San Diego FC will welcome Austin FC to the Snapdragon Stadium this weekend in their gameweek 17 MLS fixture.
The home side are second in the Western Conference with 27 points, five adrift of leaders Vancouver Whitecaps, while the visitors are 10th in the standings.
Match preview
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San Diego saw their five-game unbeaten run come to an end after they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Sounders on Thursday.
After an eventful first 45 minutes, Mikey Varas's charges were made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal, after they conceded the only goal of the encounter in the 58th minute.
Despite that loss, the hosts are still second in the Western Conference, having amassed 27 points from 16 games in 2025.
Heading into this fixture, the home side will be looking to get back on track; however, they will be wary of the visitors, having lost to Saturday's opponents in their last head-to-head league meeting.
Nevertheless, the hosts can count on their fine home form coming into this contest, and their fans will be hopeful of claiming yet another win this weekend.
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Elsewhere, Austin come into this fixture on the back of a 1-1 draw against Real Salt Lake in their last league outing.
Austin were on the verge of a defeat in their last MLS contest, but a goal deep into added time ensured that the Verde and Black got a share of the spoils on Thursday.
That result leaves El Tree 10th in the West with 20 points after 16 top-flight fixtures, two points adrift of San Jose Earthquakes, who currently occupy the final MLS Cup playoff place.
A victory for the visitors could see them rise as high as sixth in the standings, provided results elsewhere go in their favour.
Coming into this fixture, the visitors would be confident, having claimed a 2-1 victory in their last Major League Soccer meeting.
Team News
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Ghanaian defender Willy Kumado will be out this weekend, having been forced off against LA Galaxy, hence, 18-year-old Oscar Verhoeven should be a part of the defence.
Hamady Diop has been missing in action in the last few weeks, and his availability for Saturday's fixture is doubtful.
Similarly, Andres Reyes and Marcus Ingvartsen are out with hip and leg injuries respectively.
On the contrary, Luca Bombino is expected to be named in the defence for their weekend encounter against the visitors.
For Austin, Brandon Vazquez, who has scored on four occasions this season, is expected to lead the line once again, with support from Myrto Uzuni and Osman Bukari.
Ilie Sanchez and Owen Wolff gave a good account of themselves when they got the nod to start in their last league outing; hence, both players could keep their places for the clash this weekend.
San Diego possible starting lineup:
Dos Santos; McVey, McNair, Bombino, Verhoeven; Alvarado, De La Torre, Verskov; Dreyer, Valakari, Mighten
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver, Biro, Hine-Hikes, Svatok, Gallagher; Sabovic, Sanchez, Wolff; Uzuni, Vazquez, Bukari
We say: San Diego 2-1 Austin FC
While both sides recorded less than ideal results in their last outings respectively, San Diego are still the stronger side on paper, and given the recent form of the visiting team, the home side are favourites to register another victory, with a possible 2-1 scoreline.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
