On course for their worst-ever finish in Major League Soccer, Toronto FC will be desperate for three points when they welcome CONCACAF Champions League-chasing Nashville SC to the BMO Field.
Rock bottom of the Eastern Conference table, Toronto are five points behind FC Cincinnati in 13th, whilst Nashville remain hopeful of catching runaway leaders New England Revolution.
Match preview
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Since their inaugural campaign, Toronto have never finished lower than ninth in the MLS table, yet are set for their lowest-ever finish as a franchise club when MLS concludes in November.
Suffering their 15th defeat of the season in dramatic fashion last time out, Christian Makoun's 95th-minute winner for Inter Miami summed up what has been a torrid year for Javier Perez and his Toronto side.
A mere shadow of the side that won the MLS Cup back in 2017, Toronto could be about to see their troubles worsen, when they face an in-form Nashville side.
Having lost one of their last 15 matches in the league, Nashville have surprised many with their performances this season and Gary Smith's side still hold an outside chance of topping the Eastern Conference.
The former Fulham and Wycombe Wanderers player has transformed the club's fortunes in just their second campaign as an MLS team.
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After reaching the playoffs in his first season in charge, Nashville have backed up their efforts from the 2020 season, but still sit a lengthy 14 points behind New England Revolution, with an extra two games in hand.
Unbeaten in their two encounters with Toronto, including a victory in last year's playoff quarter-final, Smith's men will be confident of picking up another positive result when they travel across the Canadian border.
One of Toronto's biggest problems this year has been seeing out matches and the seven-time Canadian Championship winners shipped another late goal in their first meeting with Nashville back in June.
Luke Haakenson's 92nd-minute strike secured the win for Nashville, with all signs pointing to another victory for Music City this weekend.
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Team News
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Part of Toronto's poor form this season could be attributed to their unfortunate luck with injuries and the Canadian side will be without a number of key players for their clash with Nashville.
Since rupturing his cruciate ligament in July, Ayo Akinola has missed 12 of Toronto's fixtures and a return is still some time away.
Fellow forward Jozy Altidore will also miss the visit of Nashville, as the former Sunderland striker is still recovering from foot surgery.
Ralph Priso-Mbongue is another Toronto player recovering after going under the knife, whilst Alejandro Pozuelo is still suffering from a leg injury picked up against Inter Miami.
Noble Okello and Kemar Lawrence will not be available for Ali Curtis, with the pair suspended after picking up red cards against CF Montreal and Inter Miami.
After being called up to the US National Team, Walker Zimmerman has returned to top form, helping guide his Nashville defence to their 10th clean sheet of the season.
Zimmerman will captain Smith's side, who will travel to Canada without any injury concerns.
Toronto possible starting lineup:
Bono; Auro, Zavaleta, Mavinga, Laryea; Bradley, Delgado; Osorio, Soteldo, Achara; Endoh
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Romney, Zimmerman, Miller; Washington, Anuga, Mukhtar, LaGrassa, Lovitz; Rios, Sapong
We say: Toronto 0-2 Nashville SC
Whilst it is unlikely Nashville will be able to catch up with New England Revolution at the top of the Eastern Conference, they should still have too much for an out-of-sorts Toronto side.
Looking to extend their unbeaten record against the Canadian side, expect another disappointing result for Toronto.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Toronto win with a probability of 36.44%. A win for Nashville SC had a probability of 35.59% and a draw had a probability of 28%.
The most likely scoreline for a Toronto win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.25%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.8%) and 2-0 (6.68%). The likeliest Nashville SC win was 0-1 (11.08%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.15%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Toronto would win this match.
