New York City FC travels to the Capital this weekend for a second and final Regular Season meeting with D.C. United.
Here’s the Keys to the Match, presented by Tri-State Ford…
Another Tough Trip
City showed character and quality in equal measure in Minnesota last weekend and they will need more of the same at Audi Field on Sunday.
This Easter Sunday showdown with Ben Olsen’s men marks a significant test for Dome Torrent’s side as they look to finally secure their first three points of the young season vs. the early Eastern Conference pacesetters.
D.C. come into their eighth game of 2019 on the back of a 3-2 road win in Colorado, recovering from their heavy defeat to LAFC and the goalless draw with Montreal.
With Wayne Rooney and Luciano Acosta leading the charge for the home side, NYC will need to keep it tight and play smart to get that dub.
ITS 29
Since Ismael Tajouri-Shradi came to the league in 2018, no player in MLS has outperformed their expected goals ratio more than our Isi.
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'Arial'; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(100.000000%, 100.000000%, 100.000000%)">Player </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'Arial'; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(100.000000%, 100.000000%, 100.000000%)">Team </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'Arial'; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(100.000000%, 100.000000%, 100.000000%)">xG Differential </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'Arial'; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(100.000000%, 100.000000%, 100.000000%)">Goals </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'Arial'; font-weight: 700">Ismael Tajouri-Shradi </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'Arial'; font-weight: 700">NYCFC </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'Arial'; font-weight: 700">7.91 </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'Arial'; font-weight: 700">13 </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">Zlatan Ibrahimovic </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">LA Galaxy </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">6.84 </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">28 </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">Ignacio Piatti </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">Montreal Impact </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">5.81 </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">19 </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">Aleksandar Katai </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">Chicago Fire </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">5.00 </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">12 </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">Romain Alessandrini </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">LA Galaxy </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">4.97 </span> |
<span style="font-size: 12.000000pt; font-family: 'ArialMT'">11 </span> |
Isi’s XG Differential is 7.91 for his 13 goals… for the uninitiated, XG measures how many goals a player could be expected to score from the chances they receive in a game – basically, that means Isi is very good at scoring difficult goals!
Additionally, Isi has the best conversion rate for any player in MLS who has taken more than 40 shots since the start of 2018, with 31% of his 42 shots resulting in goals.
Let’s hope Isi has his shooting boots on yet again on Sunday in D.C….
NYCFC Iron Man
One man who could be back to help City keep it tight is Alexander Callens.
The Peruvian Iron Man is expected to be back in contention after taking part in training this week following a hamstring injury.
Since joining the Club in 2017, Callens has been a mainstay in the NYC backline and could be an important figure for City against a fleet-footed, intricate frontline put typically up by D.C..
Front Foot
Taty Castellanos and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi captured the majority of the headlines from an NYCFC point of view in that 3-3 Minnesota draw.
Both left the match early, with Man of the Match Taty receiving a heavy blow to the head.
It remains to be seen if the Argentine will shake off that nasty clash in time for Sunday’s game but City do have Brazilian striker Héber waiting in the wings, still awaiting his first start #ForTheCity.
Who will lead the line on Sunday? Visit NYCFC.com approximately an hour before kick-off to find out first!
Head-to-Head
There’s no separating NYCFC and D.C. United after 10 meetings between the teams.
Both sides have four wins apiece to their names, with two ties over the past five seasons.
A goalless draw at Yankee Stadium in March means that this parity held from 2018 to 2019 but will that be the case on Sunday evening? It should be a fun one!
