In-form Los Angeles FC travel to the Q2 Stadium for their meeting against Austin FC on Thursday in search of a third consecutive victory.
On the other hand, the home side are also in need of a win albeit for different reasons as they aim to avoid a fourth defeat on the bounce.
Match preview
© Reuters
Los Angeles FC claimed a second home win on the spin following a 3-2 triumph over Real Salt Lake at the Banc of California Stadium on Monday.
Cristian Arango gave his side the lead on two different occasions, but they were pegged back by first Damir Kreilach and then Anderson Julio, before Toni Datkovic put the ball past his own goalkeeper just shy of the hour mark to settle the game.
Following no wins in eight games from mid-July to August, Bob Bradley's men have picked up maximum points from their two outings in September.
As a result, the Black and Gold are now level on points with their most recent opponents in the race for the last playoff spot as the regular season enters into its final third.
Thursday's visitors, who have come out on top in both of the previous two clashes against the hosts, will fancy themselves to keep the juggernaut rolling with all three points in this one.
© Reuters
Austin FC were thoroughly outclassed in a 3-0 victory for Houston Dynamo on Sunday when the teams went head-to-head at the BBVA Compass Stadium.
Josh Wolff's men found themselves behind in next to no time courtesy of Griffin Dorsey's first-minute opener, before two further goals from Fafa Picault put the result beyond doubt.
The Texas-based side have now dropped to the bottom of the Western Conference standings with only Toronto FC in the entire MLS picking up fewer points this term.
With little left to play for, Thursday's hosts now aim to brighten the mood on home turf where they have recorded 11 of their 19 points so far.
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- D
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Both teams come into the contest without the services of several squad members due to injury and will have to make do with the absence of those players.
Aaron Schoenfeld and Ulises Segura both miss out through knee injuries, while Ben Sweat is not expected in action anytime soon as he continues to recover from a cruciate ligament rupture.
Danny Hoesen is also unavailable for the game due to a hip problem, and he is joined on the sidelines by 34-year-old defender Matt Besler.
Carlos Vela has sat out each of Los Angeles' last three games with a hamstring problem, but he could make his return to action in this one.
Other injured players for the away side are Kwadwo Opoku (Knee), Eddie Segura (Cruciate Ligament), Julian Gaines (Pelvic) and Alvaro Quezada (Chest).
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Lima, Besler, Cascante, Jimenez; Ring, Fagundez; Gallagher, Driussi, Pochettino; Dominguez
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
Romero; Ibeagha, Murillo, Fall, Farfan; Blessing, Ginella, Atuesta, Edwards; Jennings, Musovski
We say: Austin FC 1-3 Los Angeles FC
Austin are on a rough patch at the moment and in need of a huge lift. Meanwhile, Los Angeles FC seem to have turned a corner in recent weeks and will be confident of emerging victorious. We are tipping the away side to carry the day and claim a relatively comfortable triumph.
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 Los Angeles FC win with a probability of 49.4%. A win for Austin FC had a probability of 28.11% and a draw had a probability of 22.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Los Angeles FC win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.38%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.29%) and 0-2 (6.85%). The likeliest Austin FC win was 2-1 (6.85%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 9.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-2 win for Los Angeles FC in this match.
