The MLS season continues at the weekend as the Colorado Rapids welcome Los Angeles FC to DSG Park in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The hosts come into the match bottom of the Western Conference table whilst their visitors are sitting pretty in third.
Match preview
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It has been a dreadful start to the new season for the Rapids as they have only collected two points from their opening five games, a run that began with a 4-0 hammering away at Seattle Sounders on day one of the campaign.
That loss was followed by a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Sporting Kansas City as well as further defeats to San Jose Earthquakes and Minnesota United, respectively.
Last time out Robin Fraser's side drew 1-1 away at Austin as substitute Kevin Cabral snatched a point for the Rapids in the 85th minute, slotting home after fine work down the right flank from Michael Barrios to set him up. The visitors may even feel that they should have won the match after forcing home keeper Brad Stuver into seven saves throughout the 90 minutes.
Despite salvaging a point last weekend, the Rapids have started a term with only two points from a possible 18, failing to win any of their opening five games of a season for only the fourth time in their history.
Colorado really need to win a match soon or they risk being a few points adrift at the bottom, but a win over Los Angeles on Sunday could lift them as high as ninth in the table. A fourth defeat in six matches, though, will leave them rooted to the foot of the table and will see more pressure heaped on the manager.
The Denver outfit need significantly greater output from their forwards, as the Rapids have only scored twice in their five outings so far - the fewest they have ever managed at this stage of a season.
Those goals have come from a winger and an attacking midfielder, with the loss of last season's top marksman Diego Rubio to injury and the sale of Gyasi Zardes to last Saturday's opponents contributing to their lack of firepower.
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Los Angeles have made a fine start to Steve Cherundolo's first full season at the helm as they are unbeaten in their opening four matches of 2023, with three wins and a draw meaning that they are sitting pretty in third place in the table.
It is the third time in five seasons that they have begun a year with 10 points from their opening four fixtures, and should they avoid defeat this weekend too then they would begin a campaign with five games unbeaten for the fourth time in the last five years.
A 3-2 success at home to Portland Timbers kicked off the campaign and that triumph was backed up by a four-goal trouncing of New England Revolution, in which Denis Bouanga bagged a brace, and a 0-0 draw away at fellow strong starters Seattle.
In their most recent match the California outfit were victorious at home to Dallas as they beat the Texas side 2-1 courtesy of strikes from their two star men of the season so far, Timothy Tillman and Bouanga.
Midfielder Tillman has two man of the match awards to go with his two goals, while Bouanga has three strikes already this season following his move from Saint-Etienne in August.
A fourth victory in five for Los Angeles on Sunday could take them to within two points of St Louis City at the summit of the table and they may also start to pull away from the teams below them as they look to record back-to-back league titles.
History in this fixture is firmly on the side of Colorado, however, as they have emerged victorious in seven of the eight all-time meetings between the teams including each of the last three at DSG Park, with the only away triumph in these clashes being a 3-0 win for the California side in 2018.
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Team News
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Robin Fraser will be without several first-team players on Sunday due to long-term injuries as Aboubacar Keita and Dantouma Toure are both out with cruciate ligament ruptures and Jack Price is sidelined with an Achilles tendon injury.
Jackson Travis and Moise Bombito are also on the Rapids' treatment table with abdominal muscle and knee injuries respectively, so Sam Nicholson and Andreas Maxso will keep their places in the 11 at wing-back and centre-back.
Cabral and Barrios are both pushing for starts at the weekend after the pair combined for Colorado's equaliser against Austin, so Cole Bassett and Jonathan Lewis may drop to the bench.
The visitors will be without their goalkeeper Maxine Crepeau as he has fractured his tibia so John McCarthy will once again deputise between the sticks for Cherundolo's team.
Bouanga is surely due a place in the starting 11 given his goalscoring exploits off the bench in the early-season fixtures after he netted as a substitute again against Dallas in Los Angeles' last match.
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Wilson, Abubakar, Maxso; Rosenberry, Acosta, Ronan, Nicholson; Barrios, Cabral, Max
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Hollingshead, Murillo, Chiellini, Palencia; Sanchez, Acosta, Tillman; Opoku, Vela, Bouanga
We say: Colorado Rapids 1-2 Los Angeles FC
Los Angeles should record another victory against a struggling Colorado side, as Tillman and Acosta will be confident of dominating the midfield and Bouanga will be aiming for his fourth goal of the campaign.
How to watch
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Top tip
Ollie Hawthorn
