Forward Simon Becher believes St. Louis City are starting to click into gear, as they approach their home clash with the Colorado Rapids inside the MLS playoff positions.

St. Louis have won back-to-back games since returning to action following the World Cup break, beating Sporting Kansas City 3-2 and the LA Galaxy 3-1.

Becher joined Lukas MacNaughton and Marcel Hartel on the scoresheet in Los Angeles on Wednesday, when Carlos Emiro-Garces' red card ensured St. Louis played much of the second half with a one-man advantage.

For the first time all year, St. Louis now occupy a wild-card spot, sitting eighth in the Western Conference and just a point adrift of the automatic qualification places.

Becher's goal against the Galaxy was just his second of the season, having underperformed his 6.26 expected goals (xG) by a significant margin in 2026, but he thinks things are starting to turn for St. Louis.

Asked about their league position after the Galaxy game, Becher said: "It's been a goal of this team since day one, we've been working really hard.

"During this World Cup break, we had four really good weeks of training, we worked a lot on improving and not being satisfied with where we are.

"I think this group is starting to click a little bit better, we worked hard during the break, and it's nice to have a lot of different contributors, a lot of guys on the scoresheet.

"But even here, we could strive for more. We were 3-0 up with some time on the clock and went a man up. I would have liked to see goal number four, five and six. So it's about not being satisfied, continuing to work and taking things game by game. 

"We'll look at this performance and what we can improve on, and then it's another quick turnaround back at home against Colorado, another good squad."

The Rapids, meanwhile, are three places and three points below St. Louis, having beaten San Diego FC in their first game back in MLS action on Wednesday, courtesy of a stoppage-time penalty from Loic Williams.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

St. Louis City – Marcel Hartel

Hartel contributed to all three of St. Louis's goals against the LA Galaxy on Wednesday (one goal, two assists). 

It was Hartel's first MLS match with three goal contributions, as he became the fifth St. Louis City player to achieve that feat in MLS play and the first in 2026.

Colorado Rapids – Loic Williams

On his MLS debut, Williams scored the stoppage-time winner for the Rapids against San Diego last time out. 

Williams is the ninth Rapids player to score on his MLS debut but the first to do so outside of March or April – will he continue his fast start with another goal here?

MATCH PREDICTION – ST. LOUIS CITY WIN

St. Louis' 3–1 victory over the Galaxy on Wednesday was their third consecutive win in MLS and their third consecutive match with three goals. 

It is the second time in club history that St. Louis have scored three or more goals in three straight matches across all competitions, also doing so in May and June 2023.

Colorado, meanwhile, have recorded shutout victories in three of their last five matches across all competitions. 

Prior to that, however, Colorado had two shutout wins in their previous 28 competitive matches. Their defence may not be able to stand firm against an in-form St. Louis side.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

St. Louis City – 49.2%

Colorado Rapids – 27.2%

Draw – 23.6%