Pre-match Preview: New-look CITY SC returning to MLS play with away match against Portland

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - After a solid showing in the Leagues Cup, St. Louis CITY SC will return to MLS regular season play this weekend with an away match against Portland Timbers.

The month of August has been one of the more exciting times of the season for this club. A trip to the Leagues Cup Round of 16 with their newly vamped roster has inspired a different feel as we head into the final stretch of MLS regular season play.

St. Louis is now nine matches away from finishing its second season as a club. Although most of the year wasn’t as successful as fans hoped, the future certainly looks bright for John Hackworth and Co.

Since the start of the summer, Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel has made it clear that acquiring new talent was a major focus for the club. From July 18 to early August, St. Louis signed six new players. And that’s not counting the ones called up from CITY2. Among the new gs, Cedric Teuchert, Marcel Hartel, Simon Becher, and Jayden Reid have wasted no time in making an impact.

The four of them have each made multiple starts over the last month or so, tallying major contributions in each appearance. These additions provided some much-needed reinforcement while many of CITY’s key pieces were recovering from injuries.

More Roster Updates:

Now that some time has ed, Interim Coach John Hackworth is looking to finish the final third of the year on a strong note. Rasmus Alm, Joakim Nilsson, and João Klauss were seen at training this week and are in ‘return to play protocol.’

Hackworth also noted that Chris Durkin, who he calls ‘the toughest on the field,’ also trained with the team. Durkin appeared to have suffered an injury in CITY’s Leagues Cup match against Portland, but it seems like he’ll be available on Saturday.

The First Step of a Massive Hike

Right now, St. Louis sits at No. 13 in the Western Conference with 23 points. Portland, sitting at No. 8 with 36 points, currently holds a spot in the final series playoffs. The Timbers aren’t the most spectacularly difficult opponent, but they’re clearly talented enough to compete for a playoff spot.

St. Louis is 10 points behind the club that would be last to qualify for the playoffs, Minnesota United. CITY will need to rack up points in bunches, while also hoping the clubs sitting ahead of them in the standings are kept dormant.

Portland’s three primary offensive threats are Evander, Jonathan Rodríguez, and Felipe Mora. The former was named an MLS All-Star, and is second among all players in assists (11). On top of that, Rodríguez and Mora combine for 23 goals on the year, which is only six fewer than St. Louis’ total as a team.

Bottom Line: Even with nine matches left in regular season play, it’s still likely St. Louis will be absent from this year’s MLS Playoffs. Is there still hope? Yes. St. Louis still has a path to playoff contention. However, the club will need to be essentially perfect through the next three months. And even if they are, they’ll also have to count on other Western Conference teams struggling a little. Not impossible by any means, but it’s going to be a long climb out of the hole they dug themselves in. This match against Portland can be viewed as a hit or miss. A win means St. Louis starts off strong in their comeback efforts, while also slowing down a team that occupies a playoff spot. A loss, along with a victory for the West’s No. 9, could mean it’s curtains on the 2024 campaign. But the CITY SC that entered Leagues Cup is not the same team that exited the tournament. There is promise for a strong future. Whether or not that future begins on Saturday versus 2025 is the question that remains.

Kick-off is set for 9:30 p.m. at Providence Park.

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