Two teams undergoing a rough patch at the moment lock horns at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday as Los Angeles Galaxy play host to Chicago Fire.
Both sides are currently on a three-game losing streak heading into this weekend's affair, and neither will want to come away empty-handed.
Match preview
Los Angeles Galaxy wrapped up their Leagues Cup campaign in disappointing fashion with a 2-1 loss against Vancouver Whitecaps on July 31.
Greg Vanney's men led at half time through Riqui Puig's strike before Lucas Calegari's own goal and a late Brian White winner turned the game on its head.
Albeit with a couple of games in hand, the Galaxy are currently bottom but one in the Western Conference, a whopping 10 points adrift in the race for the final playoff spot.
Their next task sees them entertain the challenge of an opposing outfit who are without a victory in 13 straight editions of this fixture.
Having won their last two domestic matches on home turf, Sunday's hosts will be hopeful of kickstarting their campaign with three much-needed points here.
Chicago Fire were on the receiving end of an agonising 3-1 defeat against Orlando City in Monday's contest between the teams at Soldier Field.
Frank Klopas's men got off to a good start and broke the deadlock through Mauricio Pineda before quickfire goals from Wilder Cartagena and Ivan Angulo threw a spanner into the works.
As a result, the Men in Red have dropped down to ninth place in the Eastern Conference, now six points behind Atlanta United in the battle for playoff contention.
Ahead of a crunch encounter against fellow playoff hopefuls Vancouver Whitecaps four days later, Sunday's visitors simply cannot afford to lose further ground in the race for a post-season berth.
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Team News
Martin Caceres will not play any part for Los Angeles Galaxy in this one as the veteran defender continues to recover from a long-term injury.
Thirty-five-year-old Javier Hernandez is also unavailable for the home side due to a knee injury, which has kept him out of action since June.
Chicago Fire's Chris Mueller is still battling with a hip injury, and the American international is not expected to make his comeback anytime soon.
Xherdan Shaqiri will be looking to continue his goalscoring streak away from home, having found the back of the net in three straight matches on the road.
Los Angeles Galaxy possible starting lineup:
Micovic; Calegari, Neal, Alfaro, Aude; Aguirre, Rosell, Puig; Boyd, Joveljic, Costa
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Richey; Dean, Pineda, Teran, Navarro; Doumbia, Gimenez; Gutierrez, Haile-Selassie, Shaqiri; Koutsias
We say: Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 Chicago Fire
The goals have dried up a bit for both teams of late but we expect an open and end to end affair on Sunday. We also fancy the hosts to come out on top, albeit by only a narrow margin.
How to watch
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