PHOENIX – Pacific Division title winners Phoenix Rising FC play host to Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday night at Wild Horse Pass looking for a win to claim the best record in the Western Conference for the postseason against a Republic FC side that earned a draw in its first trip to Phoenix this season but must take a win this time around to stay alive in the race for the postseason. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET.

@PHXRisingFC (20-5-5, 65pts) took a 6-3 victory against Las Vegas Lights FC at Cashman Field last Saturday afternoon in its most recent outing as Santi Moar recorded a pair of goals and Aodhan Quinn recorded three assists to lead the side in a wild outing. Quinn’s performance saw him become the 21st different player in the Championship’s regular season to record three assists in a game and moved him level with Hartford Athletic’s Danny Barrera on 11 assists this season for the league-lead. Moar, meanwhile, moved into sixth place in the Championship with 16 goals this season, continuing a season high that also saw him pass 40 regular-season goals for his career in the Championship. With a win, Phoenix would move clear of Mountain Division title winner El Paso Locomotive FC for the best record in the Western Conference with one game remaining in the schedule ahead of Locomotive FC’s game on Sunday night against OKC Energy FC.

@SacRepublicFC (8-12-10, 34pts) played to a 0-0 draw in its most recent outing last Sunday afternoon against Tacoma Defiance which left the side on the brink of mathematical elimination from the postseason. Any result but a win on Saturday in Phoenix would see Republic FC miss the playoffs for the first time in its eight-season history, and even should Sacramento win it could also be eliminated should the LA Galaxy II either win or draw against Tacoma in Sunday’s action. The visitors earned a 0-0 draw when they last visited Phoenix but carried much the better of the play in the contest on August 21 as they recorded nine shots on target but were unable to get past Phoenix goalkeeper Andre Rawls. With victory now essential, Sacramento must find a breakthrough this time around.

FiveThirtyEight.com Match Predictor: Phoenix Rising FC 59%, Sacramento Republic FC 18%, Draw 23%

Most Recent Lineups

Phoenix Rising FC (4-3-3): Lalo Delgado; Darnell King, Niall Dunn, Joey Farrell, Ryan Flood; David Loera, Kevon Lambert, Aodhan Quinn; Joey Calistri, David Egbo, Santi Moar

Sacramento Republic FC (4-4-2): Carlos Saldana; Shannon Gomez, Nabi Kibunguchy, Dan Casey, Duke Lacroix; Emil Cuello, Jaime Villarreal, Luis Felipe Fernandes, Dariusz Formella; Maalique Foster, Cameron Iwasa

Discipline

Phoenix Rising FC – None

Sacramento Republic FC – Caution Accumulation Warning: Dariusz Formella, Luis Felipe Fernandes