Colorado Rapids are looking to extend their unbeaten run to five games on Sunday when they host Real Salt Lake, and if they manage to do so that will be their longest string of results without defeat of the season.
Salt Lake also come into this fixture off the back of two victories, and claiming three points this weekend will reduce the current seven-point gap to Colorado, who sit just above them in fourth.
Match preview
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Robin Fraser's side have scored five goals in their last two games, which has helped them to a 3-1 win against Houston Dynamo and a 2-1 victory last time out against Los Angeles Galaxy.
Jonathan Lewis gave Colorado an early lead from 12 yards in their last outing, but the away side would have to wait until the 73rd minute for the winner, which came from substitute Andre Shinyashiki.
With two games in hand on Western Conference leaders Seattle Sounders, and only sitting five points behind them, Colorado will have top spot in their sights, but they must continue their unbeaten run to keep the pressure on the teams above them.
Colorado have put themselves in a promising position in the Western Conference and have one of their best ever chances of winning the league after coming runners-up in 2016.
Having played 18 games to date, the season has passed the halfway mark and Fraser's side have 16 more MLS games to secure their place in the national playoffs, and also charge for top spot in the West.
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Salt Lake won back-to-back games for the first time since the opening two fixtures of the MLS, putting them in good form heading into this top-seven clash with Colorado.
Justin Meram gave Salt Lake the perfect start at the Rio Tinto Stadium last time out against Houston, but the home side would end up needing a late winner from Anderson Julio to seal the three points two minutes from time.
Of the 27 points Freddy Juarez's side have earned this season, 19 of them have come on home turf at the Rio Tinto Stadium, meaning only eight points have been achieved on the road, suggesting that three points on Sunday is unlikely for Salt Lake.
These two sides met in Utah not so long ago when Salt Lake were emphatic winners at the end of July, courtesy of an own goal from William Yarbrough and strikes from Bobby Wood and Rubio Rubin, sealed the 3-0 win.
The previous three meetings between Colorado and Salt Lake have been full of goals, with the last three scorelines showing 3-0, 5-0 Colorado and 4-1 Salt Lake, and with both sides having been healthy scorers in front of goal this season, a similar narrative is likely to follow on Sunday.
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Team News
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Colorado winger Younes Namli has been sidelined since May 9 with a broken ankle, and he is going to be absent from Sunday's squad also, not expecting to return before the end of September.
Fraser tends to opt for a 3-4-2-1 formation and rotated the forward three over the last two games, with Diego Rubio, Michael Barrios and Shinyashiki all being replaced last time out by Lewis, Cole Bassett and Mark-Anthony Kaye in the attacking positions, but Kaye and Bassett did retain their starting 11 places, they just played in a deeper role.
Salt Lake goalkeeper David Ochoa is nearing a return to action as he recovers from a muscle injury, but Zac MacMath is expected to remain between the posts for the visitors on Sunday.
Left-back Andrew Brody is also in the physio room with a broken toe and is expected to return to fitness next month. Donny Toia is expected to start on the left side of defence on Sunday.
Toia coming into the starting lineup for Ashtone Morgan was the only change Juarez made from the Austin fixture to their last outing against Houston, and he is expected to name the same starting 11 to the team that picked up three points on Thursday.
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Wilson, Abubakar, Rosenberry; Trusty, Kaye, Price, Bassett; Shinyashiki, Barrios; Rubio
Real Salt Lake possible starting lineup:
MacMath; Toia, Datkovic, Silva, Herrera; Meram, Kreilach, Everton, Menendez; Rusnack, Wood
We say: Colorado Rapids 1-0 Real Salt Lake
Colorado have only lost once at home so far this campaign while Salt Lake have picked up just two wins on the road, suggesting that Colorado will have the upper hand on Sunday.
Three points for the hosts will open up a big gap between themselves and Salt Lake, and with a game in hand on their top-seven rivals, and they should use this motivation to beat Juarez's side this weekend.
Top tip
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 51.29%. A win for Real Salt Lake had a probability of 24.92% and a draw had a probability of 23.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Colorado Rapids win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.94%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.68%) and 2-0 (8.57%). The likeliest Real Salt Lake win was 0-1 (6.51%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.22%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Colorado Rapids would win this match.
