Minnesota United vs. Colorado Rapids
When: 8:30 p.m. (CT) Saturday
Where: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: KSTP-AM, 1500
Weather: 73 degrees, clear skies, 10 mph north wind
Betting line: MNUFC plus-125; draw plus-270; Colorado plus-125
Form: Third-place MNUFC (15-7-9, 54 points) have dropped two straight, including a 3-0 loss to Chicago last Saturday. Eighth-place Colorado (11-14-6, 39 points) has lost three of four, including a 3-1 defeat to FC Dallas last weekend.
Recent matchups: MNUFC suffered one of its biggest home letdowns of the season to the Rapids, a 2-1 loss on Aug. 10. After trading Djordje Mahailovic days earlier, Darren Yapi scored both goals for the road side.
Context: With only three regular-season matches left, Minnesota’s priority is to hold onto a top four spot in the Western Conference. With that comes home-field advantage in the best-of-three, first-round series.
Check-in: Former Loons forward Tani Oluwaseyi registered his first goal and first assist for Villarreal in Spain’s La Liga over the last week. His debut goal came on a decisive run into the box and tap-in finish against Sevilla on Tuesday.
Absences: CB Nico Romero (yellow-card suspension), FW Kelvin Yeboah (hamstring) and CB/MF Carlos Harvey (knee) are out.
Context: New forward Momo Dieng led MNUFC with 0.7 expected goals against Chicago, but none of his three shots were on frame. New attacking midfielder Dominik Fitz had a team-high 0.5 expected assists, per FBRef.com. That’s something to build on.
Projected starting lineup: FW Momo Dieng; AM Dominik Fitz, AM Robin Lod, CM Wil Trapp, CM Nector Triantis; LWB Anthony Markanich, CB Jefferson Diaz, CB Michael Boxall, CB Morris Duggan, RWB Bongi Hlongwane; GK Dayne St. Clair.
Scouting report: Colorado has conceded 11 goals across its last four (2.75 per match), but Minnesota has scored only five in its last four in all competitions (1.25 per match). The Rapids’ defense might be an elixir to what ails Minnesota in the post-Oluwaseyi era.
Stat: The Loons lead MLS with $4.9 million in General Allocation Money to spend on its roster. San Diego is second at $3.4 million and they were issued an additional $2.7 million as an expansion club. This money no longer expires.
Prediction: MNUFC is coming off its worst week of the season — primarily in the 2-1 loss to Austin in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal — and had a full week after the Chicago loss to forget about it. They will have a tough time — at altitude — proving they are still a top team in the West, but they get it done with a 2-1 win.
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