Sporting Kansas City will try to reclaim first place in the Western Conference when they travel to Allianz Field on Saturday to battle Minnesota United.
The Loons could only muster a 1-1 draw versus the San Jose Earthquakes on Tuesday, despite having a man advantage for most of the game, while KC were able to rescue a point, scoring in injury time against the Portland Timbers.
Match preview
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Minnesota have recovered nicely from their poor form at the start of the year, but they have struggled to find that extra spark to earn three points over the past few weeks.
Up a man for close to 70 minutes on Tuesday, the Loons rarely entered the Quakes' final third, playing more of a vertical game than a horizontal one in the second half.
Adrian Heath criticized his team afterwards for lacking any type of quality, and even though they are missing their top goalscorer, they should be a lot better in front of goal than they have been lately, as 10 different players have found the back of the net for Minnesota this season.
In their previous game, the quality seemed to be there, but the quality of Galaxy keeper Jonathan Klinsmann was even better as the Loons were stymied at every turn.
Losing at home last weekend and getting shut out was a scarce feeling for this squad, who had gone unbeaten in their previous seven home fixtures, winning six of those games and maintaining five clean sheets.
Their two-game slide has dropped them into sixth in the conference, four points above the playoff line, and as a result they will have some ground to make up if they want to get back into the top four, currently seven points behind the Colorado Rapids for that position.
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The mark of an elite team is how well they can respond when being dealt a blow, and Peter Vermes has seen his side answer the call all season in that department.
On Wednesday, his Wizards fell behind after 17 minutes, trailing at home for the seventh time this year, but found a way to earn a point once again.
This side were uncharacteristically flat and slow in the first half against the Timbers but made some nice half time adjustments which eventually paid off late in the match.
Lately, being away from home has been where this team have thrived, unbeaten in their last five road fixtures, outscoring their opponents 11-2 over that stretch while maintaining a clean sheet in their previous two matches as the visitors.
KC are in a dogfight for first in the conference, with the Seattle Sounders reclaiming the top spot on Wednesday with their victory and the Wizards' draw.
The slow start for Kansas City on Wednesday could be explained by the fact that they have had such a congested schedule of late, as they have not had a full week in between games since the international break in early July, and they have not had more than four days rest in between their matches in August.
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Team News
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Minnesota are missing Franco Fragapane with a thigh injury, Niko Hansen and Jacori Hayes have hamstring issues and their top goalscorer Robin Lod is out with a leg injury.
Will Trapp scored his first goal of the season in their draw with San Jose, Tyler Miller has conceded seven goals in his four road fixtures but has two clean sheets in his last four fixtures in the twin city.
DJ Taylor started at right-back on Tuesday in place of Chase Gasper, while Bakaye Dibassy was unlucky to score an own goal in their last fixture, 12 minutes into the game.
Daniel Salloi is tied for second in goals in MLS, as his 12th of the season was enough for his side to earn a point against Portland, while defender Graham Zusi made history, featuring in his 307th game for Kansas City, surpassing Cobi Jones for the most all-time regular-season appearances with a single MLS club.
Vermes went with the same starting 11 on Wednesday that he had against Dallas, with Khiry Shelton appearing as the only substitute.
Felipe Hernandez remains out for personal reasons, while Jaylin Lindsey and Nicolas Isimat-Mirin both have hamstring problems.
Minnesota United possible starting lineup:
Miller; Taylor, Boxall, Kallman, Raitala; Trapp, Gregus; Alonso, Reynoso, Finlay; Hunou
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Melia; Zusi, llie, Fontas, Martins; Barber, Espinoza, Duke; Russell, Pulido, Salloi
We say: Minnesota United 1-1 Sporting Kansas City
The Loons have been sharp defensively at Allianz Field but have been snake bit in front of goal over their last two fixtures, facing a hot goalkeeper and a well-organized defence.
KC always seem to have an answer, but with little time to rest in between their games lately, it would not be a surprise to see this team struggle out of the gate yet again.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Minnesota United win with a probability of 39.37%. A win for Sporting Kansas City had a probability of 33.83% and a draw had a probability of 26.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Minnesota United win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.58%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.41%) and 2-0 (6.99%). The likeliest Sporting Kansas City win was 0-1 (9.65%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.73%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with an 8% likelihood.
