Seeking to pick up their first consecutive league win this season, Sporting Kansas City take a trip to the Q2 Stadium to square off against Austin FC on Saturday.
The home side, who are on a run of two straight wins against Peter Vermes's men, will look to continue in the same vein and strengthen their position in the upper echelons of the Western Conference table.
Match preview
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Austin FC continue to struggle for form on their home turf as they were held to a thrilling 3-3 draw by a resilient San Jose Earthquakes side last Sunday.
A first-half brace from Sebastian Driussi and Julio Cascante saw the home side head into the half-time interval with a 3-2 lead but 25-year-old striker Jeremy Ebobisse netted with two minutes left in the game to force a share of the spoils.
Josh Wolff's men have now failed to win all but one of their last seven games at the Q2 Stadium — losing three and picking three draws — with a 3-1 victory over Houston Dynamo on July 13 being the only exception.
With 45 points from 24 games, Austin FC are currently second in the Western Conference standings, six points adrift of first-placed Los Angeles FC, who have one game in hand.
Their fine performances this season has been in no small part down to their impressive display at the attacking end of the pitch, where the Texas outfit boasts the league's best record with 50 goals scored so far.
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Sporting Kansas City, on the other hand, finally gave their fans something to cheer about as they claimed a thrilling 4-2 victory over LA Galaxy at the Children's Mercy Park.
After trailing 3-0 at the interval courtesy of a brace from William Agada and Erik Thommy's 10th-minute opener, former Manchester United forward Javier Hernandez netted twice in a nine-minute spell to reduce the deficit before Daniel Salloi sealed the home side's win with a 95th-minute strike.
Prior to that, the Wizards were on a four-game losing streak across all competitions, a run which saw their US Open Cup campaign come to an end as they were beaten on penalties by USL Championship side Sacramento Republic.
Sporting Kansas City, who have now picked up 23 points from 25 games, are currently rock-bottom in the Western Conference standings, but could rise as high as 12th place with all three points this weekend.
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Team News
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With his brace at the weekend, Driussi has now taken his tally at the top of the MLS scoring chart to 16 goals and the Austin FC forward will certainly be one to keep an eye out for.
On the injury front, Wolf will be unable to call upon the services of Colombian midfielder Jhojan Valencia, who sustained a knee injury in May's 2-1 victory over Los Angeles FC.
The defensive duo of Hector Jimenez and Freddy Kleemann will also play no part in this weekend's encounter as they are currently recuperating from groin and ACL injuries respectively.
Meanwhile, the visiting side will be without several key players down the spine of the team as defender Kortne Thompson-Ford, midfielder Ozzie Cisneros and forward Alan Pulido all continue their spells on the sidelines.
Israeli midfielder Gadi Kinda continues his long journey to full fitness after sustaining a severe knee injury last November, while Nikola Vujnovic picked up a calf problem back in May.
Newly-signed attacker Agada opened his account for the club as he hit a brace against LA Galaxy last time out and the Nigeria international should retain his place in the starting side.
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Lima, Gabrielsen, Cascante, Gallagher; Pereira, Ring, Finlay; Driussi, Fagundez, Urruti
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Pulskamp; Pierre, Fontas, Isimat-Mirin, Sweat; Walter, Hernandez, Thommy; Russell, Agada, Salloi
We say: Austin FC 2-2 Sporting Kansas City
Buoyed by last weekend's victory, Sporting Kansas City will head into Saturday with renewed belief as they mount a charge from the bottom of the conference standings. While taking on Austin FC is a stern task for any side in the division, we are backing the Wizards to do just enough to leave with a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
