Reds have playoffs in sight

Win in Cincinnati would secure spot in post-season for TFC,

Awin Sunday in Cincinnati and Toronto FC becomes the first MLS team to clinch a playoff berth in the pandemic-rejigged season. A tie might do it, too. League-leading Toronto (102-4) can qualify for the postseason with a single point at Nippert Stadium, providing Inter Miami loses to or ties Houston Dynamo and the Chicago Fire lose to D.C. United.

Toronto goes into only its third-ever meeting with Cincinnati (3-9-4) as a heavy favourite, given the two teams are headed in different directions. Despite having to play south of the border due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the Canadian nomads hold a 21-point edge over Cincinnati.

TFC has won four straight and is undefeated in six (5-0-1). The four recent victories came against teams in the top six of the Eastern Conference: New York City FC, Columbus Crew SC, Philadelphia Union and New England Revolution.

Cincinnati, a second-year MLS team that languishes in 13th place in the East (and 25th in the 26-team league), has lost three straight while being outscored 9-0, failed to score in its past four matches and has just one win in its past 11 outings (1-6-4).

“To play against these teams, you can prove yourself,” Cincinnati coach Jaap Stam said of facing high-flying Toronto.

“It’s a team that’s well-organized. They’ve got a lot of quality within their squad as well,” he added. “But it’s a challenge again for us. We’ve shown against other teams, even the last couple that we lost (to), that we can make it difficult for even the big teams. The only thing is we need to be cautious at certain times, to not give away the opportunities too easily.

“We know it’s going to be a difficult game. We’re going to be trying to make it difficult for them.”

TFC has lost just two of 26 regular-season games (14-2-10, 52 points) since a 2-0 defeat at the New York Red Bulls on Aug. 3, 2019. Cincinnati’s record over the same time period is 4-14-8 (20 points).

Still, these are unusual times, with visiting teams mostly flying in and out on game-day to reduce the chance of infection.

Veteran defender Omar Gonzalez says Toronto will not make the mistake of underestimating Cincinnati.

‘Cincinnati hasn’t been doing so hot, but we have,” he said. “And it’s on us to be as consistent as we can, week-in weekout. No matter who we’re facing, we have to continue to be us.”