The latest round of matches in the 2023 Major League Soccer season sees Austin FC and Los Angeles FC go head-to-head at the Q2 Stadium on Sunday.
Both teams returned to winning ways in their respective last outings and head into this weekend's encounter looking to pick up where they left off.
Match preview
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Los Angeles FC put on a five-star performance in their clash against Minnesota United, which ended in an emphatic 5-1 victory at the BMO Stadium on Thursday.
Steve Cherundolo's men trailed to Hassani Dotson's opener but wasted no time in turning the game around through a Denis Bouanga hat-trick before Miguel Tapias's own goal and a Filip Krastev strike put the result beyond doubt.
With 48 points amassed from 32 matches this term, the Black and Gold sit third in the Western Conference of the MLS table, eight points behind division leaders St. Louis City.
Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have often been on the receiving end in this fixture having lost five of the previous seven meetings.
Winless in seven consecutive matches on the road leading up to Sunday's contest, the visitors will be keen to turn their away fortunes starting with this weekend's trip to Texas.
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Austin snapped a run of 10 matches without a victory across all competitions by defeating DC United 3-0 when the teams locked horns on Thursday.
Josh Wolff's men went into the interval with a commanding lead thanks to strikes from Will Bruin and Sebastian Driussi before Matt Hedges sealed the deal just past the hour mark.
As a result, Los Verdes have moved up to 10th place in the Western Conference standings and are now just three points away from playoff contention.
Having picked up a first home win in six matches last time out, Sunday's hosts will now be looking to make it back to back wins in front of their fans for the first time since July.
Team News
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Zan Kolmanic remains sidelined for Austin FC due to a knee problem which has seen him fail to feature since the early exchanges of the season.
Sebastian Driussi has found the back of the net in four of his last six matches for the home side, making him one to keep an eye on here.
Denis Bouanga's three-goal haul against Minnesota United has seen him move up to 17 league strikes, and he currently sits top of the scoring charts.
Twenty-eight-year-old Kellyn Acosta missed the aforementioned game through a muscle problem but could make his return to action this weekend.
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Gallagher, Cascante, Vaisanen, Wolff; Driussi, Valencia, Ring; Finlay, Bruin, Rigoni
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Crepeau; Palacios, Chiellini, Murillo, Palencia; Bogusz, Sanchez, Tillman; Olivera, Vela, Bouanga
We say: Austin FC 2-2 Los Angeles FC
Austin FC and Los Angeles FC have both been more than capable in front of goal this term, and we are expecting the trend to continue here. We can also see the sides cancelling each other out en route to a share of the spoils come the end of the 90 minutes.
How to watch
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