Two sides at opposite ends of the MLS Western Conference face each other at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Wednesday night as Colorado Rapids host Austin FC.
The visitors sit in 13th in the Western Conference while the Rapids are third in a comfortable playoff position, despite picking up four draws in their last four games.
Match preview
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Colorado are on a run of four consecutive draws but are undefeated in 11 matches as they look to return to winning ways against Austin, who have only won one match out of their last six.
The hosts drew their last match at home to Toronto FC in a 0-0 stalemate at Dick's Sporting Goods Park where both sides struggled to create many meaningful chances, and they will be disappointed not to get the victory against the Canadian side, who sit bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference.
Robin Fraser's side will look to get back to scoring ways against a leaky Austin who are ranked sixth highest in goals conceded in the Western Conference.
The Rapids have only scored 35 goals this season which is a surprise considering their position in the table, leaving them ranked eighth for goals scored in the Western Conference, but their defensive record has been superb with them only conceding more goals than conference leaders Seattle Sounders.
Thirty-year-old Michael Barrios is the hosts' leading goalscorer in the MLS this season with seven goals, coupled with four assists, which is a little underwhelming considering he has made 25 league appearances this term.
However, Diego Rubio has been impressive, scoring four and assisting four in just 18 appearances and, with him only making appearances off the bench in the last two games, he could be in line to start here.
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Austin FC have struggled this season and sit rock-bottom of the MLS Western Conference with just 22 points in 26 games with only FC Cincinnati and Toronto FC having fewer points than them in the whole of the MLS.
However, the Texans did record a 2-0 victory at home to Los Angeles Galaxy thanks to two second-half goals from Moussa Djitte and Orrin McKinze Gaines but that was the first time they picked up points since late August when they defeated Portland Timbers 3-1, losing five consecutive matches between their two victories.
Josh Wolff's side also have the worst home record in the Western Conference, picking up just 14 points in 13 games, but will be looking to take confidence from their victory over LA Galaxy to end their regular season campaign on a high.
With Austin only being formed a little under three years ago, they have only played against Colorado twice in their history where they have won one and lost one.
Cecilio Dominguez led Austin to a 3-1 victory with a brace in their first match against Colorado but Fraser's side bounced back with a 1-0 win away from home in the last meeting at the beginning of August.
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Team News
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The Rapids are expected to have a full team available for selection against Austin FC and Barrios is expected to lead the line once again as he looks to improve his goalscoring form despite scoring two goals in his last four matches.
Colorado stopper William Yarbrough will be hoping to continue his fine form after he picked up his 10th clean sheet of the season last time out against Toronto FC which tied for the league lead to keep them 12 games unbeaten at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
The visitors are expected to have injury issues though with Danny Hoesen, Aaron Schoenfeld, Ulises Segura and Ben Sweat all out with long-term injuries while 34-year-old Matt Besler is also expected to miss out since the defender has missed the last four games due to injury.
Sebastian Driussi and young Senegalese forward Djitte are expected to start in attack, with the latter marking his first start for Austin since his transfer from Ligue 2 side Grenoble with a goal.
Wolff's men will be looking for Druissi to once again make his mark since he has scored three goals and assisted five in just 10 appearances since his move from Zenit St Petersburg over the summer.
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Abubaker, Wilson, Trusty; Rosenberry, Acosta, Price, Esteves; Shinyashiki, Rubio; Barrios
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Lima, Cascante, Romana, Kolmanic; Pochettino, Pereira; Fagundez, Driussi, Dominguez; Djitte
We say: Colorado Rapids 2-0 Austin FC
Austin will be on a high after their triumph over LA Galaxy last time out but Colorado should have enough quality to get the three points here and return to winning ways, especially looking to please the home crowd after their back-to-back draws at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
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 Colorado Rapids win with a probability of 60.48%. A draw had a probability of 22.7% and a win for Austin FC had a probability of 16.81%.
The most likely scoreline for a Colorado Rapids win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.99%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.7%) and 2-1 (9.69%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.75%), while for an Austin FC win it was 0-1 (5.96%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Colorado Rapids would win this match.
