Match Preview - St. Louis City SC
Game Info
Kickoff: 1:55pm CT
Watch: Apple TV
Location: Energizer Park - St. Louis, MO
All-Time H2H Record
Austin FC has a 2W-1D-4L all-time record against St. Louis City SC.
These two teams squared off at Q2 Stadium just three weeks ago, a match that ended 2-0 in favor of the Verde & Black behind second half goals from Christian Ramirez and Myrto Uzuni.
ATX has only won once at Energizer Park in three tries, a 1-0 victory on the back of Myrto Uzuni’s first goal in an Austin FC uniform.
St. Louis City SC Recent Form
I almost began this section stating that “not much has changed” with St. Louis City SC since we last saw them less than three weeks ago at Q2 Stadium, but that’s not accurate. In fact, this is a team heading into the break on a roll.
STL’s last four matches across all competitions have resulted in three wins and a draw, with a road victory over Colorado Rapids and a draw against DC United in the nation’s capital. Sandwiched between those fixtures was a 2-1 home win over mighty LAFC and on Tuesday the club advanced to their first ever U.S. Open Cup Semifinal match with a penalty shootout win against Houston Dynamo.
While the team is riding high, they did not escape Tuesday’s cup match unscathed. DP goalkeeper Roman Burki exited the match in the first half shortly after losing his footing while in possession of the ball in his own penalty area, allowing the Dynamo to pass the loose ball into the open net. As of this writing there has been no update on Burki’s status (that will be finalized when the league releases official injury reports on Friday), but STL fans are unlikely to be bothered if backup Ben Lundt gets the call.
Lundt had an extended stretch of starts early in the 2025 season as Burki recovered from an injury last year, and he acquainted himself well against Houston in relief on Tuesday.
One negative that has persisted through the recent stretch is the lack of goal scoring. Through the three league games mentioned, the aggregate score was 4-2 in favor of St. Louis. This isn’t a team lighting the world on fire, in fact, the team’s 13 goals scored in league play is tied with Sporting KC for last in the Western Conference, four fewer goals than the next worst mark to this point of the season.
The scorelines are a bit deceiving though, at least in terms of the offensive threat St. Louis City can pose to their opponents. Going back to the loss against Austin on May 3rd, this team has generated 13 big chances across their last four league games. That’s a rate that would rank fifth overall in big chances created per game if played out over a full season.
Four games is a small sample, but for my money it has a lot to do with the reintroduction of Eduard Lowen to the STL lineup. The 29-year-old German midfielder is one of the three best overall players on this roster and he’s not third. He can create, he can defend, he can score. Over his three-plus MLS seasons, Lowen has been one of the more underrated players in MLS and he’s likely to play a big factor if this team is to continue their hot streak headed into the World Cup break.
Austin FC Recent Form
What a week.
Austin FC parted ways with both head coach Nico Estévez and sporting director Rodolfo Borrell on Monday morning following a string of deflating results that included a loss to a USL team in the U.S. Open Cup, two midweek West Coast fixtures that finished on a 10-1 aggregate in favor of the opponents and a home loss against potentially historically bad Sporting Kansas City. And all of those horrors occurred in the span of just 32 days!
Of course, when big Austin FC news hits, we fire up the livestream. For an hour of reaction from us here in The North End and the viewers who tuned in live, you can catch the replay here. We also had additional thoughts to begin Wednesday’s Episode 309 where we also previewed this match.
For the second time in as many years, the Verde & Black will play the last match before a two-month break with Davy Arnaud as interim head coach. Last time the former USMNT midfielder was in the interim role back on Decision Day 2024, Austin FC defeated Colorado Rapids after two goals in second half stoppage time flipped the match on it’s head in the dying moments.
I see two major differences between Arnaud’s first go-round and Saturday. First is the player personnel, with 11 of the 20 active players from that 2024 match no longer under contract with the club, this is almost an entirely different group.
Second is the vibes. Decision Day in a lost season with nothing to play for is one thing. Saturday’s match against St. Louis City SC has real stakes. ATX sits tied for 12th place through 14 matches played and while that’s about as bad of a start as the Verde faithful could have imagined, they’re just seven points back of sixth place in the Western Conference with 59% of the regular season schedule left. There is plenty of time for this team to recover and clinch a playoff berth this fall, especially with the two month World Cup break on the horizon.
I mentioned vibes though and that’s just table talk. Well, try this on for size. With a loss against STL on Saturday and a Sporting KC win over New York Red Bulls, Austin FC would spend the two month break in dead last in the West. And that, my friends, would be a notable low point for a fan base that has had plenty over the last few years.
Like my esteemed co-host said on Wednesday’s episode, we’ll be watching intently to see how the players respond to Monday’s changes this weekend. Are they suddenly playing more cohesively, with the body language of a group freed of the perceived frustrations of the Estévez/Borrell regime? Or do they fail to meet the moment and exhibit more of the same lethargic brand of offense we’ve come to expect from this squad? I tend to lean towards the former, but as you know as a North End listener, my typical lean towards positivity hasn’t exactly paid dividends in 2026.
Injury Report
ATX:
Myrto Uzuni (Questionable - Lower Body)
Robert Taylor (Out - Knee)
Brendan Hines-Ike (Out - Hamstring)
STL:
Roman Burki (Questionable - Quad)
Sergio Cordova (Questionable - Hamstring)
Sangbin Jeong (Questionable - Quad)
Conrad Wallem (Out - Suspended)
Celio Pompeu (Out - Knee)
Jaziel Orozco (Out - Hamstring)
St. Louis City SC Players to Watch
Marcel Hartel - Arriving in the 2024 summer transfer window, Hartel has been one of the few bright spots for St. Louis City over the past two seasons. Prior to his move to MLS, the 30-year-old midfielder spent the entirety of his career in Germany, with two championships and almost 15k minutes in 2. Bundesliga and another 2k minutes in the Bundesliga. His 29 goal contributions in the 2023-24 season helped lead St. Pauli to promotion in the months leading up to inking a four-year contract with STL. Though the results haven’t followed, Hartel picked up where he left off statistically, leading St. Louis in contributions last season and doing so again through the first nine matches of 2026. He acquainted himself rudely with Q2 Stadium and the Verde faithful last October, netting a first half brace en route to a 3-1 win.
Chris Durkin - The 26-year-old Virginia native has found a home in St. Louis after bouncing between MLS, USL and the Belgian first division through the first few years of his professional career. He’s become a mainstay of the St. Louis midfield, starting all 12 of his appearances this season after doing so just 14 times in 2025. Durkin isn’t just taking up space, he’s been a vital contributor, one of just two players on the squad with multiple league goals and one of four players on the roster with three or more goal contributions. He’s a two-way player for this team, top three in tackles and interceptions per 90 along with leading the team in accurate long balls.
Austin FC Keys to the Game
Save The Vibes: Earning a result in this game guarantees that Austin FC will not spend the World Cup break in last place in the Western Conference table. With the hard reset coming for the Verde & Black this summer, just save me (and us) the embarrassment of having to stare at that for two months.
Predictions
ZG- 1-1 Draw
E- 2-1 Austin FC
