It's first against worst Saturday as league-leading Toronto FC travels to D.C. United.
But Greg Vanney's team will be mindful of having dropping two points in a 1-1 tie with lowly Colorado recently as it prepares to face a slumping D.C. team that has lost six straight, one short of the franchise record.
Toronto, in contrast, has lost just two of its last 16 league matches since mid-April (11-2-3).
TFC (12-3-7) enters Saturday's game at RFK Stadium with a 25-point advantage over D.C. United (5-14-3).
"I know (coach) Ben (Olsen) very well," said Vanney. "He's not giving up on the season and he's not going to let them off the hook. They'll come out fighting."
"It's so easy for everybody to look and see some of their recent results, see where they are in the table and think that it's going to be an easy game," added captain Michael Bradley. "But it will be the farthest thing from it and we aren't in any way looking past them or this game."
All Toronto has to do is recall the July 22 Colorado game in which Toronto gave up a 76th-minute goal after a giveaway and had to settle for the draw.
Vanney calls the letdown against the Rapids as a reminder that "we take no situation for granted and no team for granted.
"I think this group very much understand that every team in this league is a challenging game."
Saturday's contest marks Toronto's last at RFK Stadium, where TFC is 4-5-3. D.C. United will move to its new home, Audi Field, in 2018.
"I've been a part of a lot of battles there but I do think it's time to move on from that stadium," Vanney said of the 56-year-old RFK Stadium. "I think it's outdated in terms of where this sport and league are going."
D.C. United has a proud past, winning three of the first four MLS championships as well as 2004. Vanney spent half a season with the team in 2007 when it won the Supporters Shield but exited in the Conference semifinals.
"When I arrived at that club, one of the first things I was handed was a T-shirt that listed all of the championships and all the things they won," he recalled.
It is perhaps fitting, however, that he recently found the T-shirt in his garage. D.C. United has struggled in recent days, outplayed and outspent by rivals.
"With new digs and some investment, they'll find their way," Vanney said optimistically. "They've got smart guys. Ben's a bright guy, he's won in this league. He'll find his way through it."
The D.C. payroll pales in comparison to that of Toronto. Diminutive Argentine attacker Luciano Acosta is the highest-paid player at US$602,000 and the team has just two other players (Steven Birnbaum, $499,996, and Bill Hamid, $395,500) who make more than $300,000.
At $700,000, Spanish playmaker Victor Vazquez ranks fourth on the Toronto payroll but still makes more than Acosta. Designated players Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco make a combined $18.5 million.
Other numbers paint a bleak picture.
D.C. United ranks 22nd in goals scored (18) and 20th in goals against (42). It has leaked goals of late, conceding four times in three of its last four games. Altogether it has conceded four-plus goals in a game five times this season, the most in the league.
United has been shut out 13 times in 22 games.
Contrast that with Toronto, which has given up just 22 goals in 22 games.
TFC, which enters weekend play with a five-point lead over its nearest rival, is well-positioned in its run for first place overall — the Supporters Shield. Eight of its remaining 12 games are against clubs currently below the playoff line.
Toronto will be without wingbacks Steven Beitashour (pancreas surgery) and Oyvind Alseth (foot laceration). That may open the door for a debut start for Liechtenstein international Nicolas Hasler although local boy Raheem Edwards is also an option.
Saturday's game features the debut of video replay.
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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
