Bruce Arena is hoping he can learn something from New England Revolution's upcoming matches against Toronto and New York City.
The Revs are sixth in the East and unbeaten in four but will face two teams above them in the standings this week.
Coach Arena is particularly intrigued by the prospect of taking on second-placed Toronto on Wednesday, although he suggests final placings may not prove as important as usual in the playoffs this year.
"It'll sure tell us a lot," Arena said. "We're playing two of the better teams in the East this week, in Toronto and New York City. That will tell us a lot.
"We've played both of those teams already this year, and the recent games we've had draws with both of them. It will be interesting to see if we've made any progress against Toronto.
"But the difficulty of the schedule means I don't know what any of these results tell us in terms of comparing teams.
"I think once the playoffs hit, single elimination, there's going to be a lot of surprising results as well."
Toronto have won their past three matches and have a leading MVP candidate in Alejandro Pozuelo, although young striker Ayo Akinola is also chipping in with vital goals.
Coach Greg Vanney said of Akinola: "He continues to grow. He's learning every day. He's got a desire to score goals.
"On this team, if you have a desire to score goals and work hard in front of the goal and commit yourself and get your timing right, with the quality of service and the passers we have on our team, you're going to get chances.
"I think he has a super high potential. He's still going to keep learning and keep working, but he's got high potential."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New England Revolution - Alexander Buttner
Buttner has missed the Revs' past two matches with injury, in which time they have not conceded a single goal. An attacking option at left-back, the former Manchester United man will hope to return to the decide without disrupting the balance of the back line.
Toronto FC - Ayo Akinola
Toronto were trailing 1-0 to Philadelphia Union when they lost Jozy Altidore to injury early in the second half on Saturday. However, Akinola equalised just five minutes later - his seventh in seven starts this season - and the 20-year-old is now likely to be handed the reins in attack.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- Toronto have won only two of their 17 matches in Foxborough (D5 L10), going eight straight visits without a win (D3 L5) dating back to 2014. Both of their wins in New England - in 2012 and 2013 - came by 1-0 scorelines after goals in the opening 10 minutes of the match.
- The Revs have lost only two of their past 18 home MLS matches dating back to May 2019 (W7 D9), although five of their past seven at Gillette Stadium have ended in a draw (W1 L1).
- Toronto have collected an MLS-high 22 points since the regular season restarted in August (W7 D1 L2), including winning the most recent three in a row. The Reds have not won four straight matches in a single regular season since 2017 (six straight in August and September).
- New England have received an MLS-low 14 yellow cards (including second yellows) this season. Ninety-six players have received at least three yellow cards this MLS season, but none of them play for the Revs.
- Alejandro Pozuelo has been directly involved in an MLS-high 16 goals this season (seven goals, nine assists). He has been directly involved in at least one goal in 11 of his 15 MLS appearances this season.