Ronald Matarrita starts for New York City FC in their midweek matchup vs. Real Salt Lake.
The Costa Rican international has recovered from his hamstring injury and is back in the starting XI for the first time this year.
Elsewhere, Alex Ring and David Villa are fit enough for a place on the bench, meaning Head Coach Patrick Vieira rolls with a front three of Jo Inge Berget, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi and Maxi Moralez.
Backing them up, Maxi Moralez, Ebenezer Ofori and Yangel Herrera retain their places as the midfield three ahead of Matarrita, Maxime Chanot, Alexander Callens and Anton Tinnerholm.
Ring and Villa are joined by Brad Stuver, Sebastien Ibeagha, Ben Sweat, Tommy McNamara and Rodney Wallace.
NYCFC XI: Johnson, Tinnerholm, Chanot (C), Callens, Matarrita, Ofori, Herrera, Moralez, Tajouri-Shradi, Berget, Medina
SUBS: Stuver, Ibeagha, Sweat, Ring, McNamara, Wallace, Villa
Key Stats
- Real Salt Lake have been victorious in all three of their meetings with NYCFC, outscoring them 7-3 in the process. NYCFC has lost just one league home match since last May (10W-4D), tied for the fewest by any MLS side in that time. They’ve scored multiple goals in all but three matches in that time.
- Real Salt Lake is winless in their last six away matches (4L-2D), failing to keep a clean sheet and allowing 3+ goals three times in that stretch.
- Since the start of last season, Real Salt Lake have scored 69% of their goals with their right feet, the third-highest such percentage in the league. Since the start of last season, Real Salt Lake have been scored on 23 times by an opposition player’s left foot, the most of any team in the league.
- City took nine shots and faced 19 in their win against San Jose. This was the fourth biggest negative shot differential in any of City’s 45 regular season MLS wins.
- NYCFC keeper Sean Johnson leads the league or is tied for the league lead in save percentage (84%) and clean sheets (two, tied with seven other keepers).
- In Justen Glad’s previous 50 appearances for Real Salt Lake, the team has earned results in 33 of them (20W-13D). They allow 1.2 goals per game when Glad plays, as opposed to 2.3 when he does not.
- Brooks Lennon had five tackles on Saturday for Real Salt Lake and has 12 in his last three games. He had 22 in his previous 26 league appearances combined.
- Maxi Moralez had a goal and an assist last weekend, the second time he has scored and assisted in the same regular season game. He becomes the seventh player in NYCFC history to score and assist in the same game more than once.
- Jefferson Savarino’s goal against Vancouver was his first of 2018 and snapped a six-game scoreless streak which dated back to September of last year.
