Match Preview - Colorado Rapids
Game Info
Kickoff: 7:40pm CT
Watch: Apple TV
Location: Q2 Stadium - Austin, TX
All-Time H2H Record
Austin FC has a 4W-2D-6L all-time record against Colorado Rapids.
The first meeting between these two teams came just over a month ago, a 1-0 win for the Rapids from a penalty kick in second half stoppage time in a match that was not as close as the scoreline indicated.
Of course, when it comes to Austin FC’s exploits against the Rapids, there will always be good memories. This is the opponent that the club earned their first ever win against, along with Diego Fagundez scoring the first goal in franchise history against Colorado in that 3-1 victory.
Colorado Rapids Recent Form
With these two clubs meeting again after just five weeks, typically there wouldn’t be a ton of changes to discuss. But with the majority of the summer transfer window happening between the pair of fixtures, there are significant differences on both sides of this matchup.
The Rapids had a very busy transfer window, sending out a trio of players who were in the starting lineup for the squad during that first meeting. We discussed the likelihood of center back Lucas Herrington being transferred to an EPL club prior to that August 1st match on the show, so naturally the talented Aussie stuck around just long enough to ensure a defeat for the Verde and Black before being sent to recently promoted Hull City for up to $23 million. It was Herrington’s last MLS appearance, three weeks later he came off the bench for 26 minutes to help see out Hull’s season opening win over Manchester United.
They also traded winger Dante Sealy back to CF Montreal after acquiring him in the off season, adding yet another head scratching entry to the all-time Montreal transaction ledger. The 23-year old had five assists in just over 1,000 minutes this season for the Rapids after recording nine goals and two assists for Montreal in 2025.
But the most surprising and potentially consequential move for Colorado was cash-trading DP striker Rafael Navarro to St. Louis City SC for a record-breaking $12 million. Navarro had been one of the league’s top strikers over his last three seasons with the Rapids, recording 37 goals and 14 assists across 87 MLS appearances since the start of the 2024 season.
Colorado then brought in a four-pack of attacking players to bolster the squad, most notably acquiring attacker Morgan Whittaker from Middlesbrough for a club-record $10.7 million fee. They also added veteran options like 26-year-old winger Ibrahim Saddiq from AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Eredivisie and 28-year-old midfielder Youssef Maziz, who most recently played for OH Leuven in the Belgian first division.
The Rapids also added a new U22 Initiative player in the form of 20-year-old forward Sayed Abu Farkhi, who arrives in MLS from Maccabi Tel Aviv on a $6 million transfer after 15 goals and three assists across 52 appearances for his former club.
It hasn’t been the player movement that’s defined the last month-plus of play for Colorado since the return from the World Cup break however, this stretch has been highlighted by some drastic home/road splits for the Rapids.
Colorado has won five of their eight league games since the return to play in late July, but as my esteemed co-host pointed out on Sunday’s Episode 332, their lack of success away from the elevation of the Rocky Mountains must be highlighted. The Rapids have won all five of their home matches in that span by an aggregate scoreline of 6-0. Clearly, the offense has not been something to write home about in that sample, while the defense has been stellar, even after the departure of Herrington.
But when you take a look at their three road fixtures in that span, a trio of losses with a 0-7 aggregate scoreline, it’s nearly impossible to not adjust your expectations for the Rapids current form based on where they’re playing on a given match day and at the very least fair to suggest that their form is better than their actual play has been.
Austin FC Recent Form
Earning a result from the last kick of a match is a hell of a thing… unless of course you’re still well below the playoff line and in desperate need of wins, especially in the friendly confines of your own building. Guilherme Biro’s second half stoppage time heroics allowed the Verde and Black to take something from Saturday’s clash with the San Jose Earthquakes, but at the end of the night ATX was still sitting in 14th place in the Western Conference and the same five points back of the wild card line.
Had it not been for a controversial overturn of a 10th minute Facundo Torres goal, Austin FC may have walked away with the much needed victory. Alas, there’s nothing to do about it now except put your full focus on earning a win in the midweek before a pair of challenging road opponents over the next week and a half.
As Austin welcomes the Rapids to central Texas on Wednesday there’s one big burning injury question that Verde fans want to know the answer to. Can we expect Austin FC’s leading goal scorer Myrto Uzuni to suit up for this one? We should get that answer on Tuesday, but there’s little doubt that ATX was missing the Albanian’s seemingly endless motor on both sides of the ball against San Jose on Saturday.
With the midweek fixture there should be some rotation expected in the starting XI for Austin and fans should not be shocked if Christian Ramirez replaces Brandon Vazquez up top for this one after the latter played over 100 minutes against the Quakes. Same goes for the midfield, where team captain Ilie Sanchez was an unused substitute over the weekend. He could replace either Besard Sabovic or Ervin Torres, both of whom have been playing well of late.
Finally, it wouldn’t be shocking to me either way what happens with Mikkel Desler here. The natural right back is coming off two stellar outings as a wide center back and came off with about 20 minutes to go against San Jose after catching what appeared to be a painful leg cramp. Desler has been oft-injured in his Austin FC tenure, so the club playing it safe with him should not come as a surprise, though it’s also notable how important he is to the overall defensive solidity of the team.
Ultimately, this is a match pitting a home side that’s absolutely desperate for a win against a visiting team that hasn’t won away from their own stadium since May 13th and earned just seven points from their 12 road matches all season. It’s a game Austin FC must win to keep us realistically engaged with their low-probability push towards the postseason.
Injury Report
ATX:
Myrto Uzuni (Out - Lower Body)
COL:
Nico Hansen (Questionable - Leg)
Ali Fadal (Questionable - Head)
Zack Steffen (Out - Shoulder)
Ted Ku-DiPietro (Out - Shoulder)
Billo Diop (Out - Knee)
Colorado Rapids Players to Watch
Morgan Whittaker - A former English youth international, Whittaker was the Rapids big prize from the summer transfer window as they finalized his acquisition right before the deadline last week, coming in as the team’s newest DP for a club record $10.7 million fee. The 25-year-old attacker came up in the Derby County youth system before making his debut for the senior team in 2019. He’s logged over 11,000 minutes in the EFL Championship during his tenures with Derby County, Swansea City, Plymouth Argyle and Middlesbrough. Whittaker had already made three starts for Middlesbrough in the early parts of this season after recording 14 goals and seven assists for the club last season, so he should be available for the Rapids come Wednesday after arriving in the states a week prior.
Paxten Aaronson - Originally a Philadelphia Union homegrown, Aaronson spent two seasons in the German Bundesliga and another two years in the Eredivisie in the Netherlands before coming back stateside last summer to join the Rapids. The 22-year-old midfielder has been one of the bright spots for a struggling Colorado club this season, providing four goals and six assists across his 23 appearances. As one of the two designated players on this roster, Aaronson represents their future of this Rapids roster build.
Austin FC Keys to the Game
Now Or Never - Well, mathematically no, it’s not a “must win” at Q2 Stadium on Wednesday. But it doesn’t take much brain power to peek at the remaining league schedule for Austin FC and see that the path to a potential postseason berth likely includes earning all three points against the Rapids in this game. The fans still showing up to support this team are the true ride-or-die sickos and as long as the team shows those in attendance that they still care about this low-probability late season push, those butts will remain in seats. But if we’re talking about actually succeeding in the task of climbing to the ninth seed? It’s now or never to stay attached to the group of six teams all sitting between 27 and 31 points right above the Verde and Black in the Western Conference table.
Predictions
ZG - 2-1 Austin FC
E - 1-0 Austin FC
