Your Monday kickoff: Who will be ahead in the West playoffs?

After 35 match days of the season, I think we have a good overview of what is happening in this league. There's not much to learn at this point and there aren't many questions to answer. However, we still need to clarify a few things.

The most important of these is what is going on in the West. We know the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoff teams. We have no idea what order they will end up in at the end of the season. Seven points separate second and ninth place, with three games remaining for most teams.

A similar scenario is playing out in the East between fourth and seventh places. That's not that meaningful. Put them in the order you want and Inter Miami, Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati will still be the heavy favorites to make the MLS Cup. The West can look to the two LA teams as its favorites, but almost all nine playoff teams have the depth compared to the rest of the conference to make it to the MLS Cup. Even Vancouver and Minnesota have a chance. Every team is good enough to get hot at the right moment, and every team is so volatile that it falters.

That's why the final standings will be so crucial. When the time comes, being home may be the only real difference. That's why I thought we'd take another look before the end of the year to see where each team in the Western Conference stands heading into the final 50 meters of the season.

LAFC seemed to pull itself out of its slump last week. They finally pulled it off in the US Open Cup final against Sporting KC, turning it around and picking up their most impressive away win of the season in Cincinnati. Now they can tackle a Charmin-soft final section with renewed confidence.

Thanks in part to the fact that they have a game in hand, barring multiple disasters, they will finish in second place. Once we get to the playoffs, they will be the favorites to get into the MLS Cup. Yes, about the first-place Galaxy. LAFC has proven time and time again that they are the team to beat in the West. The Galaxy still have to prove they can make it to the finals.

I mean, technically the galaxy has yet to prove it can defeat the West. We didn't include them in this roundup, but with LAFC potentially winning and having 12 points on the table, the Galaxy still have work to do in their final three games to ensure they don't miss out on top spot in the conference.

RSL were gifted two winnable home games and a road trip to San Jose to close out the season. Thanks to LAFC's current play, they won't be able to overtake LAFC for second place, but it's certainly possible that they could go on a seven or nine point run here to close out the season.

This is really what it takes to make everyone feel great heading into the playoffs. The six games since exiting the League Cup group stage have failed to inspire confidence that a new team without Andrés Gómez will be successful in the playoffs. Those six games include tough losses to San Jose and Houston and draws to Portland and Austin. They did get wins against New England and Dallas, but a lot of teams have done that this year. To be fair, RSL hasn't had a meaningful win since the 3-2 win over Houston on July 3rd.

If they want to fix this, they need Chicho Arango to get hot again. He has scored once since June 1st. That's an 11-game, month-long stretch that includes injuries and suspensions. They need him on the field and his performance again, otherwise nothing that happens in the next three games will matter.

That's not the nicest schedule, is it? You can at least take comfort in two home games and assume that the Galaxy are largely safe at the top of the West and won't go full throttle. The game in Seattle will definitely be a real six-point game. It could be the difference between a home playoff berth and a seventh-place finish.

They may even have to worry about staying ahead of the Wild Card teams at this point. The 4-1 loss to Sporting KC a few weeks ago and the 3-0 loss to Minnesota this weekend were concerning to say the least. The defensive/goalkeeping issues are still real and crop up a little too often at unexpected times.

Well, that's even meaner, isn't it? The Sounders will have to go on the road for two six-pointers and then face a Portland team that seems to be using their number more often lately. Based on the schedule alone, it would be reasonable to be concerned about the Sounders down the stretch.

On the other hand, they've been doing well since a terrible week that included a USOC loss to LAFC and a 1-0 loss to Portland – aside from a strange 2-2 draw against San Jose. They have been playing really effective football for a long time. They've picked up a ton of points since a slow start and look capable of outlasting anyone that isn't LAFC and Portland.

Still, I have no idea if this team is really any good. They look like the other Sounders teams that have at times benefited from stifling pragmatism, but something still doesn't feel right. Even though Jordan Morris has found a home as a striker, something doesn't seem to be right in attack. Maybe that's too much of a vibe-based take. Maybe it doesn't matter if you've had the best defensive performance in the conference since midseason.

The bottom line is that Houston absolutely needs to get six points this week. There's no reason to bother with the Revs and St. Louis teams essentially playing for free. If LA has secured the top spot in the West by then, they might even be able to catch the Galaxy if they're just playing for pride. This is a favorable schedule, regardless of ongoing concerns about their ability to put the ball in the net.

Having a game in hand is great when you don't have to play four games in a row against three of the best teams in your conference and one of the hottest teams in the conference. When you have a four-game stretch to contend with, an extra game doesn't seem particularly helpful. The Whitecaps will need their DP trio at their best to take advantage of this extra game. At least they are well prepared for the playoffs.

The Loons were also dealt a tough hand here. But a six-point shot against Vancouver and the Whitecaps' brutal schedule gives them hope of clawing their way out of a wild-card spot. Additionally, finding a DP striker like Kelvin Yeboah, who can score seven goals in his first six games, also helps a lot. Yeboah is the key here. If he stays hot, the Loons can at least avoid a Wild Card game. That could make a big difference. Although they would probably have their hands full against a team from LA in the first round.

Two games against Texas teams that are pretty much done for the year and a Seattle team that they seemingly have an advantage over. They could easily get nine points here.

But there's a reason a team as good as Portland isn't already out of the wild card. You never know what you'll see from this group. The best version of this site is as good as any other. The bad version, unable to defend and control games in crucial moments, shows up more often than anyone in Portland would like.

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