Columbus Crew square off against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night looking to close the gap on the top four in the Western Conference standings.
Meanwhile, the visitors sit second bottom of the Eastern Conference and desperately need an upturn in fortunes if they are to challenge for the MLS playoffs.
Match preview
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After the playoff-winning success of 2023, Columbus Crew's fanbase would have anticipating being placed far higher than sixth at this stage of the season.
However, facing a 14-point gap with four matches in hand on leaders Inter Miami ensures the bigger picture is not as daunting as it looks right now.
Incredibly, Wilfried Nancy's side have recently put together a four-match winning streak - all on their travels - to catapult themselves back into contention.
Then came the showdown with Miami last time out, with the Black and Gold failing to bounce back from going two goals down inside the opening 21 minutes as they went down by a 2-1 scoreline.
As it stands, that could prove to be a pivotal result, but returning to the Lower.com Field after a month-and-a-half away in MLS could hand them the boost that they need.
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In sharp contrast, Sporting Kansas City have endured an abysmal time of it in MLS of late, losing nine of their last 10 league matches.
That is extended to just one win in 13 outings - the solitary success coming over 10th-placed Seattle Sounders on June 9 - and Peter Vermes knows that he is up against it to overturn their dismal form.
The one encouraging statistic is that Sporting Kansas have scored in eight successive fixtures, yet they have conceded in each of the same matches.
LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake have prevailed 4-2 and 4-3 respectively in the last two encounters, although the Wizards did not lead in either contest before losing in thrillers.
Team News
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Having ultimately pushed Inter Miami last time out, minimal changes are expected to be made to the Columbus Crew side.
If alterations are made, Yevhen Cheberko could return to the back three, while Max Arfsten is an option on the right or in the final third.
Evan Bush and Jacen Russell-Rowe both remain absent due to injury and being on international duty respectively.
Memo Rodriguez will expect to return to the final third for Sporting Kansas City having provided an assist as a substitute last time out.
Robert Voloder may also feature in defence, but none of Vermes's previously-unavailable players are expected to make a return.
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Moreira, Zawadzki, Amundsen; Farsi, Nagbe, Morris, Yeboah; Rossi, Matan; Hernandez
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Melia; Pierre, Rosero, Voloder, Bassong; Davis, Thommy; Russell, Rodriguez, Afrifa; Agada
We say: Columbus Crew 3-1 Sporting Kansas City
Although the home side lost last time out, it was to leaders Inter Miami. As a result, we expect them to shake off that disappointment and come through rather convincingly on Saturday night.
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