Philadelphia Union welcome defending champions Columbus Crew to Subaru Park on Sunday in search of a third consecutive victory on home turf.
On the other hand, the away side make the journey to Chester aiming to record a first MLS victory on the road in seven outings since July.
Match preview
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Columbus Crew made it three home league wins in a row following a hard-fought 2-1 triumph over CF Montreal at the Lower.com Field on Sunday.
Caleb Porter's men took a two-goal lead thanks to goals from American forward Gyasi Zardes, before hanging on to secure all three points despite Romell Quioto's late consolation strike.
The Crew have moved up into 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, five points off the last playoff spot albeit having played a game more.
Next up for them is a trip to a ground where they have failed to emerge victorious on any of their last seven visits since claiming a 3-2 win back in 2014.
Sunday's visitors, who have scored the third-fewest number of goals away from home this term, will need to get going at the attacking to stand any chance of coming out on top.
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Off the back of two home wins on the trot, Philadelphia Union were held to a 1-1 draw by New York Red Bulls at the Red Bull Arena on Tuesday.
Jim Curtin's men opened the scoring in the 17th minute through Sergio Santos but were pegged back before the half-time whistle thanks to Omir Fernandez's leveller.
The Union are still hanging on to the last playoff spot in the east but currently have two games in hand on nearest challengers Atlanta United.
No team in the entire conference has let in fewer goals on home turf than Sunday's hosts, who will be confident of keeping their visitors at bay.
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Team News
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Columbus' trio of Perry Kitchen, Kevin Molino and Aidan Morris are currently sidelined with knee injuries and will play no part in the game.
The away side will also be without the services of 25-year-old Artur and Eloy Room who miss out through hernia and groin injuries respectively.
Cory Burke and Ilson are Philadelphia's only injury concerns ahead of the match as the former is down with an ankle problem, while the latter is yet to recuperate from a groin injury.
Jamiro Monteiro netted the winner in the last meeting between Sunday's opponents back in June, and he will be looking to come up trumps once again.
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Wagner, Elliot, Glesnes, Mbaizo; Flach, Martinez, Bedoya, Monteiro; Santos, Przybylko
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Bush; Valenzuela, Williams, Mensah, Afful; Fraser, Hairston, Nagbe; Junior, Zardes, Santos
We say: Philadelphia Union 2-1 Columbus Crew
Philadelphia have little margin for error in their quest for a place in the postseason as the regular season enters into its final knockings. They will fancy themselves to see off the challenge of a side who have struggled away from home all-season long, and we are backing them to secure all three points.
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 Philadelphia Union win with a probability of 58.99%. A draw had a probability of 23.8% and a win for Columbus Crew had a probability of 17.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Philadelphia Union win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.1%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.97%) and 2-1 (9.46%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.15%), while for a Columbus Crew win it was 0-1 (6.57%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 6.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Philadelphia Union would win this match.
Previews by email
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