Austin FC looks to build on an a memorable and historic 2022 season when they host MLS' newest club St. Louis City SC at the Q2 Stadium.
The Verde and Black's second season in the league saw them finish second in the Western Conference and advance all the way to the conference finals where they were beaten by eventual champions LAFC.
St. Louis embarks on their first season as an MLS club after half a decade of building to this moment with Bradley Carnell installed as the club's first-ever coach.
Team news
The Verde and Black made some key pickups including bringing in Gyasi Zardes from Colorado to further bolster their attack as well as from Seattle.
Central defender Leo Vaisanen has experience across Sweden and Finland and looks to slot into the starting lineup right away.
Adam Lundkvist spent the last five seasons in Houston, but was trade to their in-state rivals in the offseason after making 121 appearances for the Dynamo.
Ruben Gabrielsen departed the club with Vaisanen replacing him. Moussa Djitte was loaned out to Ajaccio in Ligue 1 after failing to impress with Austin.
St. Louis City SC
With this being an expansion club, everyone is new to the franchise, but goalkeeper Roman Burki is the standout addition, arriving from Borussia Dortmund.
Other key acquisitions include forward Joao Klauss from Hoffenheim, Tim Parker coming over from Houston, Najbulo Blom joining from Kaizer Chiefs in South Africa and center back Joakim Nilsson.
Predicted lineups
Austin FC: Stuver; Kolmanic, Väisänen, Cascante, Lima; Pereira, Ring; Fagundez, Driussi, Rigoni; Zardes
St. Louis City SC: Bürki; Pidro, Hiebert, Parker, Nerwinski; Blom, Löwen; Stroud, Ostrák, Alm; Klauss
Key players
Sebastian Driussi (Austin FC)
You run out of superlatives to describe the Argentine, who should have won the MVP award. He finished second in the league with 22 goals and was third in MLS with 29 goal contributions.
Another way to measure Driussi's contributions is the team’s goals-per-match average, which has more than doubled since the Argentine’s debut in August 2021, rising from 0.81 to 1.67.
He also scored several key goals in the Verde and Black's first-ever playoff run to the Western Conference Final.
Roman Burki (St. Louis City SC)
The starting goalkeeper for St. Louis arrives in MLS as one of the club's most decorated players, having appeared 233 times for Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.
Making 33 appearances in the UEFA Champions League, the 33-year-old was also capped nine times for the Swiss national team and is the club's most recognizable signing.
Previous meetings
This is the first-ever match between Austin and St. Louis.
How to watch
With MLS signing a new rights deal, Apple TV + will stream all games for free. Local broadcasts will no longer exist.
Kickoff is set for 8:30pm ET.