MLS Cup Playoffs - November 30 - New England (Away)
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
When the pundits wont pick us then I believe that we will win
I had my first NYCFC dream last night and that I was a defender on the team, and we beat sporting KC to get into the open Cup final.
Had an interesting discussion with the elder son about the lineup for this one.
Unlike the last game, our midfield should be more complete. We will have Zelalem available, and possibly also Acevedo.
So, do we start one of them in midfield and play Sands at elbow back? Or do we go with the same starting lineup as last time and keep those guys and the lineup change in our pocket in case we need it?
My sense is we go with the same starting lineup. I trust Grey more than Zelalem, and Acevedo can't be ready to go 90'.
Unlike the last game, our midfield should be more complete. We will have Zelalem available, and possibly also Acevedo.
So, do we start one of them in midfield and play Sands at elbow back? Or do we go with the same starting lineup as last time and keep those guys and the lineup change in our pocket in case we need it?
My sense is we go with the same starting lineup. I trust Grey more than Zelalem, and Acevedo can't be ready to go 90'.
I think you gotta keep things the same. Why change what worked last week?
Also, Alfredo had one of his best games with us against ATL. With him and Sands as DMs creativity may not be at top but you can rest assured that Carles Gil and Tommy will be dealt with. Zelalem I like as an attacker, but I don't think he provides much interception, if any. Finally, I think Buchanan going against Malte or Gudi is more of a danger than whomever attacks on NEs left going against Tayvon.
Apparently Morales said Acevedo will be back, but I agree it seems unlikely he could play 90.
In the pre-game presser ahead of Tuesday’s Eastern Conference matchup against the Revs, Ronny Deila declared NYCFC “injury free” and that everyone was well rested. Furthermore, midfielder Alfredo Morales would later say that “Cacha [Acevedo] is coming back,” giving the team plenty of options when it comes to how they want to approach the game.
You have the MLS leader in chance creation lining up as the 10. Keep Alfredo and James in the middle to gum him up.
On Extratime Radio, Doyle said the way to beat the Revs was to stack numbers in the midfield. Not that I agree with Doyle, and it's known that Doyle doesn't know NYCFC, but Sands needs to be in the midfield.
in games where we control the midfield, we tend to control the game. so he's not wrong, but it's also not exactly insightful. it's pretty much true for any game out there.
buchanan is going to beat malte on the left for sure. malte will be out of position often. but callens should be there to cover for those times, so I'll take that. I think if we control gil, we win this game if we take our chances.
For as much as the Revs have won this year, it’s been more of getting players to deliver in key moments and not blowing the other team off the ball. I could easily see a game where NYCFC looks good to the eye and has a lot of the ball but yet Revs score on 1-2 key moments and NYCFC returns to “20 shots, 2 on target” form.
I should have also mentioned that Gudi is fully available. We could see him out left instead of Malte, but I suspect he will just be available off the bench.
I suppose we could also try 3 in the back with Sands, but I doubt it.
I suppose we could also try 3 in the back with Sands, but I doubt it.
That's a really tough one considering how well Sands has played the RB slot. Playing Sands at RB also has at times come with Thiago on the RW instead of Medina because there is less of a need to track back without an overlapping RB. So it may be an even more complicated choice of:
1. Sands CDM, Medina RW, Grey RB
2. Zelalem CDM, Thiago RW, Sands RB
I think Ronnie goes with option 1 because it's more conservative defensively given the stakes of the game, but it's nice to have the flexibility to swap to option 2 if we need a goal.
Based on my detailed analysis of glancing at ticketmaster real quick, I'm expecting a crowd of about 24k tonight.
Immediately following our match on FS1 is Bahrain v Qatar, so I'm presuming if we go to ET & PKs our match will be cut off so that titanic battle can be broadcast to the masses.
