Having enjoyed a strong start to the Major League Soccer season, Austin FC will go in search of a fourth win of the campaign when they travel to DC United on Saturday.
The visitors sit fourth in the Western Conference after six games, with their hosts having earned six points from their opening five games.
Match preview
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DC United put up an eye-catching start to their league campaign, kicking off with back-to-back wins over Charlotte FC and FC Cincinnati, the first of which being a 3-0 thrashing.
They were not able to continue at that rate, though, and Hernan Losada's side now find themselves in a three-game losing run.
The positive start was abruptly put to an end by a 2-0 home defeat to Chicago Fire, before the Black-and-Red were beaten 2-1 away at Toronto.
Seeking to correct their form, Losada's side hosted Atlanta United last time out, and, after the game looked set to end goalless, Marcelino Moreno popped up with a 94th-minute winner to condemn them to a third straight defeat.
Having quickly dropped into an unenviable place in the Eastern Conference, albeit still at an early stage of the season with games in hand, DC United will be keen to prevent their losing run from stretching any further.
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Their visitors arrive looking to stretch an impressive start to the campaign, having put themselves at the top end of the Western Conference.
Josh Wolff's side kicked off the season in eye-catching fashion with a 5-0 thrashing of FC Cincinnati, as Cecilio Dominguez hit a brace alongside goals from Alexander Ring and Sebastian Driussi and an Alec Kann own goal.
Driussi then hit a double of his own in a 5-1 thrashing of Inter Miami, with Ethan Finlay also netting twice, before they had to bounce back from a narrow defeat to Portland Timbers.
On the back of consecutive draws with Seattle Sounders and San Jose Earthquakes, Wolff's men took on Minnesota United last time out, and they made a return to winning ways as Maximiliano Urruti hit the only goal of the game on the hour mark.
Having climbed back up to fourth spot in the Conference thanks to that victory, the Texan outfit will aim to build on their recent win with another positive result to further establish themselves as one of the leading sides in their division.
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Team News
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DC United are set to be without Adrien Perez, as the forward continues to battle with an injury.
Loanee Michael Estrada marked his debut with a brace, but he has missed the last two matches through injury, and Losada will be hoping for his return.
If he remains out, they will be heavily reliant on Ola Kamara, who netted a goal in each of the first two games of the season.
Maximiliano Urruti will continue to lead the Austin FC line after his winning goal last time out, while Sebastian Driussi has already contributed four goals in six league appearances from an attacking midfield role this term.
Ethan Finlay adds well to their dangerous front line, presenting another goal threat on the wing, while Diego Fagundez should operate on the other flank.
In a 4-2-3-1 system, Wolff should stick with the pairing of Alexander Ring and Daniel Pereira at the base of midfield.
DC United possible starting lineup:
Hamid; Gressel, Najar, Birnbaum, Hines-Ike, Smith; Canouse, Djeffal, Durkin; Robertha, Kamara
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Jimenez, Cascante, Gabrielsen, Kolmanic; Ring, Pereira; Finlay, Driussi, Fagundez; Urruti
We say: DC United 0-1 Austin FC
DC United will be severely lacking in confidence following their consecutive defeats, while Austin have enjoyed an impressive start, and we predict an away victory as a result.
Sam Varley
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 DC United win with a probability of 50.04%. A win for Austin FC had a probability of 25.54% and a draw had a probability of 24.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a DC United win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.44%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.57%) and 2-0 (8.63%). The likeliest Austin FC win was 0-1 (7.01%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.58%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 2% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that Austin FC would win this match.
