Minnesota United at St. Louis City
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: City Park, St. Louis, Mo.
Stream: Apple TV Season Pass
Radio: KSTP-1500, ESPN
Weather: Partly cloudy, 77 degrees, 4 mph east wind
Betting line: MNUFC plus-225; draw plus-270; St. Louis plus-100
Form: MNUFC (10-11-6, 36 points) is coming off a road win against San Jose on Aug. 31 and were off during the international window last weekend. St. Louis (5-10-13, 28 points) fired coach Bradley Carnell on July 1 after a bad start to Year 2, but have been playing better lately with five points in the last three matches.
History: Expansion side St. Louis was a perfect 5-0 last season when the Loons handed them their first loss. Luis Amarilla scored on a penalty kick for a 1-0 road win in April. En route to winning the Western Conference, St. Louis then beat the Loons 2-1 in St. Paul last September.
Update: All seven of the Loons’ international players trained Friday, but two have issues that might affect their availability for Saturday. Canadian forward Tani Oluwaseyi suffered a slight knee injury in the U.S. friendly Saturday and while he subbed in against Mexico on Tuesday, the knock might limit him this weekend. Wingback/midfielder Joseph Rosales played 180 minutes for Honduras across Friday and Tuesday and might be rested or come of the bench this weekend.
Storyline: United has six games in the next 22 days and are clinging to the ninth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Loons are the healthiest and deepest they have been all season. It’s go time.
Look-ahead: Loons head coach Eric Ramsay plugged Kelvin Yeboah into the starting lineup against Seattle on Aug. 24 and it led to two goals from the Designated Player. Ramsay looks poised to do it again with another DP, attacking midfielder Joaquin Pereyra.
Quote: “We want to get (Pereyra) in quickly,” Ramsay said. “… He’s someone that we brought in with being a difference maker in mind. The quicker he finds his way into our way of doing things and gets a good feel for the league, the better. We won’t be patient with Joaquin. We want him to come in and be one of our main men as soon as possible.”
Tidbit: If Rosales doesn’t play, Pereyra is a candidate to be the Loons’ set-piece taker. Pereyra did it with Atletico Tucuman in Argentina.
Scouting report: St. Louis is tied for fourth-most goals allowed this season with 53, including seven in the last three matches. Ramsay wants his forwards to be tethered to each other in unison. If the likes of Yeboah and Bongi Hlongwane are able to do that, it could produce breakthroughs for the Loons.
Prediction: St. Louis has been a .500 team at home (and winless on the road) so going to one of the better environments in MLS will be a challenge. A road draw is nothing to turn away from, but it doesn’t provide momentum going into a tough Cincinnati match at home Wednesday. Loons draw 2-2.
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