San Diego FC look to snap road losing streak against St. Louis
Credit: Cedric Jones (CedJay Photography)/EVT Sports
San Diego FC will face St. Louis City for the second time this season, this Saturday, May 10, away from home.
The match is set to kick off at 5:30 p.m. PST at Energizer Park in St. Louis.
SDFC is coming off a massive 5-0 win against FC Dallas that snapped a three-game losing streak. San Diego will now look to snap a three-game road losing streak that started with a 2-1 loss to Austin on March 23.
San Diego FC Mikey Varas on his takeaways from their five-goal shutout victory over FC Dallas, @EVT_News: pic.twitter.com/KY2reKfW7i
— Sebastian Sanchez (@Ssanchez_16) May 8, 2025
For the first time this season, Mikey Varas used the front three of Alex Mighten, Anders Dreyer, and Hirving Lozano against Dallas. However, Mighten only played 38 minutes, and Mikey Varas has already said he will likely miss this Saturday’s match.
Onni Valakari replaced Mighten in that match and was quite effective with a goal off the bench. Another player that scored off the bench in that match was Escondido, Calif., native Milan Iloski, who bagged his first-career MLS goal.
Hirving Lozano and Anders Dreyer really shone in the match against Dallas with a combined six goal contributions from both players. “Chucky” was officially named the MVP of the game with a brace and an assist in what was his best performance of the campaign.
San Diego FC Milan Iloski was asked about St. Louis CITY SC’s defensive-heavy play style. Here’s his response:@EVT_News pic.twitter.com/Z6gweabfsi
— Sebastian Sanchez (@Ssanchez_16) May 8, 2025
Dreyer started the game playing centrally and looked quite effective in that role, but had to eventually go out wide with Mighten’s injury.
Varas is very likely to deploy the usual front three of Lozano, Dreyer, and Valakari, which we have seen for most of the season. Marcus Ingvartsen played in the first game between SDFC and St. Louis this season and was very ineffective, missing some key chances. The Danish forward will be out injured for this game, and it will be interesting to see if San Diego’s offense can finally score on this rigid St. Louis backline.
The first bout between these teams ended in a very frustrating scoreless draw for SDFC in the home-opener at Snapdragon Stadium. The visitors deployed their usual five-man backline that can be a nuisance to play against.
The Midwestern team is on a dreadful seven-game winless streak, including five losses. St. Louis has had to deal with some major injuries, including one to team captain and goalkeeper Roman Burki, who has been out since early March.
Burki has been cleared to practice this week and may even be ready to play for Saturday’s match against San Diego. Benjamin Lundt has done a superb job in place of Burki, but the Swiss goalkeeper is quite possibly the best in MLS.
A big problem for St. Louis has been the dormant offense that has only scored four goals in this seven-game winless streak. San Diego has had defensive inconsistencies this season, but the backline should not struggle heavily against this team. SDFC will need to be careful on set pieces, but it has everything in favor of coming away with a positive result from this match.
Francisco, 28, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego FC, San Diego Wave. I have covered Liga MX, MLS, Mexico National Team, USWNT, Copa América and European clubs like Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund.