Two sides in need of a lift face off on Wednesday when New York Red Bulls make the journey to Lower.com Field for their meeting with Columbus Crew.
The hosts have lost seven of their last eight league outings, while the visitors are on a run of just one win from their most recent 10 games.
Match preview
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Columbus Crew suffered defeat for the fifth consecutive game away from home as they lost 1-0 to a rejuvenated Inter Miami side on Sunday.
Gonzalo Higuain broke the deadlock 15 minutes into the contest, and that was enough to put Caleb Porter's men to the sword in Fort Lauderdale.
With 27 points from 24 matches this term, the Crew have dropped to 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, four adrift of the last playoff spot.
The reigning champions now prepare to take on an opposing side who they have lost to in just one of the last six meetings between the teams.
However, that loss came in the most recent encounter on August 19, when Wednesday's hosts fell to a 1-0 defeat despite dominating proceedings for long spells of the match.
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New York Red Bulls had to settle for a point last time out following a 1-1 stalemate against DC United at the Red Bull Arena on Sunday.
Gerhard Struber's men took the lead early on through Dru Yearwood but were pegged back in the final minute of the first half courtesy of Ola Kamara's spot kick.
The Metro are one place and four points behind their next opponents, with both sides currently in a tearing hurry to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Tuesday's visitors, who have recorded only one triumph on the road all-season long, now seek to turn their fortunes around away from home.
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Team News
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Columbus Crew's trio of Perry Kitchen, Kevin Molino and Aidan Morris are sidelined with knee injuries and will not feature in this one.
The hosts will also take to the field without the services of 25-year-old midfielder Artur who is currently battling with a hernia problem.
Derrick Etienne and Pedro Santos are major doubts for the fixture after they were both forced off with injuries in the second half versus Inter Miami.
Aaron Long is the visitors' only absentee for the contest as he continues his long road to full recovery from an Achilles tendon injury.
John Tolkin scored the winner in the last meeting between Wednesday's opponents, and he will be looking to come up trumps for the New York Red Bulls once again.
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Room; Afful, Wormgoor, Williams, Valenzuela; Nagbe, Hairston, Zelarayan; Berry, Matan, Diaz
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Miguel; Edwards, Reyes, Nealis, Gutman; Tolkin, Davis, Yearwood; Clark, Carmona, Klimala
We say: Columbus Crew 1-1 New York Red Bulls
Both sides have struggled in recent weeks and will be low on confidence heading into this one, so we expect a nervy and cagey affair. We are also tipping a share of the spoils with the teams settling for a point apiece in the end.
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 Columbus Crew win with a probability of 42.44%. A win for New York Red Bulls had a probability of 32.67% and a draw had a probability of 24.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Columbus Crew win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.95%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.92%) and 2-0 (6.82%). The likeliest New York Red Bulls win was 1-2 (7.68%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.7%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Columbus Crew in this match.
