Here are our predictions for the clubs primed to make a run in the MLS playoffs

For Major League Soccer fans, this is the fun time.

The MLS playoffs are officially underway with a pair of games Wednesday. The No. 4 seeded Union have a few more days before their MLS Cup quest begins in a run-it-back game against an Eastern Conference foe in No. 5 New England on Saturday at 5 p.m., free for Apple TV subscribers.

The Revolution bested the Union, 2-1, in the season finale on Saturday, but after a week of preparation before the first game of the best-of-three series — inside the confines of Subaru Park — expect a whole different game with so much more to play for.

Ahead of the playoffs, our Inquirer soccer writers give their predictions for the first round — with a few upsets sprinkled within.

Jonathan Tannenwald: Union in 3 games. The opener won’t be a problem. It’s the game at New England that worries me, on that awful turf after an absurd 10-day wait between games. I think the Union can take the road game to penalties and win it there — Revs goalkeeper Jacob Jackson is young and inexperienced, and Andre Blake is Andre Blake. But I won’t be surprised if New England wins at home, sending the series back to Subaru Park for a finale four days later.

Kerith Gabriel: Union in 2. There’s so much talk about the instability of Jim Curtin’s franchise down the stretch and a team failing to find the continuity that led it to the brink of its first Major League Soccer crown last season. But even if that may be, I still don’t think it’s enough to show against the Revolution, whom the Union got a good look at in the season finale. For me? Union sweep, winning in inspiring fashion.

» READ MORE: The Union are a good team, but the vibes are bad, and so are the numbers

JT: Cincinnati over New York in 2. The Red Bulls, Major League Soccer’s most cursed team, needed a 94th-minute penalty kick in their regular-season finale to clinch a record 14th straight playoff berth. Between that, home-field advantage in the wild-card round, and a win at Cincinnati in early October, I’ll pick them to beat Charlotte. But Cincinnati will dismiss them as it seeks to stand up its Supporters’ Shield win, the first trophy in the team’s MLS history.

KG: Cincinnati over New York in 3. I like where JT’s head is at, but I’m going to give the Red Bulls the benefit of the doubt that their talented backline will keep Cincinnati honest and give their offense a chance to push this series. However, I really don’t see them keeping the production of Luciano Acosta at bay long enough to knock off top-seeded Cincinnati, a team that had their number two times out of three matches over the course of the season — including the Open Cup Round of 16.

JT: Columbus in 3. I’m tempted to pick Atlanta because Thiago Almada is a world-class creator and Giorgos Giakoumakis is a great finisher. But Columbus is really, really good. Manager Wilfried Nancy has Darlington Nagbe, Cucho Hernández, and the rest of the Crew playing some of the league’s most stylish soccer. That team can certainly win twice at home, and perhaps on the road, too.

KG: Atlanta in 3. Yes, Columbus is good. But I’ll argue with anyone who says Atlanta isn’t one of the most explosive teams in the league. And it can score, finishing second to its playoff opponent for the most goals in MLS this season with 66. If Atlanta can figure out its defensive third and Brad Guzan can stop being a goal dispenser — he has allowed 39 goals in 27 matches — I personally like Atlanta as a dark horse.

» READ MORE: The Union's first round playoff schedule is out...and it's weird

JT: Nashville in 2. Here’s my big upset pick, and it’s not even that big. Orlando is a great team with a bulldozer of a young striker in Duncan McGuire. but Nashville has the two factors you need to win in the playoffs: a stingy defense and a game-breaking attacker in Hany Mukhtar.

KG: Orlando in 2. Got to disagree here. This team has won 18 games this season — four down the stretch and has been undefeated since Sept. 20. The Lions are in form and to JT’s point, Duncan McGuire is a beast. I think this is going to be his stage and Nashville will play the role of early-exit victim.

JT: St. Louis over Kansas City in 2. MLS’s newest team has been its most remarkable story this year, winning the West in its first season of existence with the league’s third-best overall record. Kansas City will do enough to beat San Jose in the Western Conference wild-card game, setting up a Missouri River derby. But St. Louis will prevail after that.

KG: St. Louis over Kansas City in 2. St. Louis is just too good and has too much support behind it. Yes, Kansas City will have seasoned vets, but it has been the healthy young guns in 23-year-old Nicholas Gioacchini and 26-year-old Brazilian João Klauss — both with 10 goals on the season — who are primed to fuel a surprising run in the West.

» READ MORE: The latest salaries unveiled by the MLS Players Association find Lionel Messi in a class by himself

JT: Houston in 2. If St. Louis has been the most remarkable team this year, Houston has been the most quietly impressive. Middletown, Pa.-born manager Ben Olsen has gotten the most out of veteran Mexican midfielder Hector Herrera and revitalized a two-time champion club that hadn’t made the playoffs since 2017. That includes winning this year’s U.S. Open Cup with a title-game triumph at Inter Miami.

KG: Houston in 3. Honestly? I’d be lying if I said I watched either team for longer than five minutes this entire season. I only slightly got into Houston after watching Olsen (an FC DELCO legend at that) guide the Dynamo to glory in the Open Cup, so have a cursory knowledge that he’s got a squad with a potent attack (51 goals in 34 matches) and a really good veteran goalkeeper in Steve Clark. But yeah, I have no real dog in this fight.

JT: Los Angeles in 2. I’d be thrilled if Vancouver could win this series, or even just win its home game. The city is one of North America’s great soccer hotbeds, and Ryan Gauld is a great scoring playmaker. But few people talk about any of that because Vancouver is so far from everywhere except Seattle and Portland. LAFC simply has too much firepower in Dénis Bouanga and Carlos Vela, and one of MLS’s best outside backs in Diego Palacios.

KG: Los Angeles in 2. Too strong, too many guys on the attack who can score in bunches and Carlos Vela is the master of the third run in behind opposing defenses. Vancouver will be a moose in headlights (see what I did there?) against the ultra-fast attack of a really good LAFC team.

JT: Seattle in 2. It isn’t often that the Sounders sneak up on people, with their star power and packed trophy case and big fan base. I feel like this team did a bit, though, since St. Louis commanded so many headlines and LAFC always claims a lot of them. Look out now, though. Seattle hasn’t lost since Aug. 20, including a 2-0 win at St. Louis to cap off the regular season. I’ve seen this script before, and it ends with the Sounders going deep.

KG: Seattle in 3. Something tells me that with a game at home, FC Dallas gives Seattle a run for its money. Dallas has an impressive undefeated streak of its own, as you’ll have to go back to Aug. 30 for a Dallas loss and many of those point grabbers arrived inside Toyota Stadium. However, I agree with JT. Seattle is built for this, it’s just that Dallas will make it earn it.