Nashville SC are hoping to start another lengthy unbeaten run on Sunday when they host DC United from Nissan Stadium.
The Black-and-Gold went nine games without a defeat before dropping a 2-1 decision last week to Inter Miami, while DC have won three of their previous four fixtures, including a 2-1 win over CF Montreal.
Match preview
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The second-newest team in MLS have found ways to get results all season long, but last weekend was not one of their finest moments as Inter Miami dominated them with Nashville letting a point slip away, conceding a goal in injury time in South Beach.
Gary Smith could not have been pleased with the defensive effort they put forth last Sunday, allowing the second-lowest scoring side in the league nine shots on target just a few days after holding the highest-scoring team, the New England Revolution, scoreless for only the second time this year.
Nashville put on several impressive defensive displays before their defeat last week, allowing only two goals in five straight games, maintaining three clean sheets.
Smith will usually go with a back three playing in behind their five midfielders, who have done a terrific job most of the year when it comes to limiting any dangerous counters their opponents might try.
Currently sitting in fifth in the Eastern Conference, Nashville have the fewest defeats of anyone in MLS (two), but they also lead the league in draws (10), so while it is always good to come away from a game with points, finding an extra gear in clutch situations could make this season even more successful for them.
It has to be frustrating for fans to see them play so well against the top teams, like the Revs but then inexplicably drop points to beatable sides like Atlanta, Toronto and the Herons.
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One side on the rise in Major League Soccer at the moment has to be DC United, who put together two dominating performances last week, beating the Columbus Crew (4-2) and then following that up with a strong showing versus Montreal where they fired eight shots on target.
They began the month of July with an emphatic 7-1 win over Toronto, which seems to have been a turning point for Hernan Losada and company, who have only suffered one defeat in their last six matches, going unbeaten in five straight.
Their high pressure has paid off as they are finding the back of the net a lot more frequently, and as a result, DC are in a playoff position, currently in sixth in the Eastern Conference with 27 points.
The Black-and-Red are unbeaten in their last three games away from home, scoring six goals in that span, and if they want to remain in the top seven, they need to keep earning points on the road as they follow up their match in the music city with a visit to New England three days later.
Three of their next four fixtures are against teams currently in a playoff position in the Eastern Conference, so Losada will know that his team need to maintain that same intensity which they have shown recently, as DC are only three points above the playoff line.
They need to be better against the top teams at the moment, having lost six of their eight fixtures versus sides who are currently in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
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Team News
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Nashville are still missing Walker Zimmerman with a right hamstring problem, and Alistair Johnston is questionable with a right ankle injury.
Joe Willis made a career-tying high seven saves in their loss to Miami, Hany Mukhtar notched a career-high fifth assist of the season and Anibal Godoy made his first start since June 26 after recovering from an injury suffered at the Gold Cup with Panama.
CJ Sapong scored his sixth goal of this campaign last week and is second on the team in that category, while David Romney continued his streak of minutes played with 1,620 as he remains the only player in franchise history to play in every single minute of all of their games.
DC United claimed forward Ramon Abila off waivers from Minnesota United, where he was loaned to from Boca Juniors before being waived by the Loons earlier this week.
Erik Sorga has been loaned out to VVV-Venlo in the Erste Divisie, the second-tier of Dutch football, Ola Kamara is second in the Golden Boot race with 10 goals and Julian Gressel is starting to make an impact in the middle of the pitch, currently third in MLS in key passes and second in expected assists.
Edison Flores and Bill Hamid have hamstring issues, Brendan Hines-Ike is out with a hip injury, Adrien Perez is nursing a foot problem, Russell Canouse has an ankle injury and Nigel Robertha has yet to recover from a groin strain.
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Romney, Washington, Lovitz; LaGrassa, McCarty, Anunga, Leal, Muyl; Sapong, Mukhtar
DC United possible starting lineup:
Kempin; Birnbaum, Brillant, Alfaro; Gressel, Moreno, Martins, Mora; Arriola, Kamara, Paredes
We say: Nashville SC 2-0 DC United
In their previous defeat this year, Nashville responded well, scoring three goals to beat Toronto, and they have been clinical in front of goal at home, scoring 11 times in their last four matches played at Nissan Stadium.
The Black-and-Red have only won two games on the road this year and have failed to score on three occasions, so as good as they have been lately, they are facing a side that always seem to find a way to avoid losing.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
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 Nashville SC win with a probability of 55.44%. A draw had a probability of 24.4% and a win for DC United had a probability of 20.17%.
The most likely scoreline for a Nashville SC win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.92%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.72%) and 2-1 (9.58%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.54%), while for a DC United win it was 0-1 (6.96%). The actual scoreline of 5-2 was predicted with a 0.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Nashville SC would win this match.
