The New England Revolution and Kansas City Wizards saw their respective four-game unbeaten streaks end with disappointing losses.
Another defeat would significantly hurt their already fading playoff chances.
The Revolution and Wizards, who will be without forward Teal Bunbury, both try to avoid falling further out of the playoff race when they meet Saturday night in Kansas City.
With 21 points, New England (6-10-3) is five points out of the final playoff spot with 11 games remaining. It also must surpass two teams in the standings to get in postseason position.
A 3-0-1 stretch helped the Revolution stay in the hunt, but that surge ended with Wednesday's 2-1 loss to Chicago.
Marko Perovic opened the scoring for New England in the 16th minute, and the teams seemed to be headed for a draw until Fire forward Calen Carr scored the game winner in the 85th minute.
It was the first time since a 3-2 loss to Columbus on May 8 that the Revolution conceded the game-winning goal after the 75th minute.
"It's a hard loss to take, one of the hardest of the season when you lose in the last minutes," New England defender Cory Gibbs said. "We had a nice little run and now it stopped and reality is back in check. We just need to go and keep pushing."
The Wizards (5-9-5), with 20 points and 11 games left, are in the same position.
Kansas City is coming off last Saturday's 1-0 loss to San Jose after going 2-0-2. The Wizards had seven shots on goal to the Earthquakes four, but failed to finish on their scoring opportunities.
"I thought we had more than enough chances to at least get a point, if not win the game," Wizards manager Peter Vermes said. "The chances we had especially around their goal, at the end of the day, we have to score."
That has been the story all season for Kansas City.
The Wizards have a league-best 102 shots on goal, but their 15 scores are the second-fewest. They have four goals in their last eight games combined, and haven't scored more than once in a game since a 2-0 win over expansion Philadelphia on June 10.
Making matters worse is Bunbury's suspension for this match.
Bunbury, tied for second on the Wizards with two goals, wasn't called for a foul on Earthquakes defender Tim Ward, but the MLS disciplinary committee reviewed the play and deemed it endangered Ward's safety.
Bunbury's absence puts added pressure on midfielders Davy Arnaud and Ryan Smith and forward Kei Kamara, but Smith isn't at full strength after suffering a strained knee during Tuesday's training.
"By no means are we out of it," Arnaud said. "If we play the way that we can play, we can make the playoffs. We are good enough to be there."
This will be the first meeting between these teams since Kansas City's 4-2 win on Sept. 5. The Wizards went 2-0-1 in MLS play against the Revolution last season, outscoring them 7-3.
