It will be worst versus first in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer this Sunday as St Louis City host the Los Angeles Galaxy at CityPark.
In a short, rescheduled game on Wednesday, St Louis gave up two goals inside the final 10 minutes, falling 2-0 at Dallas, while the Galaxy won their previous domestic outing, 3-2 against Real Salt Lake.
Match preview
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A slip-up by St Louis in midweek and we suddenly have an exciting race transpiring for first in the west, with four teams separated by two points.
Bradley Carnell's men, though, should feel more than comfortable knowing two of their next three games are on home soil, where his side have destroyed their opposition most of the season, scoring three or more goals six times.
Winning big is something this team know well, with seven of their nine victories being by two or more goals, while their loss to Dallas was only the second time in the regular season that they had suffered a defeat by at least two goals.
They have only conceded one first-half goal all season at CityPark, with all but 10 of their goals so far in 2023 coming on home soil.
Their high press has been particularly difficult to contain at home, with St Louis creating plenty of turnovers on visiting teams and often making them pay for those mistakes.
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A week after hanging onto a narrow 3-2 triumph in Utah, it was the Galaxy's turn to feel some heartbreak as their US Open Cup dream ended Wednesday, losing by that same score to RSL.
That means Greg Vanney and his side can now put all of their attention and focus on the league, and they need that right now as LA have just 12 points from 15 matches, having scored the second-fewest goals in MLS this year.
The Galaxy have not been sharp along the back end away from home throughout the campaign, conceding multiple strikes in five successive contests.
They will have to clean up that part of their game if they want a shot to get back into the playoff race, currently trailing RSL by seven points and with the worst goal difference in MLS (-13).
After 15 matches in 2023, LA have already lost nine games, four more than they had at this same stage last year, while they have half as many points right now compared to 2022.
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Team News
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Klauss sat out of the previous St Louis fixture with a quad strain, Rasmus Alm has an abdominal issue, Caden Glover was sidelined due to sore ribs, while Joakim Nilsson is still dealing with a knee injury.
Eduard Lowen has scored in his last three home games, Roman Burki has conceded just once at home since the start of May and Nicholas Gioacchini has a goal in two of his last three matches played at CityPark.
Jared Stroud was on the bench for the match on Wednesday despite being eligible to return from suspension, while it was only the second time in the entire regular season that Kyle Hiebert was not on the field at all.
After previously missing time with lower leg injuries, Chris Mavinga and Douglas Costa were on the field for the Galaxy at the US Open Cup this week, while Sega Coulibaly missed another match with a knee injury.
Costa and Gaston Brugman scored late to make their US Open Cup tie interesting, but ultimately that 3-0 deficit was too much to overcome.
In their previous encounter, Brugman, Tyler Boyd and Memo Rodriguez knocked in the goals for LA when they defeated Real Salt Lake in MLS action 3-2.
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Nerwinski, Parker, Hiebert, Nelson; Blom, Lowen; Ostrak, Vassilev, Pompeu; Gioacchini
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Bond; Calegari, Caceres, Neal, Aude; Brugman, Delgado, Edwards; Puig; Chicharito, Boyd
We say: St Louis City 3-0 Los Angeles Galaxy
Defensively, the Galaxy look terrified every time the opposition enter its third of the field, while St Louis have feasted off their opponents' mistakes, and LA make far too many of those from one match to the next.
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