Off the back of contrasting results last time out, San Diego will lock horns against Colorado Rapids on Thursday morning aiming to win three straight matches for the first time this season.
The visitors, meanwhile, will head to the Snapdragon Stadium aiming to arrest a slump in form which has seen them fail to win any of their last four involvements.
Match preview
Featuring in their first-ever Major League Soccer season, San Diego were keen to make a statement and made a flurry of signings during the January window, most notably the acquisition of Hirving Lozano for a club-record €12 million fee.
Mikey Varas‘s men made a bright start to proceedings, going unbeaten in six of their opening seven matches before suffering three defeats in a row, where they conceded three goals apiece in the final weeks of April.
An emphatic 5-0 victory over FC Dallas provided a much-needed relief for San Diego, who followed up their largest win of the campaign with a 2-1 victory over St Louis City in Sunday’s meeting at CITYPARK last time out.
Now up to 20 points from a possible 36, SDFC are up to fourth in the Western Conference standings with the third-best attacking record in the division, behind the San Jose Earthquakes and conference leaders Vancouver Whitecaps.
A chance to continue their recent resurgence now lies in wait for the California-based outfit in the first of three consecutive home matches before they welcome Sporting Kansas City and defending champions Los Angeles Galaxy later this month.
Having been comprehensively beaten in the playoff first round by Los Angeles Galaxy, the Colorado Rapids headed into the new season with a point to prove but suffered a CONCACAF Champions Cup exit to Los Angeles FC back in February.
Putting their continental disappointment behind them, Chris Armas‘s men went on to pick up seven of the next nine points available in league action but have since managed just two wins from eight matches off the back of a 2-0 defeat against San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.
While that defeat saw the Pids fail to find the back of the net in front of their fans for only the second time in eight matches since the turn of the year, Colorado Rapids have now failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last six matches.
This is in keeping with their defensive frailties from last season, when they conceded the most goals of any side who made it through to the postseason, and Colorado are in firm contention for a playoff place once again given their ninth-place ranking in the West at the moment.
Aiming to avoid a disastrous repeat of their tumultuous form towards the end of last season, which saw them go winless in five straight competitive games for the first time since 2023, Thursday’s visitors will need to up the ante from a shambolic display in their most recent outing.
Team News
Denmark international Marcus Ingvartsen has had his debut season for San Diego marred by injuries so far, having featured only four times due to a leg injury.
After returning from a brief suspension, Andres Reyes sustained a hip injury which will keep him out of action for the hosts alongside Alex Mighten, who is, however, not far off a comeback.
Anders Dreyer has been directly involved in nine – five goals and four assists – of his team’s 23 goals, and the forward is definitely one to keep an eye on here.
Adam Beaudry (ankle) and Ali Fadal (knee) are guaranteed absentees for Colorado Rapids here, with both of them making just a combined two appearances this term.
Twenty-eight-year-old Chidozie Awaziem is currently nearing a suspension and will need to keep his discipline in check to avoid receiving a fifth yellow card of the season.
San Diego possible starting lineup:
Dos Santos; Bombino, McNair, McVey, Kumado; Godoy, Tverskov, De la Torre; Lozano, Valakari, Dreyer
Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Steffen; Cannon, Maxso, Awaziem, Travis; Ronan, Larraz, Atencio, Mihailovic; Yapi, Navarro
We say: San Diego 2-1 Colorado Rapids
San Diego have put the league on alert with their early displays and should have every right to believe they can come out on top in this one.
We are tipping the home side to just about have enough in the tank to secure a narrow win when all is said and done.
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