Columbus Crew (No. 2) begin their MLS Cup presented by Audi title defense when hosting New York Red Bulls (No. 7) in Game 1 of their Round One Best-of-3 Series on Tuesday.
How to watch & stream
- Apple TV - Free
- FS1, FS2 (Spanish); TSN, RDS
When
- Tuesday, Oct. 29 | 6:45 pm ET/3:45 pm PT
Where
- Lower.com Field | Columbus, Ohio
This Round One series winner will face either FC Cincinnati (No. 3) or New York City FC (No. 6) in an Eastern Conference Semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24. To get there, Columbus or RBNY must win two matches across this series opener, Game 2 (Nov. 3) and Game 3 (Nov. 10).
If a Round One match is tied after regulation time (90 minutes), no extra time will be played. There will immediately be a penalty kick shootout to determine the winner.
- Seed: Eastern Conference No. 2
- Regular season: 66 points (19W-6L-9D)
Columbus are enjoying a dominant year that's already seen them make the Concacaf Champions Cup final and win the 2024 Leagues Cup title.
In their search for an MLS Cup repeat, they've turned to Colombian superstar Cucho Hernández, who put together another Landon Donovan MLS MVP-caliber season, tallying 19g/14a in 27 games. Cucho forms one-third of an electric front three alongside Uruguayan star Diego Rossi (12g/11a) and veteran Christian Ramírez (8g/6a).
MLS legend Darlington Nagbe remains one of the league's best midfield metronomes at age 34, while defender Steven Moreira and goalkeeper Patrick Schulte are finalists for their position's respective year-end awards.
With one of the league's brightest tactical minds pulling the strings in head coach Wilfried Nancy, Columbus would likely be the odds-on favorite to emerge from the East if not for Inter Miami CF's record-setting run.
- Seed: Eastern Conference No. 7
- Regular season: 47 points (11W-9L-14D)
RBNY are scuffling into their league-record 15th straight Audi MLS Cup Playoffs trip, with just one win since the Leagues Cup break (1W-5L-3D).
But with the late-season return of Swedish midfielder Emil Forsberg, their underdog status gets a boost. RBNY's captain has logged 3g/2a since recovering from a long-term leg injury in late September, netting a brace in RBNY's narrow 3-2 defeat vs. Columbus on Decision Day.
Head coach Sandro Schwarz's side will also lean on Belgian forward Dante Vanzeir (4g/10a) and Scottish forward Lewis Morgan (13g/7a) in attack, while Paraguayan goalkeeper Carlos Coronel anchors the defense.
