Having both secured hard-fought domestic cup victories in midweek, Columbus Crew and Inter Miami lock horns at Lower.com Field in the early hours of Sunday.
The home side set out to return to winning ways in MLS, while their visitors will be looking to avoid being on the receiving end of a seventh consecutive league defeat.
Match preview
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Columbus Crew saw off the threat of Indy Eleven to book their place in the round of 32 of the US Open Cup courtesy of a 1-0 victory on Thursday morning.
Wilfried Nancy's men looked set to be dragged to extra time by lower league opponents before Mohamed Farsi broke the deadlock with seven minutes of normal time left to play.
Just before that, the Black and Gold fell to a 1-0 defeat against Charlotte FC and have dropped to fifth place in the Eastern Conference of the MLS table nine matches into the new campaign.
Awaiting them next is a tricky assignment against an opposing outfit with little separating the teams based on their five previous clashes, which have yielded two wins apiece for either side and one draw.
Unbeaten in their last 12 matches on home turf leading up to Sunday's contest, the hosts have established themselves as a real force to reckon with in front of their fans and will be confident of getting the job done.
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Inter Miami got the better of city rivals Miami FC in Thursday's US Open Cup encounter at the Riccardo Silva Stadium, which went all the way to penalties.
Phil Neville's men were 1-0 and 2-1 down during the 120 minutes of football but managed to restore parity on either occasion through Shanyder Borgelin and Ryan Sailor, after which Kamal Miller converted the crucial spot kick to hand his side the victory following Ryan Telfer's earlier miss from 12 yards.
This came off the back of a 1-0 defeat against Houston Dynamo for the Herons, who currently sit bottom but one in the Eastern Conference, albeit with a game in hand on the three sides just above them.
Off the back of a first away triumph in seven attempts last time out, Sunday's visitors now go in search of consecutive wins on enemy territory for the first time since October.
Team News
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Columbus' Cucho Hernandez recently made his comeback from a damaged knee last time out, and the Colombian will be pushing for a place in the starting XI.
However, Kevin Molino and Eloy Room are ruled out for the home side through knee injuries, while Luis Diaz continues his battle with a back problem.
Josh Williams remains without an appearance this year due to an ankle injury, but the 35-year-old is not far off making his return to action.
Inter Miami's Ian Fray is still recuperating from a cruciate ligament injury which is set to keep him out for a large chunk of the current campaign.
The visitors will also be without the services of Gregore and Robbie Robinson, who miss out of this weekend's match through foot and muscle injuries respectively.
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Vallecilla, Degenek, Moreira; Sands, Zawadzki, Morris, Farsi; Zelarayan, Matan; Ramirez
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Neville, Miller, Sailor, McVey; Mota, Arroyo; Stefanelli, Cremaschi, Taylor; Borgelin
We say: Columbus Crew 2-0 Inter Miami
Inter Miami are one of only two teams in MLS yet to find the back of the net on the road this term, and we expect that trend to continue here. We are also backing Columbus Crew to cruise to a relatively comfortable victory in the end.
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