New York City Football Club are back on the road as they take on Nashville SC this Saturday.
The Boys in Blue return to action in a 8:30pm ET kick-off at GEODIS Park.
Here are the Keys to the Match, presented by Ford…
Form Guide
Nashville’s GEODIS Park is known to be a difficult place for visiting teams to go.
Despite that reputation, Nashville are in the midst of a mixed form at home. In their last five outings at home they’ve managed two wins, two draws, and a defeat. That sole loss came in their last home game against the New England Revolution.
Goals from Carles Gil and Emir Bajraktarević gave the Revs a 2-1 victory on the night and kept Nashville eight in the Eastern Conference.
Both City and Nashville will want to bounce back from defeats in their last game, and while City’s record at GEODIS Park isn’t great, Saturday could be the perfect time to break that streak with a big win.
Bounce Back
After a string of great results, the last two games haven’t gone how City wanted.
Defeats to the Columbus Crew and LA Galaxy have left a sour taste in the mouth. Nick Cushing has been honest in his assessment of where City went wrong against the Galaxy earlier this week.
If one thing has defined City’s good form this season it is their character. It was evident against the Crew – despite losing – and has seen them claim points late in games due to their never-say-die attitude.
If they can harness that same feeling again when they take on Nashville there is every chance they leave Music City with three points.
Rotation
One of New York City’s big pushes during the off-season was adding strength and depth to the roster.
City are able to change things up with substitutions and that affords them an air of unpredictability. Nick Cushing chose Mounsef Bakrar to lead the line against the Galaxy and then introduced Alonso Martínez during the second half.
Jovan Mijaotvić offers City another option up front, and that is a microcosm for the potential changes Cushing can make. The Boys in Blue have had a challenging week in terms of travel and games, but with players ready and willing to step in, Saturday could be the moment for someone to make a name for themselves.
As Cushing has said previously, “Your good moment is just around the corner.”
