St. Louis City SC looks to stop a two-match losing streak as they host Eastern Conference leaders FC Cincinnati at CITYPark.
A heavy 3-0 defeat at Seattle saw MLS' newest franchise surrender the top spot in the Western Conference as the Sounders got goals from Josh Atencio and Raul Ruidiaz as well as an own goal from Jake Nerwinski.
St. Louis' high pressure has forced a league-high 79 turnovers within 40 meters of the opponents' goal and turned that into 17 shots, scoring three times, joint-best in MLS.
Their offense is also tops in the league with 40 shots on target and is in the top three in shooting percentage at 40.8 percent.
The Orange and Blue are at the summit of the East thanks to a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia last Saturday as a penalty by Luciano Acosta gave Cincinnati all three points.
Off to their best start in franchise history, Pat Noonan's men have accumulated 17 points through their first seven games and look to keep up their sizzling start to the season.
Team news
St. Louis City SC
Center-back Joakim Nilsson continues to rehab his knee that required surgery in the offseason and he is expected back sometime in May.
Njabulo Blom is set to miss 5-6 weeks after the South African midfielder suffered a groin injury in last Saturday's defeat to Seattle after previously missing time due to paperwork issues and a bout with COVID.
Acosta is out with a shoulder injury, robbing the Orange and Blue of their most dangerous playmaker and leading scorer.
Defensive midfielder Yuya Kubo is also sidelined as the Japanese international is suffering from a leg injury.
Obinna Nwobodo rejoined the club in training Thursday after missing the last two matches and not participating in full training sessions for two weeks.
Predicted lineups
St. Louis City SC: Bürki; Nelson, Hiebert, Parker, Nerwinski; Stroud, Löwen, Vassilev, Ostrák; Klauss, Gioacchini
FC Cincinnati: Celentano; Mosquera, Miazga, Hagglund; Barreal, Moreno, Angulo, Pinto, Gaddis; Santos, Vazquez
Ones to watch
Joao Klauss (St. Louis City SC)
The Brazilian has wasted no time getting used to life in MLS as he scored the match-winner in St. Louis' first-ever game against Austin and his five total goals place him third in the Golden Boot race.
Klauss is one of a number of offensive weapons for the expansion club, but his hot early start has provided the club with exactly what they need in the final third of the park.
Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati)
Quite possibly the best goalkeeper in the league so far, Celentano posted his fifth clean sheet last week against Philadelphia, tied with Nashville's Joe Willis for most in MLS.
Already the 28-year-old has established himself as the Orange and Blue's best-ever shot-stopper, tying Przymelsaw Tyton for most shutouts in franchise history with 10 and in a season with five.
Previous meetings
This is the first-ever match between St. Louis City and Cincinnati.
How to watch
The match will be streamed nationally on Apple TV + with Tyler Terens on play-by-play duties with Devon Kerr serving as the analyst.
Kickoff is set for 8:30pm Eastern time.