Preview: Colorado Rapids vs. Austin FC - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts have won just one of their last 11 matches, while the away side are without a win in 11 straight matches across all competitions.

Match preview

Colorado Rapids ended a two-game losing streak by playing out a 2-2 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps when the teams faced off on Thursday.

Chris Little's men fell behind to Mathias Laborda's opener but managed to turn things around through strikes from Diego Rubio and Cole Bassett before Brian White levelled matters 12 minutes from time.

The Pids remain rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference of the MLS table heading into the final four matches of the regular season.

Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have held their own in this fixture having won two, lost two and drawn two of the six previous editions.

Unbeaten in all but one of their last six home matches, Sunday's visitors have proven themselves to be a tough nut to crack in front of their fans.

Austin FC had to settle for a point from a second consecutive game following a thrilling 3-3 draw against Los Angeles Galaxy at the Q2 Stadium on Monday.

Josh Wolff's men opened the scoring through Alexander Ring but conceded a late first-half penalty to Riqui Puig before regaining control of the game thanks to strikes from Ethan Finlay and Emiliano Rigoni, only for Dejan Joveljic and Michael Barrios to even matters with goals in the final five minutes.

With 35 points picked up from 30 matches, Los Verdes sit 12th in the Western Conference standings but remain within five points of playoff contention.

Having let in the second-most goals away from home this term, Sunday's visitors will need to keep things tight at the back to stand any chance of coming away with a positive result.

Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer form:

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Austin FC Major League Soccer form:

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Team News

American duo Aboubacar Keita and William Yarbrough are both sidelined for Colorado Rapids through injury but the latter is not far off returning to action.

Jack Price and Alex Gersbach are both guaranteed absentees for the hosts as they continue to nurse achilles and knee injuries respectively.

Thirty-year-old Diego Rubio has found the back of the net in consecutive matches and will be looking to come up with the goods once again.

Austin's Zan Kolmanic has not featured since the second week of April due to long-term knee problem which will keep him out of this weekend's clash.

Gyasi Zardes's availability for the away side remains in the balance after the forward recently sustained a torn muscle in his second-half cameo against New York Red Bulls one week ago.

Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:

Ilic; Rosenberry, Maxso, Wilson, Bombito; Ronan, Bassett; Cabral, Rubio, Galvan; Navarro

Austin FC possible starting lineup:

Stuver; Lima, Cascante, Vaisanen, Gallagher; Driussi, Valencia, Pereira; Finlay, Ring, Rigoni

We say: Colorado Rapids 2-2 Austin FC

With two of the league's leakiest defences going head to head, we are expecting a highly-entertaining affair. That said, we can also see the teams cancelling each other out and having to make do with honours even in the end.

How to watch

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