Austin FC play host to San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night with the opportunity to move ahead of their opponents in the Western Conference.
However, with both teams struggling for form in the MLS, Josh Wolff and Matias Almeyda are under pressure to deliver an improved set of results.
Match preview
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When Austin started their first-ever MLS campaign with six points from three fixtures, Wolff would have been optimistic about remaining in the top six throughout the regular season.
However, three defeats in succession brought the Texas-based side back down to earth, and the club now sit in 10th position in the standings.
Draws away at Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City are certainly a step in the right direction, particularly when taking into consideration that the two stalemates came away from home.
Nevertheless, the Greens have now scored just two goals during their last five fixtures, a return which must improve if they want to move clear of the teams below them.
Goals have not been a problem for the Earthquakes this season with 11 strikes coming from their eight outings in the Western Conference.
However, just one of those efforts have come during their current four-match losing streak, the latest reverse coming away at Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of last month.
Almeyda has had plenty of time to write some wrongs on the training ground, but the Argentine knows that his side have wasted their promising start to the season.
While three of their recent setbacks have come against teams above them in the table, the Earthquakes will drop outside of a playoff spot if they succumb at the weekend.
None of this squad have scored more than two goals, increasing the chances of club legend Chris Wondolowski being handed his first start of the campaign.
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Team News
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Wondolowski could get the nod over Cade Cowell in the Earthquakes attack after the veteran replaced the teenager just after the hour mark versus the Galaxy.
As well as Wondolowski, 34-year-old Shea Salinas is also pushing to make his first start of the season.
Paul Marie is expected to return at left-back with Marcos Lopez currently representing Peru at the Copa America.
Having earned a point at Sporting Kansas City last time out, Wolff is expected to name the same Austin XI.
Sebastian Berhalter and Manny Perez are most likely to be brought into the starting lineup if Wolff opts for an alternative approach.
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Lima, Cascante, Besler, Kolmanic; Pochettino, Fagundez, Ring; Stroud, Dominguez, Gallagher
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Marcinkowski; Thompson, Jungwirth, Beason, Marie; Yueill, Remedi; Espinoza, Lopez, Fierro; Wondolowski
We say: Austin FC 1-1 San Jose Earthquakes
While neither team will not want to lose any more ground on the top five, avoiding defeat may take priority at the weekend. With that in mind, we can only predict a low-scoring draw, a result which would be deemed more acceptable by Austin than the visitors.
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 San Jose Earthquakes win with a probability of 65.34%. A win for Austin FC had a probability of 18.46% and a draw had a probability of 16.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a San Jose Earthquakes win was 1-2 with a probability of 7.52%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-3 (7.32%) and 2-3 (5.74%). The likeliest Austin FC win was 2-1 (4.03%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 2-2 (5.89%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 1.1% likelihood.
