Last year, New York City FC entered Decision Day in fifth place, needing a win to secure fourth or fifth in the Eastern Conference. They could have finished in fourth, fifth, or sixth place, and, funny enough, the same situation as last season is happening again. The Pigeons are in fifth right now and are relying on another team, Charlotte FC, to drop points to secure fourth place, if the Bronx side actually wins their match.
NYCFC will ideally not repeat what happened in 2024, when the team fell to CF Montréal and into sixth place.