round and likely have to face one of those teams in the second round. The best-case scenario would see the Sounders take the No. 7 seed, play the Crew in the first round and maybe even host the conference semifinals if the Red Bulls are upset.
Nearly identical scenarios face the Earthquakes and Rapids, although neither team can finish higher than the No. 4 seed in the West. The good news for both those teams is they have faired reasonably well against the Galaxy, who can still grab the No. 1 seed in the West by beating FC Dallas on Sunday.
The Quakes will take on the Wizards, who are now officially a dead-team walking. If the Sounders win, a Quakes victory would guarantee them a matchup with the Crew, probably the team everyone else is most looking forward to playing.
The Rapids’ matchup is really in the hands of these other teams. If the Sounders and Quakes win, the Rapids will be locked into the No. 8 spot and a first-round match with the Red Bulls.
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