Still licking their wounds from their US Open Cup exit, St Louis City return to action in MLS when they journey to the Dick's Sporting Goods Park to face Colorado Rapids on Saturday night.
The hosts have lost just one of their previous five games against St Louis, which came in July 2023 when they were beaten 2-0 at Energizer Park, and will head into the weekend looking to secure consecutive victories for the first time since March.
Match preview
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American striker Dorde Mihailovic came up trumps for Colorado Rapids once again as he hit the back of the net in the 70th minute to fire them to a 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake last Sunday.
Following a goalless first half at the Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Colorado found themselves under the cosh after the break, but Mihailovic netted his sixth league goal against the run of play to hand the Rapids all three points.
This was a much-needed result for Chris Armas's men, who had lost each of their previous three outings and were on a run of just two points from a possible 15 since scraping a 3-2 home victory over San Diego FC on April 13.
Colorado have won five of their 14 MLS matches so far while losing five and claiming four draws to collect 19 points and sit seventh in the Western Conference standings but could move level with fifth-placed Los Angeles FC with a win this weekend.
On the other hand, St Louis City were dumped out of the US Open Cup on Wednesday night when they fell to a disappointing 3-2 defeat against Minnesota United after blowing their lead in the final five minutes.
After falling behind to Kelvin Yeboah's early opener, Marcel Hartel and Joao Klauss hit the target to turn the game on its head but 25-year-old Anthony Markanich restored parity in the 85th minute before completing the comeback with an 83rd-minute strike.
Prior to that, St Louis City kicked off their cup quest on May 8 when they secured a 2-0 home victory over USL League One side Union Omaha courtesy of second-half goals from Klauss and American defender Joseph Zalinsky.
Olof Mellberg's men now turn their focus to MLS, where they are on a run of 10 back-to-back matches without a win, losing seven and picking up three draws since a 1-0 victory over Seattle Sounders at Energizer Park.
Off the back of a 12th-placed finish in the West last year, St Louis find themselves 14th in the conference standings with 11 points from 14 games so far, only above rock-bottom LA Galaxy, who are the only side yet to taste victory in the entire league.
While the Missouri outfit will be looking to find their feet this weekend, next up is the challenge of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in four of their previous five meetings, claiming two wins and two draws since April 2023.
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Team News
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Colorado Rapids will take to the pitch without the services of 21-year-old midfielder Ali Fadal, who has been ruled out since picking up a severe knee injury in April.
Experienced goalkeeper Zackary Steffen missed the game against Real Salt Lake through a muscle problem and is ruled out for the Rapids, while Rafael Navarro is recuperating from an ankle problem.
St Louis City have their fair share of injury concerns as the defensive duo of Jannes-Kilian Horn and 35-year-old Alfredo Morales have been sidelined through hamstring and muscle issues respectively.
Joakim Nilsson has been out of action since picking up a knee injury against Seattle Sounders on May 4 while German midfielder Eduard Lowen is set to sit out his fifth consecutive game due to personal reasons.
Tomas Totland has been out of action since sustaining a hamstring injury back in March and the 25-year-old defender is also out of contention for the trip to the Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Defreitas; Cannon, Maxso, Awaziem, Travis; Larraz, Atencio; Cabral, Mihailovic, Bassett; Yapi
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Baumgartl, Hiebert, Yaro, Pompeu; Watts, Girdwood-Reich, Hartel; Teuchert, Wallem, Ostrak
We say: Colorado Rapids 2-0 St Louis City
Buoyed by their victory over Real Salt Lake, Colorado Rapids will head into the weekend with confidence as they look to put together a strong run of form and strengthen their position in the top half of the table.
Armas's men take on a defeated St Louis City side who have struggled for results this season and we are backing them to make the most of their home advantage.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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Joshua Ojele
