It’s crunch time for the MLS, with the final Eastern and Western Conference playoff places to be decided and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in action too
(Photo: Getty Images)
What to watch on MLS Decision Day
After a long slog from late February to mid-October, the MLS regular season has arrived at the finish line of the regular season: Decision Day, when all games in each conference kick off simultaneously and final regular season honors are often determined.
There’s plenty at stake today: playoff spots are still on the line as well as seeding and venues for those eventual matchups. Those fine margins can make all the difference once the playoffs actually arrive.
GO FURTHER
What to watch on MLS Decision Day: Every game, ranked by importance
Lionel Messi watch
(Photo: Getty Images)
Today, understandably, much of the focus is going to be on the man many say is the greatest player the sport has ever seen.
Namely: Lionel Andres Messi.
His Inter Miami side are out of playoff contention, but no matter, thousands will still be glued to their screens to watch Messi in what will be his final appearance of his debut season stateside.
Below, take a deep dive into The Athletic‘s exhaustive profile of Lionel Messi: The life and times of the Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami and Argentina legend. It’s an incredible read.
GO FURTHER
Lionel Messi: The life and times of the Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami and Argentina legend
How to watch: Western Conference
In the Western Conference, four of the seven clashes are paid-for on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass. They are as follows:
- Sporting Kansas City vs Minnesota United
- LA Galaxy vs FC Dallas
- Portland Timbers vs Houston Dynamo
- San Jose Earthquakes vs Austin FC
And the below three fixtures are free on Apple TV:
- Colorado Rapids vs Real Salt Lake
- St. Louis City SC vs Seattle Sounders
- Vancouver Whitecaps vs LAFC
How to watch: Eastern Conference
Viewers across the world can watch the following Eastern Conference games with the Apple TV MLS Season Pass:
- Charlotte FC vs Inter Miami
- New York City FC vs Chicago Fire
- Nashville SC vs New York Red Bulls
While the below games are available for free on Apple TV:
- FC Cincinnati vs Atlanta United
- Columbus Crew vs CF Montreal
- New England Revolution vs Philadelphia Union
- Toronto FC vs Orlando City
The Toronto vs Orlando clash is also available on TSN for Canadian viewers.
Fixture timings
All the Eastern Conference games kick off at 6pm ET/3pm PT (11pm UK time), while all the Western Conference matches begin three hours later, at 9pm ET/6pm PT (2am on Sunday UK time).
Fifteen teams in the Eastern Conference means that one club misses out when there are seven games. That is D.C. United, who have played their full complement of 34 games already unlike every other team in MLS, who have only played 33.
Fixture rundown: Western Conference
On the other side, here are the seven Western Conference matches taking place:
- San Jose Earthquakes vs Austin FC
- Vancouver Whitecaps vs LAFC
- Colorado Rapids vs Real Salt Lake
- LA Galaxy vs FC Dallas
- Portland Timbers vs Houston Dynamo
- St. Louis City SC vs Seattle Sounders
- Sporting Kansas City vs Minnesota United
Fixture rundown: Eastern Conference
First up, let’s give you all the fixtures from the Eastern Conference today:
- New England Revolution vs Philadelphia Union
- FC Cincinnati vs Atlanta United
- Columbus Crew vs CF Montreal
- Toronto FC vs Orlando City
- New York City FC vs Chicago Fire
- Nashville SC vs New York Red Bulls
- Charlotte FC vs Inter Miami
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of MLS Decision Day!
Well, here we go then.
Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States, all comes down to today.
14 games, 28 teams in action, playoff places on the line and all to be decided in the coming hours.
It’s gonna be a big one.
