Minnesota United vs. St. Louis City
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Allianz Field
Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: KSTP-AM, 1500
Weather: 47 degrees, cloudy, 12 mph southeast wind
Betting line: MNUFC minus-175; draw plus-310; St. Louis plus-450
Form: A lackluster MNUFC (6-4-3, 22 points) failed to produce a three-game winning streak in its third attempt of the season on Wednesday, falling 2-0 to 12th-place Houston. Sitting in 14th with 11 points, St. Louis (2-6-5) was booed at home after giving up a two-goal lead in the second half of a 2-2 draw with rival Kansas City midweek.
Recent matchups: Minnesota is 3-1-0 against St. Louis since they joined MLS in 2023, including 4-1 and 3-1 wins last season.
View: Eric Ramsay has put himself under the microscope. The second-year head coach’s drastic decision to make eight changes to the starting XI at Houston backfired, creating a necessity to get back on track — using more of a first-choice lineup — and getting a home win against a bottom-tier side.
Stat: MNUFC has made a bad habit of dropping points to downtrodden opponents. Besides the loss at Houston, the Loons have dropped two points in draws against L.A. Galaxy (15th in West), Kansas City (13th in West), Toronto (14th in East) and Dallas (10th in West).
Absences: Joseph Rosales (suspended) and Kipp Keller (hamstring) are out. Owen Gene (ankle) and Anthony Markanich are questionable.
Projected XI: In a 5-3-2 formation: FW Tani Oluwaseyi, FW Kelvin Yeboah; MF Joaquin Pereyra, MF Robin Lod, MF Wil Trapp; LWB Anthony Markanich, CB Nico Romero, CB Michael Boxall, CB Carlos Harvey, RWB Bongi Hlongwane; GK Dayne St. Clair.
Comparison: Both teams are dealing with scuffling strikers. Kelvin Yeboah hasn’t scored since March, a lull of seven matches that also came with an ankle injury. Joao Klauss hasn’t found the net in five straight MLS games, but the Brazilian did convert in the U.S. Open Cup two weeks ago.
Prediction: The Loons have bounced back from each of this season’s previous two losses with a win. For as inconsistent as they have been against struggling teams, they will stay true to that part of their form. Loons victorious at 2-0.
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