Minnesota United at St. Louis City

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Energizer Park, St. Louis
Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+
Radio: KSTP-AM, 1500
Weather: 88 degrees, mostly sunny, 7 mph north wind
Betting line: MNUFC plus-145; draw plus-250; St. Louis plus-170

Form: Third-place MNUFC (11-5-8, 41 points) is coming off a two-match, one-point week against Los Angeles FC (1-0 loss) and Portland Timbers (1-1 draw). St. Louis (4-13-6, 18 points) sits in 14th position in the 15-club conference after a 3-0 loss to FC Dallas last Saturday.

Recent matchups: United beat St. Louis 3-0 in MLS play at Allianz Field on May 17 and turned around four days later to edge St. Louis 3-2 in a U.S. Open Cup round of 16 match in St. Paul.

Check-in: With the summer transfer window opening, there have been no rumors of incoming players for MNUFC. But there was one report Thursday of Argentine midfielder Joaquin Pereyra linked to Boca Juniors in Buenos Aires.

RELATED: Will Minnesota United make a splash in the summer transfer window?

Update: Sang Bin Jeong and Devin Padelford have a chance to play against Minnesota for the first time since their moves to St. Louis earlier this week.

Context: Loons goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and center back Michael Boxall are coming off successful shifts in the MLS All-Stars’ 3-1 win over Liga MX in Austin on Wednesday. St. Clair played 27 minutes, while Boxall had 45.

Look-ahead: MNUFC academy player Tim Dennis scored in the MLS Next All-Star game on Monday, while former Loons product Prince Forfor (Columbus Crew) was named the game’s MVP. The 16-year-old Forfor “has a lot of interest in Europe,” per national reporter Tom Bogert.

View: So much of MNUFC head coach Eric Ramsay’s focus has been on punching up against the best in the West, but keeping a bad team down on the road will be just as imperative in the standings. St. Louis has only four wins in 23 total matches and dropped points would be a blemish for the Loons.

Stats: United has a combined 1.0 expected goals across the last two matches (0.4 vs. LAFC and 0.6 against Portland). That’s a huge drop from each of the two previous matches with 2.5 xG or higher.

Prediction: St. Louis has a minus-15 goal differential this season, while Minnesota is plus-13. There will be more separation come Saturday night in Missouri. Loons, 2-0.