MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER features several good games this weekend but the best is on Saturday night (7:30pm ET, MLS Live) when the Columbus Crew hosts Toronto FC in a pivotal Eastern Conference showdown.

The matchup features the league’s two leading scorers and several exciting players and should make for an entertaining game at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Sebastian Giovinco is arguably the league’s most valuable player so far in 2015, and his 12 goals and outstanding play has put Toronto on pace for its first-ever playoff appearance. Toronto currently sits in fourth place, eight points behind Eastern Conference frontrunner D.C. United—but the Canadian club has four games in hand.

The game will also feature U.S. national team forward Jozy Altidore who was dropped from the Gold Cup team by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann following the group phase of the tournament. When Klinsmann dropped Altidore he said the striker was not in sufficiently good shape to help the national team—which was subsequently eliminated by Jamaica in the semifinals. Altidore will no doubt be on a mission to prove to Klinsmann, and the rest of MLS, that he is still a top striker.

“They're both top players for this league,” Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter said about Toronto’s Altidore and Giovinco. “They're almost polar opposites. Jozy is power, strength, and good finishing. Giovinco is quickness, speed, great passing, and also good finishing. It's a tough combo to play against.

"It's one of those Eastern Conference teams that has the same aspirations as we do—they want to be top of the East. Whenever you play those games, they're going to be tough games. I guarantee you will see a different intensity to this match." 

Columbus is led by Kai Kamara, whose 14 goals put him atop the leaderboard. And winger Ethan Finlay, who has six goals and a league-best 11 assists in 2015, is one of the most exciting players in the North American top flight.

Columbus has been playing well lately, winning three of its last four, and will be favored to get a good result Saturday night. The Crew have also won seven out of 11 at home in 2015. Toronto will be without Michael Bradley, who is still with the national team for its Gold Cup third place game on Saturday.

Toronto coach Greg Vanney discussed the contest on Friday

“I think it's important because they are one of our Eastern Conference rivals,” Vanney said. “They have a good team. I think they have a playoff-caliber team. They are going to be one of the teams that we do have to measure ourselves with—not to see if we are a playoff team but to see where we are in terms of a championship team.”

Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.