It is extremely likely that Sunday’s 4:00 pm kickoff will not be the Philadelphia Union’s last of 2016. There is a .01% chance they don’t make the playoffs. When the Union seal the playoff berth, they will be on the road for the Wildcard Round. Here’s how it all breaks down:
Scenario #1: That pesky .01%
The order of Major League Soccer tiebreakers for teams that end up with the same number of points is first, number of wins, and second, goal differential. The only way the Union are not playing a playoff game either October 26th or 27th is if they lose to New York Red Bulls, New England defeats Montreal Impact, and the goal differential in those two matches would have to be at least 13.