MLS - Minnesota United at St. Louis City

Play thoughts: With the International break in the rearview mirror the MLS returns to a full slate of action on Saturday and with playoff races aplenty it's an important one here for the home side who are looking to close the gap on the final playoff spot which is currently occupied by Minnesota. Off a season in which they finished first in the Western Conference last year it's been more famine than feast this year but injuries played a big part in that and after a managerial change they have played markedly better and moreso on home soil. They've won 3 straight against Western Conference teams across both the MLS and Leagues cup and those came against LA Galaxy (1st in the WC), Portland, and Dallas. A change in formation to a 4-2-3-1 has given them more support now in their attack but has at times left them open defensively. They welcome a Minnesota team who they beat in Minnesota in the reverse fixture 2-1, and it's a Loons team that has been anything but consistent on the road this season. While they did get an away win last time out, it came against the leagues bottom team San Jose and prior to that they had gone winless in 7 with 5 of those losses. This game shapes up as one where we'll see St. Louis City pushing for all 3 points while United likely take a cautious approach and counterattacking while looking to grab a valuable point for the playoffs. I'll side with the squad looking to win here.

The play is St. Louis City +106