There will be plenty at stake on Saturday when the Colorado Rapids travel to Children's Mercy Park to face Sporting Kansas City.
The Wizards can move into a tie for first in the Western Conference with the Seattle Sounders with a victory, and the Burgundy Boys have a chance to leapfrog KC and move into second with a win.
Match preview
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This month, a string of poor results has seen KC drop to second in the Western Conference standings, following an undisciplined 0-0 draw with Minnesota United last weekend.
This club may still be suffering from the psychological effects of a lopsided 6-1 defeat to Leon in the Leagues Cup earlier this month as they have been far less potent in front of goal, scoring only once in their last two outings.
It has been a very demanding summer for Peter Vermes and his team as their seven-day break in between their last match and this one is the longest rest they have had in between games since having 17 days off in between their Independence Day triumph to their 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes.
This team are a perfect example of how patience at the development stage can pay off in the long run, with their Academy products accounting for 18 of their 36 goals this year and 12 of their 34 assists.
Finding the back of the net on their home ground seems to come quite easily, having scored in a club-record 25 straight regular-season matches played at Children's Mercy Park.
They have been down many times during this campaign but rarely out, earning 18 points and five wins from losing positions in 2021, the most in MLS.
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Colorado have emerged as a dark horse team in the Western Conference, but given their recent form they could soon be a contending team.
Fresh off a 2-1 over their league rivals Real Salt Lake, this team have won three in a row and are in a prime position to move to the top of the table, trailing the Seattle Sounders by five points, but with two games in hand on the teams above them (Seattle and KC).
Robin Fraser has seen his side step up with seven goals on their current winning streak, all coming from a different player.
There are no standout superstars on this team who are lighting it up statistically, but collectively they are one of the more formidable sides in the league.
This team have come a long way since a ninth-place finish in 2019 and have an excellent opportunity to do something special this season.
While they are only just emerging as an elite team over the past couple of years, they have certainly not shown any fear against the top sides in their conference, holding KC to zero shots on target in their last meeting this month while also drawing the Sounders and defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy.
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Team News
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KC striker Alan Pulido has tallied eight goals, and three assists in only 12 starts this season, while his usual partner in attack Daniel Salloi leads the league in combined goals, scoring eight times and collecting another six assists.
Remi Walter will be suspended following his red card against the Loons last weekend, and he will be joined on the sidelines by Jaylin Lindsey and Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, who both have hamstring issues, while Felipe Hernandez remains out due to personal reasons.
Roger Espinoza and Luis Martins are the only KC players to feature in every match this season, while goalkeeper Tim Melia has picked up three shutouts in his last four fixtures and is third in MLS when it comes to goals-against average at 0.88.
Lucas Esteves is still awaiting his first appearance for the Rapids since joining the club on loan from Palmeiras, while newcomer Mark-Anthony Kaye scored the game-winner last Saturday in their Rocky Mountain Cup tie, his first for his new club.
Younes Namli is the only injury concern for Fraser at the moment as he is still suffering from an undisclosed issue.
Braian Galvan earned his first assist of the season last week, Diego Rubio scored his fourth goal of the year and Jack Price picked up his seventh assist and his 27th for the Rapids, tying Omar Cummings for the fourth-most all-time in team history.
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Melia; Martins, Fontas, llie, Zusi; Espinoza, Shelton, Kinda; Pulido, Salloi, Russell
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Abubakar, Wilson, Trusty; Galvan, Price, Acosta, Bassett; Barrios, Rubio, Kaye
We say: Sporting Kansas City 1-2 Colorado Rapids
Kansas City have shown some small glimpses of inconsistency of late, and although it is not something to be overly concerned about, they have been uncharacteristically poor at home lately with just one win in their last five matches in all competitions.
The Rapids have shown a lot of resilience since an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to their rivals Real Salt Lake and are unbeaten in their previous three road fixtures.
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 Sporting Kansas City win with a probability of 53.67%. A draw had a probability of 23.2% and a win for Colorado Rapids had a probability of 23.13%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sporting Kansas City win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.97%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.8%) and 2-0 (8.93%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.93%), while for a Colorado Rapids win it was 0-1 (6.1%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10.9% likelihood.
