Minnesota United vs. Austin FC
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Q2 Stadium, Austin
Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: KSTP-AM, 1500
Weather: 61 degrees, sunny, 5 mph east wind
Betting line: Austin plus-145; draw plus-230; MNUFC plus-175
Form: Minnesota (4-2-4, 16 points) lost 3-1 to first-place Vancouver on Sunday, meaning the two scoreless draws before the defeat put Loons’ winless run at three consecutive. The last three for Austin (5-1-4, 16 points) are: defeat to Vancouver (5-1), win over last-place L.A. Galaxy (2-1) and loss to Houston (2-0) on Saturday.
Recent matchups: Loons won 2-1 in Texas in the 2024 season opener; Austin then won 1-0 at Allianz Field in August. Austin is 5-0-4 in MLS vs. Minnesota.
Quote: “I don’t want to overreact and make a catastrophe out of one performance,” head coach Eric Ramsay said about the Whitecaps defeat. “We looked at that game as the end of a 10-game block and we sort of chunked the season up that way. Had someone said at the beginning that we would lose two of 10 games, we would have 16 points and we would have the basis of a really competitive team, I would be really happy with where we were.”
Update: New signing Julian Gressel is fit enough to be available in the game-day roster against Austin. Ramsay hasn’t said whether the projected right wing-back or right midfielder might start or come off the bench in Texas.
Absences: Hassani Dotson (knee), Owen Gene (ankle), Kipp Keller (hamstring) are out. Kelvin Yeboah (ankle) is questionable after subbing out against Vancouver.
Projected XI: In a 5-3-2 formation, FW Tani Oluwaseyi, FW Kelvin Yeboah; MF Joaquin Pereyra, MF Robin Lod, MF Wil Trapp; LWB Joseph Rosales, CB Nicholas Romero, CB Michael Boxall, CB Jefferson Diaz, RWB Bongi Hlongwane; GK Dayne St. Clair.
Expectation: Rosales plays against Austin after he denied saying a slur to Vancouver’s Emmanuel Sabbi last weekend. The Loons are letting the MLS investigation play out, but as they await a conclusion, the Honduran will remain a part of the lineup.
Scouting report: Austin spend huge sums of money to bring in three attackers — Brandon Vazquez, Myrto Uzuni and Osman Bukari. They have a combined four goals scored and a total of 9.3 expected goals, according to FBref.com. Loons defense was cut open a few times by Vancouver and this expensive trio has shown they can get in threatening spaces, if not convert enough times.
Stats: Austin is tied for second-fewest goals scored (seven) in MLS this season, but they have been stingy in goals conceded (10).
Another quote: “They have plenty for you to worry about,” Ramsay said of Verde. “As a consequence of Sunday, we have to look at ourselves and make sure we are a really good version of ourselves and we have a strong focus on what we can do.”
Prediction: It feels like the Loons are in a rut and Austin is a team capable of keeping them down. Austin win, 1-0.
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