Burkina Faso
Czech Republic
Indonesia
Lithuania
Montenegro
Nigeria
North Macedonia

Preview: Colorado Rapids vs. St Louis City - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 20 April 2023, 03:03
Fresh off its two-game road trip, the Colorado Rapids return to Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City on Saturday to face St Louis City.

The Rapids are unbeaten in their last four domestic affairs, salvaging a 2-2 draw at Charlotte FC, while St Louis handed FC Cincinnati its first defeat of the MLS campaign, ending a two-match losing run in the process with a convincing 5-1 triumph.

Match preview

It may not be the prettiest football to watch, but Colorado have been giving themselves a chance with its defensive approach all year, earning four points from a losing position this season, moving them to within a single point of a wildcard berth in the Western Conference.

They can thank Charlotte goalkeeper George Marks for their recent draw as he spilt a routine through ball in stoppage time to give the Burgundy Boys an easy equaliser, helping Colorado match their longest unbeaten run from the 2022 campaign.

Since Robin Fraser took charge of this squad, they have been known to be strong on set-pieces, but the Rapids have surprisingly scored all of their goals so far this season from open play.

Colorado have been underperforming when it comes to expected goals throughout the season, but its defensive structure has come a long way, with the Rapids conceding a goal or fewer in five of eight fixtures, including three clean sheets.

So far this year, the Burgundy Boys have stopped the opposition from scoring a first-half goal in six of eight contests, second only to Nashville SC (seven) and New York City FC (seven).

Their form at home down the stretch of 2022 kept them in playoff contention, failing to lose their final eight matches played at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, however, they have been unable to maintain that momentum this season, currently on its longest home winless run since 2020 (three).

Following a pair of shutout losses, the darlings of Major League Soccer made a massive statement last weekend, moving back into first overall, one point above the reigning champions Los Angeles FC.

Throughout their inaugural campaign, Bradley Carnell has almost always pushed the right buttons to get this team going, with St Louis scoring at least three goals in five of its first eight matches, becoming just the third team in league history to accomplish that feat, alongside the 2018 New York Red Bulls (six) and the 1998 Los Angeles Galaxy (five).

The South African coach has put together a solid foundation with this roster, employing simple tactics such as holding a tight defensive line and putting their opponents on their heels when in possession, both of which have worked wonders through much of the early portion of the season.

They have feasted off turnovers while showing plenty of cohesion and poise, despite the fact that there was not much MLS experience within this group heading into its inaugural campaign.

The numbers for St Louis this season speak for themselves, first in goals scored (20), points (18), wins (six) and goal differential (+11) as across the board, this team have shown they are for real.

St Louis have won every match this year when scoring first and hold a 100% record when leading in the second half, another reason why they are currently leading the Supporters' Shield standings.

Those 18 points accumulated thus far are a record for an expansion franchise at this stage of the competition, as this group are relishing the fact that many had written them off at the beginning of the year, while those players who were let go by their previous MLS clubs have used that rejection to prove others wrong.

Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer form:

L

L

D

D

W

D

St Louis City Major League Soccer form:

W

W

W

L

L

W

Team News

Andreas Maxso missed the previous match for Colorado with a concussion, Braian Galvan sat out because of a groin strain, Dantouma Toure has a sore right knee, Jack Price will not return this season after tearing his Achilles, Moise Bombito is not expected to return from his knee injury until early May, while Cole Bassett left their last game due to tightness in his hamstring.

Max and Michael Barrios each netted their first of the season last weekend, helping them earn a result in Charlotte, Sam Nicholson delivered his 10th career assist in MLS, eight of which have come with the Rapids and Diego Rubio collected his 23rd assist as a member of the Burgundy Boys, drawing even with Marcelo Balboa for eighth all-time in club history.

Keegan Rosenberry picked up his 120th start in Burgundy colours last week, surpassing Paul Bravo for the second-most all-time for this club and Jonathan Lewis hit the century mark regarding appearances with Colorado.

Njabulo Blom missed the previous match for St Louis because of a groin strain, and Joakim Nilsson sat out once again with a knee injury.

Klauss set up their opening goal versus Cincy, moving him up to eight goal contributions this year, good for second in the league alongside Daniel Gazdag of the Philadelphia Union, Jordan Morris of the Seattle Sounders and LAFC's Denis Bouanga.

Jared Stroud scored three minutes in their match last weekend, making it the fastest goal in franchise history, while also tying his career high for goal contributions in a single game (two), with the other strikes coming courtesy of Eduard Lowen, Kyle Hiebert, Nicholas Gioacchini along with an own-goal from Roman Celentano.

Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:

Yarbrough; Rosenberry, Abubakar, Wilson; Beitashour, Ronan, Acosta, Nicholson; Barrios, Max; Rubio

St Louis City possible starting lineup:

Burki; Nerwinski, Parker, Hiebert, Nelson; Alm, Vassilev, Lowen, Stroud; Klauss, Gioacchini

We say: Colorado Rapids 1-2 St Louis City

The Rapids have some solid chemistry along the backline and should make it difficult for St Louis to find many openings, however, this expansion team have been relentless in the press throughout the campaign and made the most out of its half chances, something which we believe will tip the scales in their favour.

How to watch

You can watch Colorado Rapids vs. St Louis City and every MLS match this season live on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Previews by email

Top News

13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Championship title hopefuls Leeds United will be looking to maintain their position at the top of the table when they travel to Loftus Road to face Queens Park Rangers on Saturday lunchtime. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League courtesy of a 4-1 victory over 10-man Real Sociedad in the second leg of their last-16 contest in the competition on Thursday night. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick and made Europa League history as Manchester United came from behind to beat Real Sociedad 4-1. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea maintained their flawless record in the Conference League as they defeated Copenhagen 1-0 on Thursday, sealing a 3-1 aggregate victory and booking their place in the quarter-finals. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of ending a 17-year trophy drought remain alive thanks to a 3-1 win over AZ Alkmaar in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie, which sealed a 3-2 aggregate victory. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides looking to move further clear of the Turkish Super Lig relegation zone go head-to-head on Saturday as Kasimpasa welcome Alanyaspor to the Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two teams looking to bounce back from defeats meet on Saturday as Istanbul Basaksehir host Trabzonspor at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Off the back of a narrow loss to Inter Miami in their last league outing, Charlotte FC will host FC Cincinnati in their latest MLS fixture at the Bank of America Stadium on Saturday evening. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides at opposite ends of the Turkish Super Lig table will go head-to-head as Konyaspor welcome Besiktas to the Torku Arena. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Gaziantep will be looking to secure three successive victories for the first time this season when they welcome relegation-threatened Kayserispor to Gaziantep Stadium on Saturday. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Sporting Kansas City will be looking to snap their run of five defeats from their opening five games when they play host to Minnesota United at Children's Mercy Park on Sunday morning. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton welcome West Ham United to Goodison Park for a bottom-half Premier League contest on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Brentford boss Thomas Frank has revealed that Fabio Carvalho faces an uphill battle to play again this season. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has named Ayden Heaven in his starting side for Thursday's Europa League last-16 second leg with Real Sociedad. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Mauricio Pochettino has told talkSPORT he dreams of returning to Tottenham one day. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea and Copenhagen have confirmed their starting lineups for Thursday's Conference League fixture at Stamford Bridge. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany believes Pep Guardiola's side will need to score at least two goals if they wish to beat Brighton & Hove Albion in Saturday's Premier League contest at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Santos president Marcelo Teixeira is hopeful that the club will be able to sign Neymar to a fresh contract. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Erling Haaland will attempt to set a fresh Premier League record when Manchester City welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Former Premier League striker Jermain Defoe has exclusively told Sports Mole he does not believe that Darwin Nunez can rescue his career at Liverpool. 13 March 2025 talksport.com Real Sociedad midfielder Arsen Zakharyan is reportedly unavailable for their second leg clash Manchester United due to visa issues. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly reignited their interest in Lille forward Jonathan David. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid have confirmed that Ferland Mendy is facing a spell on the sidelines with the muscular problem that he picked up during Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg against Atletico Madrid. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk West Ham United could be without up to four players for Saturday's Premier League clash with Everton at Goodison Park. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton are set to be without five players for Saturday's Premier League clash with West Ham United at Goodison Park. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk UEFA have revealed that they will "enter discussions" with FIFA and IFAB over a potential rule change following Julian Alvarez's controversial spot-kick in Wednesday's Champions League clash between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton manager David Moyes will renew acquaintances with one of his former clubs West Ham United when they do battle at Goodison Park in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Brighton & Hove Albion could be without up to seven players for Saturday's Premier League clash with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City will be without at least four players for Saturday's Premier League clash Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium. 13 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Valencia's battle to stay out of the La Liga relegation zone will continue on Saturday night, when they head to Estadi Montilivi to tackle a Girona outfit that are without a victory since the start of February.