With only two home games left of the regular season, Eric Ramsay urged Minnesota United to come away with maximum points, starting against Colorado Rapids.

The Loons currently sit ninth in the Western Conference, but due to the tight nature of the table, they could spring up it with a win.

They have won their last three road games on the bounce, but have won just one of their last seven on home soil.

Following their 2-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City, Ramsay challenged his team to bring their away form to Allianz Field.

"We've got to win at home between now and the end of the year," he said. "That's the difference maker.

"We've done our bit against teams below us in the table away from home. We just need to do the easier bit, which is put in a performance at home and win a game there.

"If we can do that in the remaining two, we'll be in a really good position."

Meanwhile, Colorado sealed their playoff place with a 2-0 victory over Toronto FC last weekend.

They are third in the table having lost just one of their last five MLS matches, and head coach Chris Armas says spirits are high ahead of their latest road game.

"We're excited for a lot of reasons right now," Armas said. "We've clinched a playoff spot; we've got another game coming up against a good team on the road.

"It's an opportunity to show that we can have a disciplined performance with a lot to play for. The energy in the team is very good, and confidence is high.

"We have our sights set on getting our position up in the playoffs to get that home game."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah

Kelvin Yeboah has scored in three straight regular-season matches, the sixth different Minnesota United player to record at least one three-game goalscoring streak.

No player in the team's history has scored in four straight league matches.

Colorado Rapids – Djordje Mihailovic

Djordje Mihailovic scored his 11th goal of the season on Saturday to go along with his 11 assists in 2024.

The only Rapids player to record more than 22 goal contributions in a single regular season was Diego Rubio (23) in 2022.

MATCH PREDICTION: MINNESOTA UNITED WIN

Minnesota have won seven of nine all-time home matches against Colorado in all competitions, including the last three in a row. The Loons have outscored the Rapids 8-2 over the current three-match run.

Minnesota have now won four of their last six regular-season matches (lost two) after a nine-game winless run from early June to mid-July (drawn two, lost seven).

The Loons, who beat Sporting Kansas City 2-0 last Saturday, have not kept consecutive regular season clean sheets since May 2023.

However, the Rapids have won nine of their last 13 regular season matches (drawn one, lost three), including four of the last five. Only LA Galaxy and Columbus Crew (10 each) have recorded more wins than the Rapids since that run began in mid-June.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Minnesota United – 42.1%

Draw – 26.7%

Colorado Rapids – 31.2%

Eric Ramsay is hopeful Minnesota United's latest defeat has not dented their momentum as they prepare to travel to Sporting Kansas City in MLS.

Minnesota have won two and lost two of their last four MLS matches, with those two victories both coming on the road.

They are ninth in the Western Conference after losing to FC Cincinnati in their last outing, failing to mount a comeback after two first-half goals from their visitors.

Ramsay was slightly disappointed by the result but is determined to take the positives from that game as they continue their playoff push.

"We showed some naivety [against Cincinnati] with the goals we conceded, but the game as a whole was largely very good," he said.

"We went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the whole division. We have to take that as a positive and use that as a step forward, as a continuation of the momentum that we've built so far and not let it dent what we've already done."

Meanwhile, Sporting are 12th in the league, having lost just one of their last five league matches.

They beat Colorado Rapids 4-1 last time out, with Alan Pulido netting a brace, and head coach Peter Vermes was delighted to see him getting in on the goals.

"Alan has this level in him and has great form over the past two months, but we're playing him in better places on the field," Vermes said. "We haven't found enough chances to get him in on goal, and we need to keep improving that.

"The good thing is that we have options, we're not stuck. We're limitless right now, we have a lot of different ways in which we can put different combinations of players on the field."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sporting KC – Alan Pulido

Pulido scored twice in Kansas City's win over Colorado on Wednesday, his seventh multi-goal game for Sporting.

The only two players in club history with more multi-goal regular season games are Dom Dwyer (10) and Digital Takawira (eight).

Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah

Kelvin Yeboah scored from the penalty spot on Wednesday, with three of his four goals this season have been via penalty kicks.

Yeboah is the fourth player to have 3+ penalty kick goals in a season for Minnesota, with Darwin Quintero being the only Loons player with more (four in 2019).

MATCH PREDICTION: SPORTING KANSAS CITY WIN

Sporting KC have won 10 of their 11 all-time home matches against Minnesota, including the last four in a row. Minnesota's lone result at Sporting was a 3-0 victory in the 2020 playoffs.

Indeed, Kansas City have won three straight home matches across all competitions, with all three victories coming by multiple goals. This is the first time Sporting have won three straight home games, all by 2+ goals, since a four-game run to start the 2019 season.

However, after going winless in eight straight on the road (D2 L6), Minnesota have recorded back-to-back wins away from home. The longest road winning streak in club history in all competitions is three matches, achieved in both 2022 and 2023.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Sporting KC – 46.8%

Draw – 26.4%

Minnesota United – 26.8%