New York City FC are back on the road as they are set to take on Toronto FC on Wednesday night in East Hartford.
Here’s the Keys to the Match, presented by Tri-State Ford…
Going for Two
The Boys in Blue defeated the Montreal Impact 3-1 on Saturday night as they came back from a three-match winless streak. Once again, with a few days to train and recover before their midweek match, NYCFC are ready to take on another tough competitor in the form of Toronto FC.
City defeated Montreal at home with three scores in the second half from Jesus Medina, Maxi Moralez, and Tony Rocha after a dominant first half. The Impact’s only goal came from the team’s leading scorer Romell Quioto.
Looking ahead of Wednesday’s match, Ronny Deila spoke to the press about the fourth meeting between these two sides in 2020.
Deila said: “We have Taty and Maxime back again available which is good. We were satisfied with the performance last weekend, so we’re in a position to fight for the top four which is an important thing when you think about the Playoffs.
"We’ll keep working towards that but of course it’s going to be a tough game vs. Toronto. They had a tough game on Sunday so I’m sure they want to show what kind of team they are - we’ve had some tough games against them this season and it’ll be the same tomorrow.”
Starting XI
Head Coach Ronny Deila will enter another match without the services of Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, Gedion Zelalem, Tayvon Gray, James Sands, and Héber.
However, as their time was served due to suspensions from yellow card accumulations, Maxime Chanot and Taty Castellanos can once again take the pitch on Wednesday night.
There are no confirmations on whom will be in the starting lineup, but with the playoffs nearing, Ronny Deila will be looking to put out a strong team as competition for postseason starting XI spots heats up.
Toronto Form
In their last match, Toronto FC were defeated by the Philadelphia Union 5-0 in their battle for the 1st seed position of the MLS Eastern Conference snapping their nine-match unbeaten streak.
Currently, they sit with a record of 12W-5D-3L and 41 points. Guaranteed a good position in the playoffs, a win for Toronto would allow them the sought after 1st seed position and restore some confidence after that tough run last weekend.
According to Toronto FC CA, TFC are hopeful to have Ayo Akinola and his eight goals this season back in the lineup against NYC, while Chris Mavinga, Eriq Zavaleta, Pablo Piatti and Jonathan Osorio are all questionable.
Last Time
This will be the teams’ fourth match of the year with their previous taking place at Red Bull Arena which ended in a controvesial 1-0 victory for the opposing side. Toronto’s only score came from a PK late in the game by midfielder Alejando Pozuelo after a really tough handball call against Nicolas Acevedo.
The Reds took the two regular-season matches 1-0, while NYCFC eliminated Toronto at the MLS is Back Tournament 3-1 back on July 26.
What’s Next
Tune into YES Network for the pregame show with Joe Tolleson and Ian Joy at 7:00PM ET as they countdown to kick off at 7:30PM ET. For commentary in English and Spanish visit NYCFC.com/Radio.
With only three matches left in the remainder of the MLS regular season, we want to hear you cheering across the five boroughs! To find out more about NYCFC’s upcoming matches and how you can tune in, click here. Let’s hear ya, New York. #ForTheCity
