AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 4: Brendan Hines-Ike #4 of Austin FC passes the ball during a match against St. Louis CITY SC at Q2 Stadium on October 4, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Scott Wachter/Getty Images)

AUSTIN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 4: Brendan Hines-Ike #4 of Austin FC passes the ball during a match against St. Louis CITY SC at Q2 Stadium on October 4, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Scott Wachter/Getty Images)

Scott Wachter/Getty Images

Good things happened for Austin FC last week even though it didn’t step on the field. 

First, the Verde & Black qualified for the MLS playoffs Sunday after San Jose lost, then they avoided the play-in game Saturday when both Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas fell. 

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Entering its last two games of the season starting with Sunday’s match against LAFC at Q2 Stadium, Austin FC is in the position it wanted to be of not needing results. It will be either the sixth or seventh seed in the Western Conference playoffs regardless of what happens the final two games. (It owns the tiebreaker with Dallas of more wins if both teams end up with 44 points.)

Yet coming off three straight losses, with its 3-1 loss to St. Louis on Oct. 4 being a particularly subpar showing, the Verde & Black need to build some positive momentum going into the postseason. 

Here are four things to watch as Austin FC (12-12-8, 44 points) faces the hottest team in MLS. 

LAFC is missing its best players

If there’s a club the Verde & Black would have chosen not to face in a situation where they’re trying to bounce back from a tough stretch, it’s LAFC. The West Coast club has won six straight and is going after the top seed in the playoffs. 

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But Austin FC catches a huge break personnel-wise. 

LAFC forwards and star players Son Heung-Min (South Korea) and Denis Bouanga (Gabon) are on international duty and will miss the match. And while the rest of LAFC’s roster is still solid, it drops the club from having one of the best attacks in MLS to being rather pedestrian on offense.

Bouanga is second in the league — trailing only Lionel Messi — with 24 goals and Heung-Min has tallied eight goals since joining the club in early August. (LAFC is 7-1-2 since Heung-Min arrived.)

MLS veteran Jeremy Ebobisse will likely be LAFC’s main option up top and is an exceptional third option for a club, but he’s not the scoring threat that Bouanga and Heung-Min are. 

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Who plays forward for Austin FC? 

Austin FC is dealing with its own roster issues. 

Myrto Uzuni (Albania) is on international duty and Diego Rubio is questionable with a hamstring issue, meaning the Verde & Black might be down to their fourth and fifth options if Austin FC coach Nico Estévez uses his traditional two-forward lineup. 

With Austin FC’s playoff status solidified, there’s no reason to push the 32-year-old Rubio, so expect to see Jáder Obrian or CJ Fodrey up top for extended periods of time, even if only one of them starts. 

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The Verde & Black are thin on the backline

Julio Cascante (Costa Rica) and Oleksandr Svatok (Ukraine) are also with their national teams, leaving Brendan Hines-Ike and Mateja Djordjevic as the team’s only center backs available. 

Estévez could go with a five-man backline as he has at times the past six weeks, but with Heung-Min and Bouanga not playing, there’s no need to do so. Guilherme Biro, who missed the St. Louis match due to yellow-card accumulation, could slide over from his spot at left back to play center back if needed, and Ilie Sánchez would also be an option there in an emergency. 

Austin FC predicted lineup

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Midfield: Jon Gallagher, Owen Wolff, Ilie Sánchez, Dani Pereira, Osman Bukari

Defense: Guilherme Biro, Brendan Hines-Ike, Mateja Djordjevic, Mikkel Desler

Austin FC vs LAFC prediction

Austin FC 1, LAFC 1: LAFC will probably play conservatively with a five-man backline and try to hit Ebobisse on counterattacks, so look for Austin FC to be the aggressor. But with Uzuni out, the Verde & Back lack punch up top. Expect a draw with Austin FC going into its final match Saturday at San Jose with a chance to finish sixth in the West. 

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Where to watch Austin FC vs LAFC

The MLS match will be broadcast on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass and Apple TV+.Â