When St. Louis City and Minnesota United square off at CityPark in the Major League Soccer (MLS) on Saturday, the teams aim to win three straight at home.
The Black and Blue aim to close the gap on the automatic playoff spots to two points and win back-to-back games for the first time since May as they approach the weekend.
For the first time since October 2023, St. Louis City was unable to win back-to-back Major League Soccer games as they were only able to draw 2-2 with New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium last weekend.
Following a goal by Henry Kessler in the 23rd minute to take the lead, the New England Revolution raised the stakes with goals from Luca Langoni and Carles Gil to completely change the course of play. However, Simon Becher’s goal in the 73rd minute gave the visitors a hard-earned point.
This came after a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy at CityPark on September 1, during which goals from Marcel Hartel and Cedric Teuchert either side of the half-time break ended the Missouri team’s five-game league losing streak.
John Hackworth, the interim coach, will be impressed, though
by his side’s spirited display against the Revs, they now find themselves eight points adrift of the Western Conference play-in places with a little over one month of the regular season left.
St Louis have picked up just five wins from their 28 MLS matches while losing 10 and claiming 13 draws to collect 28 points and sit 13th in the conference standings, level on points with 12th-placed Sporting Kansas City
However, when Minnesota United defeated San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 at PayPal Park in their most recent game, they gained three crucial points in their quest for post-season football.
Three minutes following the half-hour mark, Ousseni Bouda equalised Bongokuhle Hlongwane’s opening goal from the ninth minute, bringing San Jose to within one. However, Hlongwane scored his second goal of the match in the 63rd minute, propelling the Black and Blue to victory.
With a close 3-2 loss to the Seattle Sounders in between the two wins, Minnesota has now won two of their last three league games. Prior to this run, the team had only two points from the previous nine games.
Eric Ramsay’s team is now in ninth place in the Western Conference standings with 36 points from 27 games, two points ahead of Dallas in 10th place, just outside of the play-in spots, and five points behind Houston Dynamo in the coveted seventh place.
Minnesota, who has only won once in their previous nine games across all competitions, has had difficulty making an impression away from home. Despite this, the team will be hoping to win back-to-back games for the first time since May.
Joakim Nilsson and Czech midfielder Tomas Ostrak will not be playing for St. Louis City because they are both out with hamstring and ankle injuries, respectively.
Cwlio Pompeu, a 24-year-old Brazilian midfielder, has not played in a game since leaving in June due to a foot injury. He will not play in Saturday’s match.
Becher, a 25-year-old who moved from Horsen in July, has settled in well at St. Louis. Having scored four goals in his first five games, he should once again spearhead the offence for the home team.
Along with summer addition Kelvin Yeboah, Hlongwane, a South African international, should spearhead Minnesota’s attack. With his brace against San Jose, he now has 13 goal contributions in the league.
Ramsay should continue to play with the back five of Sang-bin Jeong, Jefferson Diaz, Michael Boxall, Miguel Tapias, and Joseph Rosales at the defensive end of the pitch. Robin Lod, Wil Trapp, and Hassani Dotson should continue to play in the middle of the pitch.
Burki, Totland, Kessler, Hiebert, Reid; Durkin, Lowen; Thorisson, Teuchert, Hartel; Becher could be the starting lineup for St. Louis City.
Possible starting lineup for Minnesota United: Lod, Trapp, Dotson; Yeboah, Hlongwan; St. Clair; Jeong, Diaz, Boxall, Tapias, Rosales
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