Eastern Conference outfit Charlotte FC travel to Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Sunday, when they will face Colorado Rapids, who currently sit 10th in the Western Conference.
Both sides are looking to bounce back from defeats in the league, while they have recorded similar starts to the campaign with Charlotte collecting nine points and Colorado picking up eight points so far.
Match preview
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The Rapids will be pleased to be back on home soil this weekend, after consecutive 3-1 losses on their travels, the most recent defeat coming against Minnesota United last weekend.
Diego Rubio ensured that Colorado went into half time level on Sunday, after a first half that saw four Rapids players go into the referee's book, but a two-minute period of a lapse in concentration allowed Minnesota to go back in front 10 minutes from time.
Robin Fraser's side have now gone over a month without a win, but they are unbeaten at home from their opening three matches at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, meaning that this weekend could be a good opportunity to get back on track.
Sunday's hosts will have to tighten up defensively, having conceded 11 goals in seven matches so far, but Charlotte do not have a good away record which should fall in favour of Colorado this weekend.
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The visitors have played four matches away from home so far, losing all four including their last domestic outing on Sunday, when they travelled to face New England Revolution and came away with a 2-1 defeat.
Charlotte dominated possession of the ball and created near enough as many chances as New England, but they allowed the home side into their own 18-yard box on too many occasions which proved costly in the end.
Miguel Angel Ramirez's side are yet to draw a game in the MLS, with tight margins either falling their way or to their opposition, but with a poor away record so far, perhaps Charlotte should look to prioritise not getting beaten this weekend.
Charlotte enter this clash having had less rest than the Rapids, after travelling to Greenville Triumph in the Open Cup on Wednesday, when they secured a 2-1 win but only thanks to an extra-time strike from Harrison Afful.
This encounter is in the middle of a busy schedule for Ramirez's side, who are playing their third away game in a row out of four, as they are away from home next weekend also, putting even more emphasis on the importance of turning around their away form.
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Team News
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Aboubacar Keita and Braian Galvan will remain sidelined for Colorado as they continue to recover from long-term cruciate ligament injuries, that are expected to rule them out until October at the earliest.
Experienced centre-back Drew Moor made his first start of the season last time out, coming into the side in place of Danny Wilson, but Auston Trusty and Lalas Abubakar are certain to start in the back three.
Despite his side recording consecutive defeats, Rubio has remained an attacking threat having netted twice in the last two games, and he is sure to continue to lead the line with support coming from Andre Shinyashiki and Michael Barrios.
Charlotte also have some injury concerns to deal with, including Chris Hegardt, Kamil Jozwiak and Vinicius Mello, who will all continue to be absent for the visitors, with the latter duo still awaiting their debuts for the club.
The visitors are likely to set up in a 4-1-3-2 formation, and the forward five are expected to be unchanged from last weekend, meaning that Daniel Rios and Karol Swiderski will continue to lead the line, with Alan Franco, Jordy Alcivar and Ben Bender operating behind the strike duo.
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Trusty, Moor, Abubakar; Esteves, Kaye, Price, Rosenberry; Shinyashiki, Barrios; Rubio
Charlotte FC possible starting lineup:
Kahlina; Fuchs, Makoun, Corujo, Lindsey; Bronico; Bender, Alcivar, Franco; Rios, Swiderski
We say: Colorado Rapids 1-1 Charlotte FC
The Rapids will be pleased to be back on home soil but their confidence must have been knocked after four games without a win, which is why they may not have enough to claim three points in this encounter.
Charlotte are expected to be fatigued after a midweek match, but they should have learned after four away losses in the league how to avoid defeat this time around.
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 Colorado Rapids win with a probability of 66.7%. A draw had a probability of 20.2% and a win for Charlotte FC had a probability of 13.08%.
The most likely scoreline for a Colorado Rapids win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.77%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (12.76%) and 2-1 (9.59%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.59%), while for a Charlotte FC win it was 0-1 (4.79%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 6.4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
