Toronto will travel South across the border and through the Rocky Mountains to face Colorado Rapids in one of the pair's cross-conference games on Sunday morning.
The Rapids are chasing a maiden Supporters' Shield, whilst Toronto are on course for their worst-ever finish in Major League Soccer.
Match preview
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A founding member of the league back in 1996, Colorado had not managed to reach the MLS Cup final in 12 attempts, before triumphing in 2010.
Now 11 years since their last trophy lift, the Rapids are well in the hunt for their first-ever Supporters' Shield success and can take a step closer to leaders New England Revolution with a victory against Toronto.
Currently sitting fourth in the overall table, the Rapids are a lengthy 15 points behind the Revs, however, they do boast a helpful three games in hand.
Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League is guaranteed through topping the overall table, yet Colorado could also secure continental qualification through finishing first in the Western Conference.
A little tighter in the Western Conference than the overall table, Robin Fraser's side are two points behind first-placed Sporting Kansas City, but have played one game less.
Amongst the challengers are also Seattle Sounders, who sit above Colorado in the table, and the two-time MLS Cup winners will take on Sporting Kansas in a blockbuster Western Conference clash on Monday morning, meaning the Rapids could top the division by the end of play this weekend.
Life may have been a bit more comfortable for Fraser and the Rapids had their form been stronger in recent weeks, with the 2010 MLS Cup winners drawing their last three fixtures.
Despite their stuttering performances, the Rapids have only been beaten once since mid-June, when they succumbed to current leaders Sporting Kansas in a sobering 3-1 defeat.
A return to winning ways could be on the cards for Colorado when Canadian side Toronto travel to the Dick's Sporting Goods Park, with the Reds looking for a victory to take them off the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
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Ending a nine-match winless run, a streak that included six straight defeats, with a much-needed 2-1 victory over playoff-chasing Nashville SC on Sunday, Toronto moved within two points of FC Cincinnati above them, who themselves have a game in hand.
From two MLS Cup wins in three years between 2016 and 2019, to the brink of their worst ever finish in MLS, it has been a torrid campaign for Javier Perez, who welcomed the break of the Canadian Championship in midweek.
Comfortable 4-0 winners over York United, Pacific FC await in the semi-finals for Toronto, who still have hopes of winning an eighth Canadian Championship title.
Despite their rocky form this season, Toronto could find themselves competing in the Champions League themselves, a competition where they reached the final in 2018.
Perez and Toronto will be hoping this season has been nothing more than a blip and the Reds can bounce back soon, starting with a victory over the Rapids.
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Team News
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Whilst Toronto have been poor this season, their form has not been helped by their torrid luck with injury, with Ayo Akinola one of a number of key players forced into the treatment room this year.
The promising 21-year-old forward suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in mid-July and has missed every match since, without a return looking any closer.
Jozy Altidore is another Reds striker that has missed a number of matches this season and, after a spell out of the side earlier in the campaign, the former Sunderland man has been missing since mid-August following foot surgery.
Also under the knife for Toronto this year was Ralph Priso-Mbongue, who has been missing since mid-August too after undergoing ankle surgery.
After featuring in every match during the 2020 season, Alejandro Pozuelo has made just 13 appearances for Toronto this time out and will be missing once again.
Younes Namli returned for the first time since May in their recent draw with Vancouver Whitecaps, after the attacking midfielder had missed the previous 19 matches after undergoing ankle surgery himself.
Otherwise, Fraser will have a full squad available to him for the visit of Toronto and will likely turn to recent arrival Michael Barrios, who has netted seven times since arriving from FC Dallas.
Former Liverpool defender Danny Wilson bagged for the Rapids against Vancouver and the Livingston-born centre-back will start for Colorado this weekend.
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Rosenberry, Wilson, Trusty; Galvan, Price, Acosta, Esteves; Lewis, Kaye, Barrios
Toronto possible starting lineup:
Bono; Laryea, Zavaleta, Gonzalez, Auro; Bradley, Delgado; Osorio, Shaffelburg, Achara; Dwyer
We say: Colorado Rapids 2-1 Toronto
Two sides who could not be in more contrasting form, all signs point to a comprehensive victory for the Rapids, who will be aware of the fact they could top the Western Conference with a win.
Toronto will be hoping the unpredictability of the cross-conference matches could help their cause and, buoyed by two consecutive wins, they may be able to push the Rapids closer than expected.
Top tip
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 Colorado Rapids win with a probability of 69.12%. A draw had a probability of 19.2% and a win for Toronto had a probability of 11.69%.
The most likely scoreline for a Colorado Rapids win was 2-0 with a probability of 13.19%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (12.67%) and 2-1 (9.46%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.09%), while for a Toronto win it was 0-1 (4.37%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 6.1% likelihood.
