Nick Cushing believes his side must be themselves when they take on Atlanta United.
New York City FC are preparing for a tough match against the Five Stripes on Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in what will be their third road game on the spin. Facing off against a much-changed Atlanta side from the one they met earlier in the season, Cushing emphasized the importance of his team focusing on their game.
“They might have had some key departures, but they still have a lot of quality in that team and an interim coach that's changed the shape – they now play in three in the back,” he said.
“It’s a really difficult place to go in the sense of the crowd and the atmosphere at Mercedes-Benz stadium.
“We know it's going to be a difficult game. We're going to have to make sure that we prepare properly, but I think it's about being ourselves.
“It's about reflecting on previous performances, good and bad ones where we can improve. I think the Austin game and the last game [against Chicago] gives us a good marker of how we are good on the road and what gives us the best chance of winning.
“We lost in Austin, but we tied in Chicago, but I think that there were distinct differences in the performances.”
City will be without James Sands for Wednesday’s game with the midfielder missing out due to yellow card accumulation.
The status of fellow midfielder Andrés Perea is unclear after the 23-year-old was forced off against Chicago Fire with an injury, meaning City will be forced to shuffle the pack in the middle of the pitch.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Cushing gave an update on several players who have missed games through injury recently.
“Losing James house the yellow card isn't ideal when we’ve got some injuries,” he said.
“The positives are we've got some guys back. Tayvon Gray trained today, Maxi Moralez trained today, and Birk Risa obviously came off the bench and has trained today so those guys are back in.
“Andrés Perea is still being assessed by the medical team and as soon as we get an update on that we’ll give clarity on the situation.”
“You see in the likes of Justin Haak he can go into midfield and do a job. The rest of the guys are in good health. I’ve said before when the guys are injured it’s a good opportunity for other guys.
“I'm really happy with the roster that we've built. We have depth across most positions.”
