San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas wants his team to remain patient when they are confronted with one of the best defensive parties in MLS on Saturday, in St. Louis City.
San Diego has made a strong start of their debut season and is in fourth place in the Western Conference after 11 games, after earning 17 points.
They insisted FC Dallas 5-0 last week and on Saturday they visit Energizer Park to a St. Louis team to be seen in 13th place in the west.
The hosts of Olof Mellberg, however, have the third best defensive record in the conference and this year only gives 12 goals.
“They are very committed to retaining clean sheets, and they have a lot of quality if you are not careful in terms of counterattacks,” said Varas, as quoted by the San Diego Union Tribune.
“We want to take care of the ball. We want to have longer attacks.
“We want to ensure that we complete actions on the goal or behind their back line and ensure that our back pressure and our printing is still organized and intense.”
This is the first of three games in a week before San Diego, who organize the Colorado Rapids in midweek and then on 17 May opposite Sporting Kansas City.
“We just have to keep an eye on how boys recover from play to play,” Varas said about his plans to rotate. “We will put the team out that we feel that we give the best chance to win.”
Hirving Lozano scored twice in the most recent victory of San Diego and has four goals this campaign, and he hopes that his exploits will be rewarded with a return to the Mexico team.
“I always try to contribute to the team. As far as I said before, I am available and would be very happy to return,” he said Fox Sports.
“I just have to keep working to be in the best possible form.”
Meet me in St. Louis, Louis. pic.twitter.com/m0i0dvmazl
– San Diego FC (@Sandiegofc) 9 May 2025
Players to watch
St. Louis City – Ben Lundt
St. Louis was confronted last week with 29 shots against the Seattle Sounders in a loss of 4-1, the second most in a match in club history (after 32 versus Portland in August 2024).
They only tried seven shots, with that 22-shot difference the biggest in a competition in club history, positive or negative. With starting goalkeeper Roman Burki to return from a broken hand, stand-in Lundt can be busy.
San Diego FC – Hirving Lozano
Lozano (two goals, one assist) and Anders Dreyer (one goal, two assists) each contributed to three goals against Dallas last week.
They are the first few teammates who record three target contributions in a competition for an expansion team since Latif Blessing and Adama Diomande for Los Angeles FC in June 2018.
Match forecast – st. Louis City Win
The first match between St. Louis and San Diego was a scoreless draw on March 1, the second MLS competition of San Diego and their first home.
The 5-0 victory of San Diego on Dallas last week was the same as the second largest victory margin by an extension team in a regular season match in the MLS history.
They became the third expansion team that won a regular season match with at least five goals (after Atlanta United Twice and the Chicago Fire once).
However, they only have six points away from home compared to 11 on their own turf, losing three of their first five MLS road trips, so St. Louis can play their chances.
Opta wins probability
St. Louis City – 43.3%
San Diego – 29.9%
Drawing – 26.7%
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