Armchair Analyst: What LA need from Jona Dos Santos & more to watch for

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Onward we march, into and through the heat of August. Let's look at a few games this weekend:

Ruling Days

Toronto FC have won just once in their last four, and just twice in their last six, but there they are, still atop the Supporters' Shield standings. They're perched on the highest branch because of their great spring and because of their ability to not lose – the Reds have dropped only three games all season.

The reasons why are obvious: They have a cadre of good, solid defenders who work together; they have arguably the league's best defensive midfielder in Michael Bradley; they tend not to turn the ball over in bad spots; Alex Bono has become a top five 'keeper in the league; they are opportunistic going forward; they have game-changing subs who Greg Vanney has deployed to good effect, meaning they've been able to grab some late goals and late results.

They've been there, done that, and are the favorites to win the Shield. They're also not yet as good as they should be, and I can point to the reason why:

Sebastian Giovinco is, without question, one of the best attacking talents in the league's history. The raw goals + assists numbers show it, the goals + assists per 90 show it, and his expected goals + assists numbers show it. But the 2017 version of Giovinco is less patient and less creative than what we saw over the past two years, and while sometimes that results in golazos – just ask NYCFC – it can also result in performances like last week's second half against D.C. United, in which TFC failed to register a shot on goal despite playing up a man for the full 45 minutes.

Giovinco is so good he'll probably finish with something like 15g/10a this year regardless, and TFC are so good they'll be in the hunt for two more trophies even with their star player turning in undisciplined performances. But I'll admit that I'd like to see what this team can inflict upon their opponents when everything's clicking.

Perhaps Portland, who visit BMO Field on Saturday (6 pm ET; TSN in Canada | MLS LIVE in the US) will be the first to get a real taste.

I'll also be watching:David Guzman's distribution and where/how he pressures. One of the keys to beating TFC is to pull Bradley up the field and create a pocket of space in front of Drew Moor et al. Guzman doesn't "wow" with his passing, but he's quietly effective at rearranging opposing midfields.

Tonight We Improvise

I haven't written much about D.C. United in recent months because there's just not been much to say about a sinking ship. The simple generalization that "too many key players at key spots got old all at once, while too many pieces of the young core got hurt all at once" sufficed.

So during the recently closed summer transfer window, the page got officially turned. Bobby Boswell was sent to Atlanta United and Lamar Neagle to Seattle (good trades for those veterans, who now get a shot to compete for silverware), and in came a number of younger players.

The biggest name of those younger players belongs to USMNT winger Paul Arriola (volume up for analysis):

The most important, though, is probably defensive midfielder Russell Canouse. D.C.'s biggest functional issue this year is that they've been unable to control games from central midfield, and they've been too disorganized to track playmakers through Zone 14. They haven't really had a defensive midfielder, but rather a collection of guys (Marcelo Sarvas, Jared Jeffrey, Ian Harkes, even pre-injury Rob Vincent) who are more suited to being two-way, box-to-box midfielders, and those guys have gotten pulled apart and split, and then the whole house collapses in upon itself.

Canouse might not get the start on Saturday against RSL (7 pm ET; MLS LIVE) – he's essentially still in preseason form, as is fellow newcomer Zoltan Stieber (Arriola's been playing for both the USMNT and for Xolos, so he'll be good to go). But when he does get on the field, he's the guy D.C. fans will want to keep an eye on for the rest of the season, because he's the keystone to the whole project.

I'll also be watching: The central defensive partnership between newcomer Marcelo Silva and youngster Justen Glad. Through three games it's been promising for RSL.

The Toll

Last week's stunning goal against the Red Bulls was not the first time this season that David Villa has put his head down and just dribbled a sleepy defense (volume up for analysis):

That has to have kept Sigi Schmid up nights this week, since stopping the ball through midfield has been a notable Achilles' heel for the Galaxy this year, and NYCFC will be in Carson for a friendly visit on Saturday night (11 pm ET; ESPN in the US | MLS LIVE in Canada). 

This is probably going to be Jonathan Dos Santos's first start for LA, and I'm guessing he'll be stationed in front of the backline as a sort of regista – the role he plays for El Tri, not the role he played the last few years for Villarreal. Dos Santos can be an effective shield if he just stays responsible with his positioning, which is an area in which the Galaxy have struggled this season. But even if he sets up shop in that hole and doesn't really move, he'll need help against an NYCFC team that's made their mark this season by swarming opposing backlines and deep midfields. They exact a price from teams who don't move in sync both with and without the ball.

It's a sharp learning curve for the Galaxy who are desperately trying to find both hope and home points as the stretch run begins.

I'll also be watching:Alex Ring and the NYCFC fullbacks. They've been pushing up less often and less aggressively over the last six weeks or so, and I'm not sure exactly why. 

Happy weekending, everybody.