Sporting Kansas City will be looking to move into the playoffs qualification places when they take a trip to City Park to lock horns with St. Louis City on Saturday evening.
Having only joined MLS this year, Bradley Carnell's side currently hold an eight-point lead at the top of the Western Conference standings and will be looking to edge closer to a first-ever conference crown.
Match preview
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St Louis City turned in a resilient team performance last weekend when they snapped their four-game winless run courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Minnesota United at Allianz Field.
Following a goalless first half, former Norwich City forward Teemu Pukki broke the deadlock from the spot to hand the hosts the lead but Joao Klauss and Njabulo Blom scored in a nine-minute spell to turn the game on its head.
Prior to that, the Missouri outfit were on a run of six consecutive away games without a win across all competitions, claiming two draws and losing four, including a 2-1 defeat against Columbus Crew in April's Leagues Cup group-stage tie.
Carnell's men now return home where they have won four of their last five games in the league — scoring 13 goals and keeping three clean sheets in that time — with a goalless draw against Los Angeles FC on September 21 being the exception.
Having joined MLS as an expansion team this year, St Louis are on course to secure a first-ever Western Conference title as they lead the way in the conference table, eight points above second-placed Los Angeles FC.
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Sporting Kansas City, on the other hand, continued their impressive run of results on home turf as they picked up a 2-1 victory over Houston Dynamo at Children's Mercy Park last Sunday.
In a game where Johnny Russell received an early bath, goals from Russell and William Agada put the hosts in a comfortable lead before Teenage Hadebe pulled one back for the Houston Dynamo in the ninth minute of first-half stoppage time.
With that result, Peter Joseph Vermes's men have now gone unbeaten in six of their last seven home matches across all competitions, picking up five wins and one draw since losing successive home games to Los Angeles FC and Chicago Fire back in June.
While the Wizards have been solid at home, they have struggled for results on the road, where they have managed just one win in their last 11 matches while losing six and picking up four draws since May.
With just three games left to play before the end of the regular season, Sporting Kansas City currently sit 10th in the Western Conference table, just two points behind ninth-placed FC Dallas in the second playoff qualifier spot.
Team News
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Barring any late fitness issues, St Louis City will head into the weekend with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Carnell the luxury of a full-strength squad at his disposal.
That said, we expect former Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki to start between the sticks once again, with Tim Parker and Joakim Nilsson forming the centre-back pairing once again.
Klauss came off the bench to hand St Louis the equaliser against Minnesota United last weekend and the Brazilian forward, who has three goals in his last four matches, could be rewarded with a starting role on Sunday.
Sporting Kansas City will have to cope without Scottish forward Russell, who will serve the first of his three-game suspension after picking up a straight red card against Houston Dynamo last time out.
On the injury front, Vermes will be unable to call upon the defensive duo of Kayden Pierre and Kortne Thompson-Ford, who are currently recuperating from hamstring and Achilles tendon injuries respectively.
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Watts, Parker, Nilsson, Markanich; Lowen, Blom, Jackson, Vassilev; Klauss, Adeniran
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Melia; Davis, Rosero, Fontas, Ndenbe; Kinda, Radoja, Thommy; Salloi, Agada, Shelton
We say: St Louis City 2-1 Sporting Kansas City
Buoyed by their impressive performance against Minnesota, St Louis City will head into the weekend with renewed confidence as they look to finish the regular season strong. While Sporting Kansas have been solid at home, their form on the road is currently nothing to write home about and we see Carnell's side snatching all three points once again.
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Joshua Ojele
