New York City FC may be without David Villa, their leading scorer and the reigning MLS MVP, for a third straight match when they meet the Colorado Rapids on Saturday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.
Villa, who owns a league-leading 19 goals, has been out with an abductor irritation he suffered while training with the Spanish National Team. NYCFC (15-8-5) is 1-1 without him, but scored just once in those matches.
Forwards Sean Okoli and Jack Harrison will look to pick up the scoring slack if Villa is unable to go.
"When you're missing one player, you know that other players can step in," said NYCFC coach Patrick Vieira. "So far we've been really fortunate, but you never like to see injuries."
The Rapids (7-16-4) put an end to their four-game slide by defeating the Houston Dynamo 1-0 on Saturday.
The victory snapped Colorado's winless streak after nine games, equaling the third-longest in club history and the longest since the club-record 18-game run from July 30, 2014-April 4, 2015.
"Winning brings a great deal of confidence," said Colorado coach Steve Cooke. "When they're confident, they're happy. They believe in one another."
Scoring has been an issue this season for the Rapids. They scored 25 times -- only DC United has scored less (23). Dominique Badji leads the club with seven goals.
NYCFC is 1-0-1 against the Rapids in their brief series meetings. Colorado is 6-5-2 at home this season while NYCFC, second in the Eastern Conference with 50 points, is 5-6-2 on the road.
