• Saint Louis FC (3 wins, 5 draws/ties, 3 defeats) currently stand in 10^th position in the USL Western Conference, 7 places below and 7 points behind Rising in 3^rd position.
• Tonight’s game is only the second ever encounter between both clubs, Rising’s predecessor Arizona United winning 2-1 back in 2016 with goals from Tyler Blackwood and Tan.  Saint Louis played in the USL Eastern Conference in 2017, but were asked to switch conferences during the close season.
• Saint Louis’ Head Coach, Anthony Pulis, was dismissed from the technical area for irresponsible behavior against Orange County earlier this month.  The son of Tony Pulis (a former Premier League manager at Stoke, Crystal Palace and West Brom, currently managing Middlesborough in the English Championship), Pulis Jr. also places considerable emphasis on a strong defensive base.  As a result, only 3 of St Louis’ opponents this season have managed to score more than 1 goal.  All 3 of those games were played on the road and ended in victories for the hosts – 2-1 for San Antonio, 6-3 for Los Dos, and 3-0 last weekend for the Switchbacks.
• Jake Fenlason is expected to line-up in goals for Saint Louis tonight.  He has featured in 10 games so far this season, conceding 14 goals but also securing 4 clean sheets.  Dropped to the bench against Orange County following the disappointing 6-3 defeat away to Los Dos, Fenlason reclaimed the goalkeeper’s jersey last Saturday.
• Sam Fink, Sean Reynolds, and Jonathan Barden will probably line up immediately in front of Fenlason in defense this evening.
• Fink and Reynolds are 2 of 3 ever-presents for Saint Louis this season.
• Fink is enjoying a second spell at the club.  Also an ever-present in 2015, Fink scored 4 goals in 53 appearances for Saint Louis over two years, before moving to OKC Energy for a season in 2017.
• Florida born Reynolds has 5 years’ USL experience.  His former clubs are VSI Tampa Bay in 2013 (17 appearances, 1 goal), and Louisville City in 2015-2017 (59 appearances, 1 goal).  Reynolds also spent the 2014-15 season at Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar (FH) in the Úrvalsdeild (Iceland), featuring 11 times, including 2 appearances in the Europa League qualifying rounds.
• Defensive midfielder Barden lost his ever-present record thanks to an injury time dismissal for serious foul play away to Orange County.  A former Wealdstone FC youth player, the Englishman made his professional debut with Íþróttabandalag Vestmannaeyja (ÍBV) in Iceland, featuring 33 times in 2015-16.  Barden joined Saint Louis from Ottawa Fury (27 appearances, 1 goal) in the close season, and served his one-game suspension away to the Switchbacks last Saturday.
• Ten of the 15 goals conceded by Saint Louis this season have been scored in the second half.

• English midfielder Lewis Hilton is Saint Louis’ other ever-present this season.  He was signed from Charlotte Independence (59 appearances, 7 goals) during the close season, and currently has the worst disciplinary record at the club, collecting 3 of Saint Louis’ 16 yellow cards.
• Midfielder Edward Opoku is on loan from Columbus Crew.  The Ghanian had previously spent two seasons with AC Connecticut in the PDL.
• The main threat in the middle of the park will probably come from Joey Calistri.  He played 14 times for Chicago Fire in the MLS (2016 and 2017), scoring once.  Calistri spent most of last season on loan at the Roughnecks (31 appearances, 9 goals), and signed for Saint Louis in January.
• Rising’s defense will need to be at their best against Kyle Greig.  The 27-year old forward has scored 5 of Saint Louis’ 11 USL goals this season, including a brace away to Los Dos.  Greig has previously played for the Wilmington Hammerheads (26 appearances, 6 goals), OKC Energy (51 appearances, 16 goals), Whitecaps 2 (27 appearances, 11 goals), and FC Cincinnati on loan (12 appearances, 1 goal).
• Either Albert Dikwa or Corey Hertzog are expected to partner Greig, both having contributed a single goal this season.
• Dikwa joined Saint Louis from Orlando City B in the close season, where he scored 3 times in 22 appearances.
• Hertzog has previously played for both the New York Red Bulls and Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS (12 appearances, 1 goal).  His most successful time was at Pittsburgh Riverhounds, where he averaged approximately a goal every other game (62 appearances, 27 goals) in 2016 and 2017.
• Four of St Louis’ 11 goals this season have been scored in the last 15 minutes of a game.

• Saint Louis’ starting XI last Saturday included two new loan signings from Orlando City – midfielder Cameron Lindley and forward Pierre Da Silva.
• Lindley has played 3 times for Orlando City in the MLS this season, and collected 26 caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team at U17, U18, and U20 level.
• Da Silva scored 5 times in 49 games for Orlando City B.  He has also made 1 MLS appearance for the senior team, and represented the U.S. Men’s National Team at U17 and U19 levels (32 appearances, 4 goals).

From The Ashes Prediction:  Rising to finally return to winning ways with a hard-fought 1-0 victory.