Austin FC and Minnesota United will be looking to get off and running in the new MLS campaign when they square off in the season opener on Saturday.
Having lost both home and away meetings between the sides last year, the visitors will journey to the Q2 Stadium looking to get one over the Verde and Black and begin the season as they mean to go on.
Match preview
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Austin FC will have their sights on all three points this weekend as they look to kick off the season on a high and set an early tone for a return to the playoffs after missing out last season.
Particularly after their previous three season openers have depicted how their season would unfold, with Josh Wolff's men falling to secure post-season football in 2021 and 2023 when they suffered opening-day defeats against Los Angeles FC and St. Louis City respectively.
However, an emphatic 5-0 victory over FC Cincinnati in the 2022 curtain-raiser propelled Austin to a second-placed finish in the Western Conference table while they also reached the playoff semi-finals before crashing out at the hands of eventual-winners Los Angeles FC.
Last season was one to forget for the Texas-based outfit, who lost 15 of their 35 matches while claiming 10 wins and nine draws to finish 12th in the West, only above Colorado Rapids and LA Galaxy.
The Verde and Black won just seven of their 17 league matches in front of their home supporters last season, highlighting a key area in which they must improve upon this term if they hope to compete.
Austin head into Saturday off the back of a promising pre-season display as they went unbeaten in six of their seven warm-up matches — claiming three wins and three draws — with a 1-0 loss against Chicago Fire on February 7 being the exception.
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Like this weekend's hosts, Minnesota United missed out on a place in the playoffs last season as they finished 11th in the Western Conference table after picking 41 points from their 34 matches.
Prior to last season, the Loons had secured post-season football in four consecutive years, albeit only making it past the round of 16 in 2020, when they suffered a semi-final defeat against Seattle Sounders.
Minnesota's underwhelming 2023 campaign was in no small part owing to their struggles on home turf, where they picked up the third-fewest number of points among all 29 sides in the league (21).
Cameron Knowles's men head into the new campaign off the back of an unconvincing pre-season as they failed to win three of their four friendly matches, claiming two draws and losing once since the turn of the year.
Their only victory came on February 10, when they edged out USL Championship outfit Phoenix Rising 2-1 in Southern California courtesy of goals from 26-year-old Hassani Dotson and Liberian striker Patrick Weah.
While Minnesota United will be looking to pick up a dream start to the season, they will need to show their mettle against an Austin side who won both of their home and away encounters last term, scoring six goals and conceding twice in that time.
Team News
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Off-season signing Diego Rubio has hit the ground running for Austin and the Chilean striker, who scored three goals in his three pre-season appearances, could be handed his MLS debut this weekend.
He is joined on the club's list of new arrivals by Brazilian defender Guilherme Biro and 29-year-old Brendan Hines-Ike, who recently completed a switch from DC United.
All eyes will be on Sebastian Driussi, who netted 11 goals and set up four more in 28 league appearances last season, and we expect the Argentine forward to form the attacking quartet with Ethan Finlay, Owen Wolff and striker Emiliano Rigoni.
Like their hosts, Minnesota will be with several new faces this weekend, including the likes of Jordan Adebayo-Smith, Sweden international Victor Eriksson and former RB Leipzig forward Caden Clark.
Teemu Pukki was a standout performer for the Loons last season and the 33-year-old, who finished with 10 goals in 14 league matches, looks set to shoulder the club's goalscoring responsibilities.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Dayne St. Clair should continue between the sticks for Minnesota, while we expect Knowles to name a back four of Zarek Valentin, Michael Boxall, Miguel Tapias and Devin Padelford this weekend.
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Gallagher, Cascante, Vaisanen, Biro; Ring, Valencia; Finlay, Driussi, Wolff; Rigoni
Minnesota United possible starting lineup:
St. Clair; Valentin, Boxall, Tapias, Padelford; Trapp, Arriaga; Fragapane, Reynoso, Dotson; Pukki
We say: Austin FC 3-1 Minnesota United
The last four meetings between Austin and Minnesota United have produced a combined 12 goals and we anticipate another action-packed contest at the Q2 Stadium. While we expect the Loons to put up a fight, we are backing Wolff's men to come away with all three points in front of their home supporters.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
