Two sides in the thick of the Major League Soccer (MLS) playoff race will square off on Saturday as Austin FC visit BMO Field for the first time to face Toronto.
At the end of August, the Reds were beaten 3-1 by DC United, putting them just two points above the Eastern Conference post-season line, while the Verde and Black are two points below the playoff line out West following a 1-0 defeat at home to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Match preview
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Six matches remain in their regular season, and Toronto continue to find ways to stay above the playoff line despite numerous key absentees and inconsistencies defensively.
John Herdman's men, who are currently eighth in the East, saw their two-match MLS winning run end against DC, conceding in this competition for the first time since a 3-1 defeat versus Inter Miami in July.
While they have, at times, put together some solid defensive performances in 2024, this team have still looked unstable in that area of the field, conceding three or more goals in 10 league contests this year.
Four of their remaining regular-season affairs occur at BMO Field, where TFC have lost five of their previous six games in this competition.
If they can win their final four home matches, this team will reach the double-digit mark for domestic victories at BMO Field for the first time since capturing the MLS Cup in 2017.
Saturday will be their third domestic encounter with an MLS club from Texas in the 2024 regular season, with the Reds winning the previous two meetings versus Dallas (3-1) at home and claiming a 1-0 victory against the Houston Dynamo in August.
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At this stage of the season, any minor slip-up can be costly, and Austin suffered one at home to Vancouver the last time out, keeping them below the post-season line.
That ended a two-match unbeaten run for Josh Wolff's side in this competition and extended their domestic winless streak to three games.
A victory this weekend would boost their playoff chances this season and equal their total victories in the league from a year ago (10).
They have not lost consecutive league contests since mid-July, while they can win consecutive MLS away matches on Saturday for the first time all year.
Inconsistencies in the attacking third have plagued this team domestically in 2024, scoring the joint-fewest goals in MLS so far (30).
Austin have not beaten a Canadian club in the regular season since defeating Toronto 1-0 at home a season ago, while they are winless in two meetings versus sides from Canada this year, without a single goal scored.
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Team News
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TFC could be without Alonso Coello for at least another week as he is slowly recovering from a thigh injury, while Federico Bernardeschi is eligible to return from his yellow card suspension.
Richie Laryea, Deybi Flores and Jonathan Osorio were all away during the international break, though they should all be back by Saturday.
Deandre Kerr had the only goal in their defeat to DC United which temporarily put them on level terms, his second of the 2024 domestic campaign.
The Verde and Black had three players away for the international break, including Bobosi Byaruhanga with Uganda, Leo Vaisanen was a part of Finland at the UEFA Nations League and Julio Cascante was called up to the Costa Rican squad for the CONCACAF Nations League, with all three players expected to return in time for this game.
We saw the same starting 11 for them against Nashville SC that began their match versus Vancouver, with Cascante, Gyasi Zardes and Ethan Finlay being the only newcomers to feature as substitutes.
Zardes had the only previous goal when they met Toronto in 2023, as Brad Stuver did not have to make a single stop to preserve a clean sheet.
Toronto possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Rosted, Long, Gomis; Laryea, Flores, Longstaff, Spicer; Insigne, Bernardeschi; Owusu
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Desler, Hines-Ike, Hedges, Biro; Ring, Pereira, Wolff; Bukari, Driussi, Obrian
We say: Toronto 1-0 Austin FC
It has not always been pretty to watch, but Toronto always seem to find a way to remain in a playoff position, and we believe they will continue that trend against a side that have been rather poor in the attacking third all year.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
