San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas wants his team to remain patient when they face one of the best defensive sides in MLS on Saturday, in St. Louis City.

San Diego have made a strong start to their debut season and sit fourth in the Western Conference after 11 games, having earned 17 points.

They hammered FC Dallas 5-0 last week and on Saturday, they visit Energizer Park to face a St. Louis team languishing in 13th place in the West.

Olof Mellberg's hosts do, however, boast the third-best defensive record in the conference, only conceding 12 goals so far this year.

"They're very committed to keeping clean sheets, and they have a lot of quality if you're not careful in terms of counter-attacking," Varas said, as quoted by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

"We want to take care of the ball. We want to have longer attacks. 

"We want to make sure we're finishing actions on the goal or behind their back line, and then making sure our counter-pressing and our pressing is still organised and intense."

This is the first of three games in a week for San Diego, who host the Colorado Rapids in midweek then face Sporting Kansas City on May 17.

"We just have to keep an eye on how guys recover from game to game," Varas said of his plans to rotate. "We'll put the team out that we feel will give us the best chance of winning."

Hirving Lozano scored twice in San Diego's most recent victory and has four goals this campaign, and he hopes his exploits will be rewarded with a return to the Mexico squad.

"I'm always trying to contribute to the team. Regarding the national team, as I've said before, I'm available and would be very happy to return," he told Fox Sports.

"I just have to keep working to be in the best shape possible."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

St. Louis City – Ben Lundt

St. Louis faced 29 shots against the Seattle Sounders in a 4-1 loss last week, the second-most in a match in club history (after 32 versus Portland in August 2024). 

They attempted just seven shots, with that 22-shot difference the largest in a match in club history, either positive or negative. With starting goalkeeper Roman Burki yet to return from a broken hand, stand-in Lundt could be busy.

San Diego FC – Hirving Lozano 

Lozano (two goals, one assist) and Anders Dreyer (one goal, two assists) each contributed to three goals against Dallas last week. 

They are the first pair of team-mates to record three goal contributions in a match for an expansion team since Latif Blessing and Adama Diomande for Los Angeles FC in June 2018.

MATCH PREDICTION – ST. LOUIS CITY WIN

The first match between St. Louis and San Diego was a scoreless draw on March 1, San Diego's second-ever MLS match and their first at home.

San Diego's 5-0 win over Dallas last week equalled the second-largest margin of victory by an expansion team in a regular-season match in MLS history. 

They became the third expansion team to win a regular-season match by at least five goals (after Atlanta United twice and the Chicago Fire once).

However, they have only earned six points away from home compared to 11 on their own turf, losing on three of their first five MLS road trips, so St. Louis may fancy their chances.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

St. Louis City – 43.3%

San Diego – 29.9%

Draw – 26.7%