New England Revolution face off with St Louis City at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night keen to return to winning ways in front of their supporters in gameweek 30's MLS action.
A playoff spot is still attainable for the Revs who also have two outstanding games, but they must correct a wretched home form to give themselves a chance in the final stretch of the regular season.
Match preview
New England thought the hiatus had played in their favour when they resumed with a 5-0 thrashing of Montreal in late August after Leagues Cup action.
However, a 2-0 loss at Real Salt Lake last time out was an undoubted setback for Caleb Porter's men, who fell to a defeat against the third-placed side in the Western Conference.
The upshot of that defeat leaves the Revs third-bottom in the Eastern, although their standing does not tell the full story or rule them out of the post-season playoffs.
The hosts have accrued 26 points from 25 matches, seven shy of eighth-placed Toronto and five adrift of Atlanta in ninth, having played three games fewer than the former and two matches fewer than the side in ninth.
Finishing in the guaranteed top seven places may be out of the Revs' reach, but a spot in the wild-card round is attainable if a run of one victory in six is corrected as they enter the final nine matches of the regular season.
Although St Louis may also have a mathematical hope of ending in the coveted seven places which guarantee participation or sneaking in via eighth or ninth, those prospects are remote.
The Missouri outfit are nine points behind Minnesota (ninth) and 13 adrift of the trio of Seattle (eighth), Houston (seventh) and Portland (sixth) all locked on 40 points in the Western Conference.
With no outstanding matches and seven games to play in the regular season, interim boss John Hackworth may struggle to motivate his team for the rest of their season.
To their credit, four points have been accrued from an available six since MLS action resumed after Leagues Cup action, notching a draw in the exciting eight-goal thriller against Portland Timbers before getting the better of LA Galaxy (2-1) in their recent fixture.
Four points from six should read six from six had St Louis not blown a 2-0 and 4-2 lead against the Timbers, preventing them from securing two wins in their last three.
While Hackworth's men could extend their undefeated MLS run this weekend to four, it seems too little too late to have considerable effects on rising into the coveted spots in the table.
Team News
Tomas Chancalay's knee issue is anticipated to keep him out for a few more weeks while Brandon Bye (ankle) is not expected back until the start of next month.
The Revs will be missing Xavier Arreaga, Esmir Bajraktarevic, and Alhassan Yusuf due to their call-ups to the Ecuadorian, Bosnian, and Nigerian national teams for September's international matches.
Unlike their hosts, St Louis will lose no player to the ongoing international break, even if Joakim Nilsson (hamstring), Celio Pompeu (leg) and Tomas Ostrak (ankle) are not anticipated to play any part.
Cedric Teuchert has netted in back-to-back MLS games following his two goals in the Leagues Cup and the recent arrival from Hannover aims to keep his fine goalscoring form going this weekend.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Ivacic; Lima, Mensah, Romney, Sands; Polster, Kaye; Boateng, Gil, Langoni; Wood
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Totland, Kessler, Hiebert, Reid; Durkin, Lowen; Thorisson, Teuchert, Hartel; Becher
We say: New England Revolution 2-2 St Louis City
Although one point separates both sides in the overall table, the Revs have a lot riding on this weekend's events than St Louis. Regardless, we expect the spoils to be shared in a high-scoring draw between these clubs who struggle for clean sheets.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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