We continue our journey through the MLS Cup contenders with the remaining two Eastern Conference match-ups, bringing together four teams with genuine championship ambitions.
First up, on Monday it’s FC Cincinnati vs Columbus Crew for another edition of the Hell is Real Derby, one of the finest sporting events to take its name from a roadside billboard. On Tuesday it’s the Big Apple in Queen City as Charlotte FC host New York City FC.
Before we get into the actual business of previewing, it’s worth saying that these four teams are all basically in the same MLS category. There are no global superstars to compete with the likes of Inter Miami or LAFC. These are not exciting young expansion teams like San Diego, nor a bolt from the blue like Vancouver or Philadelphia.
Cincinnati, Columbus, Charlotte and NYCFC each possess a good, well-built MLS roster and a head coach who knows what he’s doing. It’s not flashy, it’s probably not moving the dial on the league’s Instagram follower count, but it works.
FC Cincinnati vs Columbus Crew
Monday, October 27 @ 6:45pm ET
TQL Stadium, Columbus, OH
Broadcast nationally on FS1 & FOX Deportes; Streaming (free) on AppleTV+
Two of the best, most consistent forces in the entire MLS in recent years, this might be the last chance for Cincinnati and Columbus to win a championship in their current guises.
After three consecutive last-place finishes, Cincy finally found a winning formula under Pat Noonan. Since 2023 they have finished 1st, 3rd and 2nd in the cut-throat Eastern Conference but the postseason performances have been a little lacking. With an in-form Evander (18 goals, 15 assists this year) and the late-season addition of the mercurial Brenner, this is a Cincinnati team that is primed for a playoff run.
For Columbus, there is definitely a sense that their time may have already passed. After two wonderful, spell-binding years under Wilfried Nancy the magic has slightly worn off this season. They’re less sharp in possession, less fervent in their off-ball work, and just a slightly slower, duller version of the team that dazzled en route to the 2023 MLS Cup.
If Diego Rossi and Daniel Gazdag can find form, there may be enough in this Columbus team to recapture that old spark. But they come into Round One as underdogs and may leave it fairly promptly.
Prediction: Cincinnati advance in two games.
Charlotte FC vs New York City FC
Tuesday, October 28 @ 6:45pm ET
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Broadcast nationally on FS1 & FOX Deportes; Streaming (free) on AppleTV+
‘Streaky’. That’s probably the best way to describe a bizarre 2025 campaign for Charlotte, fluctuating between championship form and bitter frustration. Allow me to explain.
Dean Smith’s team began with a red-hot run of five wins from six games, but followed that up by losing nine of the next eleven. Not content with that, Charlotte then caught fire with a league record-equalling run of nine straight wins, catapulting themselves up the table and into MLS Cup contention.
While Charlotte were hurtling from the sublime to the ridiculous, NYCFC cruised fairly painlessly into the No. 5 spot in the East. Head coach Pascal Jansen has calmly guided the team into the postseason without any real superstars and with a minimum of fuss. In fact, their consistency has been remarkable. At no point in 2025 have NYCFC won more than three games in a row, nor lost more than two in a row.
So, to the prediction. As the higher seed, Charlotte have the benefit of home advantage for games one and three. However they will be forced to begin the postseason journey without talisman Wilfried Zaha, who managed to get himself sent off in the dying moments of the final day of the regular season. The two teams finished just three points apart in the regular season and it might be similarly close in this best-of-three series.
Prediction: Charlotte advance in three games.
