Red Bulls Playoff Possibilities - NYTimes.com The Red Bulls Saturday night clinched a berth in the Eastern Conference playoffs in Major League Soccer. While that may come as a relief to the club's players and coaches, there is a possibility the Red Bulls have played their final home game of the season, depending on the final standings. Conversely, the team could have as many as four more home games (the wild-card match on Oct. 31; the first leg of the conference semifinals on Nov. 7 or Nov. 8; the first leg of the conference finals later in November and even the league's championship game on Dec. 1). For the first time since the league began play in 1996, M.L.S. Cup will be played at the home of the team with the most points. The Red Bulls could finish as high as third or as low at fifth in the conference. Finishing third would mean a first-round bye, finishing fourth would mean hosting the wild-card match on Oct. 31 and finishing fifth would mean playing away in the wild-card match. Here are the playoff possibilties: The Red Bulls can clinch third in the East with a win over Philadelphia Saturday afternoon combined with: ¶ a Chicago loss vs. D.C. later on Saturday ¶ a Chicago/D.C. tie (and the Red Bulls must maintain its plus-9 goals scored advantage over the Fire as the first tiebreaker) ¶ a Chicago win (the Red Bulls must maintain its plus-2 goals scored advantage over D.C.) If the Red Bulls do not defeat Philadelphia they can finish no higher than fourth and would play in the wild-card game (the match to be played either Oct. 31 or Nov. 1). If the Red Bulls finished third, they would host the first leg either on Nov. 3 or Nov. 4 with the second away leg on Nov. 7 or 8.