Louisville City returns home on Saturday after being handed their second defeat in as many matches. Ouch. Morados is not used to losing and neither are the demanding fans. The pressure will be on as all attendance restrictions will be lifted for the first time at Lynn Family Stadium when LouCity faces Memphis 901. Will the Beale Street ballers be the latest squad to hand City an “L” or will our boys in purple return to their winning ways?
Tim Howard's 901 are off to a 1-1-2 record, with the first win surprisingly occurring in their latest match away to Indy Eleven. A big win for the young club that has historically struggled. While they were slow to sign players in the offseason and written off by many early (myself included), they could be showing signs that a match against them won’t be a walk in the park. While they only sit seventh out of the eight teams in the Central Division, they have only played four matches (all on the road). According to FiveThirtyEight’s SPI team ratings, they could have the quality to compete for a playoff position.
Looking at their team numbers doesn’t tell the most inspiring story. They are averaging an xG for of 0.79 to their xG against of 1.19. They have failed to score in half the matches they have had and average a measly 32% possession (that is not a typo). There is no lying that these are not great, however, it’s only been four matches all on the road. Factor in the small sample size and it’s fair to give them a *little* benefit of the doubt. They beat Indy, after all. Something LouCity failed to do at home.
Players to watch for on this Tennessee side include Laurent Kissiedou, Mark Segbers, and Kadeem Dacres. Kissiedou is a 22-year-old player from the Ivory Coast who is having a strong start to the 2021 season, 12 shots (four on target), one goal, eight chances created, one assist, and an average player rating of 8.03. Quite the resume in just four matches. It appears he will be a key part of the 901 attack. Segbers has provided his team eight chances created, seven key passes, one assist, and an average player rating of 7.47. He may not be the one finding the back of the net but he is showing early that he will be involved in helping to make that happen. Dacres is a name that will be familiar to LouCity fans as he was a member of the club in 2015 and 2016. In fact, he was part of the original starting eleven! He has bagged both a goal and an assist and will bring in a bit of knowledge having played with a few of the City guys like Niall McCabe and George Davis IV.
FiveThirtyEight has given Louisville a 57% chance to win, however, given their current run of form and the confidence gained by Memphis after a big road win could even out those chances in the eyes of some. Louisville City needs a win. The added incentive of the “grand opening” will only further amplify that demand for success. Jonathan Gomez will be returning from his stint with the Mexican team and hopefully be adding that little extra oomph they are needing. Make sure you cheer loud if you will be in attendance. Our boys will need the support!
BTW
Come to the March To The Match. 6:15 at Ten20. Let’s make this a monumental event!
And don't forget to take part in the Prideraiser!
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