Minnesota United v St. Louis City SC: Visitors need 'complete' 90 minutes, says Kessler

St. Louis have not won any of their last nine league outings (D3 L6), a run dating back to mid-March, as they sit 14th in the Western Conference on 11 points.

They let a 2-0 lead slip against Sporting Kansas City in their 2-2 draw in midweek, and Kessler says the team need to start thinking about finishing games stronger.

"I think we need to put a complete 90 minutes together," he said. "We've played really good at times, we've had late leads, so it's about putting together a full 90 minutes of fitness and mental focus.

"They both have to be there. I think we can improve on both of those.

"We all want to win, and when you haven't won in a while, the frustration comes out. It takes time for consistent change. I think we'll get out of this [run]."

https://t.co/rZKdqRpYS8 pic.twitter.com/4lcrTSIHBh

— St Louis CITY SC (@stlCITYsc) May 16, 2025

Minnesota, meanwhile, were brought back down to earth by a 2-0 defeat to the Houston Dynamo, just days after their big win over Inter Miami.

It was just their second defeat in 12 matches, and they remain third in the West, five points behind leaders Vancouver.

Head coach Eric Ramsay was disappointed by Wednesday's result but expects his players to show some fight on Saturday.

"We've got to make sure there's no hangover from [Wednesday's] game for Saturday," he said.

"Obviously, I will take a similar approach to the changes made from Miami to Houston, and I'll be expecting them to show a real desperation to put that result right, and they will be well-placed to do."

Houston Dynamo held Minnesota to just one shot on target in their defeat on Wednesday, with Morris Duggan the only player to test the goalkeeper.

He also had five touches in the box, more than all of his team-mates, despite being a defender, though his expected goals (xG) tally finished at 0.01.

Preview | We're back at Allianz, and staring down a familiar foe.Read https://t.co/eiWbD2fmUb pic.twitter.com/uPx1mZWesF

— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) May 15, 2025

St. Louis drew 2-2 with Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday despite holding a 2-0 lead at half-time.

Roman Burki faced just seven shots in the second half, compared to 11 in the first, but conceded half of the attempts on target he faced.

Minnesota United have won three of their four all-time meetings with St. Louis City, including winning both encounters last season. The road team have won three of the four meetings, with the only home win in the series coming last October, a 4-1 victory for Minnesota in St. Paul.

The Loons have lost only one of their last nine home matches dating back to the end of last season (W5 D3). The Loons have won consecutive home matches just once in that span, winning their last two home matches of the 2024 regular season, with the second coming against St. Louis.

St. Louis, meanwhile, won their first three away matches in February-March 2023. Since then, they have won just five of 41 on the road in all competitions (D13 L23).

Minnesota United – 55.4%

Draw – 23%