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Nashville SC host Austin FC on Saturday in a matchup of teams running out of time and desperate to find a winning formula in their return to MLS play after the Leagues Cup.

Nashville (6-11-8, 26 points) opens play for the final nine matches of the regular season in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, three spots but just two points below the playoff line. It’s dropped six matches in a row and gone 2-7-1 in its past 10.

B.J. Callaghan will make his debut as Nashville SC’s coach after being hired on July 3 to replace Gary Smith.

Nashville SC had a loss and a draw in the Leagues Cup and did not advance to the round of 32, meaning they haven’t played since Aug. 6.

Nashville is 28th of 29 teams in the league in goals scored with just 26 over its first 25 matches.

“We want to be able to create goal-scoring chances,” Callaghan said.

Nashville team captain and defender Walker Zimmerman returns to the squad after missing five matches while with the U.S. Olympic team. He says Callaghan has already stamped his style on the team.

“There’s a lot more clarity that’s being brought to light in terms of how we’re going to attack, how we’re going to score goals,” Zimmerman said. “That’s more of what we’re looking for, more of these consistent movements and patterns that can hopefully break down the opponent.”

Austin (8-10-7, 31 points) heads to Tennessee in 10th place in the West and two points below the line with nine matches to play. The Verde won their two matches in Leagues Cup group play before losing at Los Angeles FC in the round of 32 on Aug. 7.

Austin has won just twice and earned only eight points in its past 10 MLS matches dating to the end of May. The Verde have captured only two matches away from home this season and remain at the bottom of the conference in goals scored (28).

“I’m not happy with the performances on the road. We’ve got to do better,” Austin coach Josh Wolff said. “We need to win — our objective from the get-go was to be a playoff team, but we didn’t get too carried away when we were doing well, and we’re not going to get too feathered when we’re not.”

Nashville has never lost to the Verde, winning twice at home before drawing in the sides’ most recent match in September 2022 in Austin.

–Field Level Media