Atlanta United will be without one of the league's more productive players when they open their best-of-three first-round series at the Columbus Crew on Wednesday.
Thiago Almada, a finalist for the MLS MVP and Young Player of the Year awards with 11 goals and 19 assists, will miss the opener after he was red-carded (two cautions) in the regular-season finale against FC Cincinnati on October 21.
"It's really hard to replicate exactly the quality that Thiago has," Atlanta coach Gonzalo Pineda said. "So, we have to rely more on the team and playing as a team. He's creative and understands the movement and the space, but we'll come up with a good plan."
Atlanta still has Giorgos Giakoumakis, who tied for second in MLS with 17 goals in 27 matches.
"They have special individual talent," Crew midfielder Aidan Morris said. "That's the first thing, guys that can change the game by themselves. So, it's about managing those guys."
The series could be firepower v firepower. Atlanta was second in MLS with 66 goals scored – one fewer than the Crew, who are led by Cucho Hernandez (16 goals, 11 assists).
"It's interesting, the similar rosters, similar ideas, similar identities," Pineda said. "When that happens, I would say it's even more up to the players. ... We're probably going to neutralize each other with the tactics. It's just up to the players."
Crew coach Wilfried Nancy feels his team is steeled for the postseason after ending the regular season with a 3-0-3 stretch. Four of those six opponents qualified for the playoffs; a fifth, CF Montreal, was eliminated on the last day by a Crew win.
"They are ready to compete," Nancy said. "We've been through a lot of things this year. It was painful at certain moments. But it was really good. Because of that, we were able to get better."
Under the new format, a match tied after 90 minutes goes directly to penalty kicks.
Game 2 is in Atlanta on November 7 with a third game, if necessary, in Columbus on November 12.