Hot Take of the Week: Who is the best team for Charlotte to face in the 1st Round of the MLS Playoffs?
By Brian Maurer
Charlotte FC is starting to pull away from the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference as fifth now looks just about as far as the club will drop with nine games to go and a six point lead from sixth.
Given where things stand, Charlotte looks capable of making a push as high up the table as third. With the Chicago Fire and New England Revolution still set to play each other today the Crown are going to maintain at best fourth going into next week.
Nashville SC looks like an improbable bet to be a team Charlotte can face in the First Round, as they are nine points clear of second in the East. Miami are also less likely to be a team Charlotte faces as they are in second and it looks unlikely they will drop into those fourth or fifth spots where they could then be in play to face off against the Crown. However, the Herons have been struggling and likely feel closer to dropping than is comfortable for them.
The most likely teams Charlotte could see in the First Round ahead of them in the table at the moment are Chicago and New England as they have been jostling with the Crown between third, fourth, and fifth for the last couple weeks. One of these three looks likely to claim third and then the other two will play each other as four and five seeds in Round 1.
If Charlotte can climb into third, it feels pretty wide open between FC Cincinnati, NYCFC, Orlando, and Philadelphia, with a few other teams also hiding around who could maybe make a run.
Here are rankings of who feels like the most preferred matchup for Charlotte FC as the season approaches the final stretch and conference positioning becomes clearer:
Ranking teams Charlotte FC could face in order of preference
FC Cincinnati
Orlando City
Philadelphia Union
New England Revolution
NYCFC
Chicago Fire
What's your take? Head over to @Topbin90 and drop your take in the comments! Then tune in to the TopBin90 Podcast Monday at 8:00 AM to hear the hot take of the week — your take might just get featured!
