New York Cosmos' playoff picture will become clearer on Wednesday

The New York Cosmos don't play on Wednesday evening, but it will be a big night for the boys in green nonetheless. Both of the North American Soccer League matches scheduled for Wednesday evening will impact the playoff picture, and will help decide the Cosmos' first round opponents.

The big one for New York fans involves Ottawa Fury FC, who will be in Florida to take on Jacksonville Armada FC. Ottawa currently sits two points ahead of New York in the NASL combined table, and need to drop points in at least one of their two remaining fixtures in order for Gio Savarese's side to have any chance at the number one seed. Needless to say, the Cosmos and their fans will be big Armada fans this evening.

Wednesday's other match sees the Fort Lauderdale Strikers hosting the San Antonio Scorpions, a rematch of last season's title match. For the Strikers, a win would all but assure they take the final playoff spot for the second season in a row, while anything but a win for the Scorpions will see the defending champions eliminated.

The Cosmos probably aren't too worried about the race for the fourth spot at the moment, as unless Ottawa drop some points, the boys in green will be hosting Minnesota United. Should New York wind up as the top seed, however, they'd be facing the winner of the final playoff spot, so the Strikers' game would be of interest.

ONE World Sports will be showing Ottawa and Jacksonville, which is probably of more interest to most Cosmos' fans this evening. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN 3, though, and start at 7:30 pm ET.