St Louis City will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the Western Conference when they welcome Dallas to CITYPARK on Wednesday night in MLS.
The hosts are aiming to avoid back-to-back losses in the league, while Dallas could make it successive victories with a maximum in Missouri.
Match preview
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St Louis suffered their ninth loss of the MLS campaign on the weekend, when they were defeated 2-1 at the home of Eastern Conference outfit Orlando City.
Facundo Torres put the hosts ahead just after the half-time interval, and it looked as if the two sides would be forced to settle for a point after Rasmus Alm equalised for the visitors, but Torres bagged his second of the contest in the 91st minute.
Despite sitting top of the Western Conference standings with 44 points from 25 matches, Bradley Carnell's men have not enjoyed the best run of form over the latter part of summer, losing four of their last six matches in all competitions.
St Louis' Leagues Cup campaign ended after just two games due to defeats at Columbus Crew and Mexican side Club America, meaning Carnell's charges had a three-week break before they returned to MLS action with a 6-3 win over Austin FC.
A key to the hosts' success so far this campaign has been the goalscoring antics of American Nicholas Gioacchini, with the 23-year-old making the net ripple on 10 occasions in 25 league appearances.
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Dallas returned to MLS duties on the weekend with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Toyota Stadium versus Austin, although it took until the dying stages for the three points to be secured.
Daniel Pereira's dismissal after 67 minutes had the visitors holding on in Texas, and Dallas finally made their considerable pressure count when Nkosi Tafari netted a 97th-minute winner.
Nico Estevez's men have enjoyed a decent run of form in recent times, with their only loss in their last six contests coming against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami via penalty kicks in the last-16 stage of the Leagues Cup.
Like the majority of MLS teams, the Toros struggle to consistently collect points away from home, having only managed to win two of their 12 league outings so far in 2023.
Jesus Ferreira is once again a standout performer for Dallas, bagging 10 goals in 18 MLS appearances so far - the 22-year-old will be hoping to better his 18-goal return of 2022.
Team News
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St Louis are set to be without the services of right-back Jakob Nerwinski on Wednesday night, after the 28-year-old collected two yellow cards in the defeat at Orlando last time out.
Anthony Markanich is a natural left-back option but could play on the right side of the hosts' back four if required, with Joakim Nilsson and Joshua Yaro expected to be the central-defensive pairing.
Top scorer Gioacchini was replaced at half time on the weekend, meaning Iceland international Nokkvi Thorisson could be handed a first MLS start alongside Samuel Adeniran.
Dallas remain without youngster Tarik Scott due to a cruciate ligament injury suffered in February - the 18-year-old is expected back in action sometime in October.
Geovane Jesus was forced off after 30 minutes on the weekend, meaning Ghanaian Ema Twumasi is likely to start in the visitors' backline at CITYPARK.
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Markanich, Yaro, Nilsson, Hiebert; Watts, Vassilev, Lowen, Jackson; Adeniran, Thorisson
Dallas possible starting lineup:
Paes; Twumasi, Tafari, Martinez, Farfan; Lletget, Quignon, Ansah, Velasco, Arriola; Jimenez
We say: St Louis City 3-1 Dallas
St Louis were denied a point at Orlando late on last time out, and we are expecting Carnell's men to come out with a positive response at CITYPARK in this clash.
Dallas have struggled massively on their travels this term, and we cannot envisage them earning anything from their trip to Missouri to face the Western Conference leaders on Wednesday night.
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Carter White
