ExtraTime Radio Podcast
LISTEN: There's no shortage of things to discuss this week: TFC's dramatic Canadian Championship win, those Wesley Sneijder-to-LAFC rumors, early judgment on the Dax trade and a changing Cali Clasico. Plus, everything you need to know about the USMNT's Gold Cup dress rehearsal vs. Ghana and a chat with USOC hero Mitch Hildebrandt. Subscribe now so you never miss a show! Download this episode!
The weekend started early, with NYCFC's 3-1 win over Minnesota United on Thursday evening. The Cityzens are, going by expected goals, the runaway best team in the league at this point. Their +12-ish xG differential total is only fractionally behind the league-best mark TFC posted over the entirety of last year.
NYCFC are now 7-2-2 in their last 11 regular season games, and this doesn't feel like "a run." When I watch them play, I feel like this is just what this team is. They are this good.
And now that they've got Alex Ring and Yangel Herrera solidified in that central midfield, it'll only get better.
Here's what else to watch this weekend:
Clampdown
Sporting KC's defense is, once again, the best in the league. They've conceded 12 times in 18 games, including a league-leading nine shutouts. One of those, earlier this year, was against their guests on Saturday, the Portland Timbers (7 pm ET: ESPN & ESPN Deportes in the US | MLS LIVE in Canada).
So yes, SKC smother teams. There are still questions about their attack, even as Gerso Fernandes continues to look more and more like the DP winger he is:
With Dom Dwyer out on international duty, Gerso will have to carry more of the load. Which, to be fair, is what he was brought to the Great Plains to do.
I'll also be watching: Central midfield for Portland sans Diego Chara, who's gone for a month with a hamstring injury.
Rock the Casbah
The holiday weekend (Happy Canada Day!) California Clasico is, annually, one of the best games of the year, and pretty much always delivers on the hype. So, we hope, it shall go on Saturday night in Palo Alto (10:30 pm ET; UniMás, Facebook.com).
LA have been fun recently in large part because they've finally started trusting their kids. 20-year-old winger Bradford Jamieson IV has been the best of them, but the brothersVillarreal, Jack McBean, Ari Lassiter, Nathan Smith, Hugo Arellano... these are all academy guys, and all have provided meaningful minutes in what has primarily been a 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1 in recent weeks.
On the other side, Chris Leitch gave everyone a treat in his run-out. It was a 3-4-3/3-5-2 for his Quakes in midweek US Open Cup action, and both Homegrowns – Nick Lima at left center back and Tommy Thompson as a false 9 – started, as did rookie central midfielder Jackson Yueill.
Guesses from local media suggest a 4-4-2, though, so we could see pretty much anything.
I'll also be watching: It won't be Gio Dos Santos, who's still in Russia with El Tri and will be playing in the Confederations Cup third place game. Can it be Jose Villarreal instead in the free role GDS occupied so well through May and early June?
Pressure Drop
New England are underperforming relative to their advanced numbers, and the window within which they can right this season's ship is starting to narrow. All their Eastern Conference games are six-pointers at this point, and that includes Sunday's trip to Philly (5 pm ET; FS1 & FOX Deportes in the US | MLS LIVE in Canada).
The Revs, when they've found success this year, haven't done so out of the relentless, "drive it into the final third and keep it there" ethos that's defined them for most of the last four seasons. Instead they've been better when building possession from deeper, then playing direct through the lines out of midfield, as so:
There's nothing magical about it, just good players making a straight-forward system work well.
I'll also be watching:Fafa Picault and Chris Pontius, finding space when the fullbacks overlap. That's been a reliable way to kill the Revolution this year, and I'm certain there will have been plenty of film watched by Jim Curtin & the boys this week.
One more thing to ponder:
Happy weekending, everybody.
