It's hard not to linger on the special night that was the #FillTheFam match against Tampa Bay, however, the Louisville City squad will need to get back to the grind as they have a challenging road trip ahead beginning with a match against Detroit City. This will be the first league meeting between the two sides. They have faced off twice before in the US Open Cup with the most recent meeting earlier this season. Detroit sits 7th in the East with 36 points from 23 games. They are a comfortable distance ahead of 8th place Tulsa and within striking distance of 6th Miami. FiveThirtyEight has given them an 85% chance to make the playoffs. They have the quality to make it an uncomfortable match for Morados.
Detroit’s offensive numbers are just ok. They score 1.3 goals per match (17th) with 3.4 shots on target per match (23rd) and 35 big chances created (16th). It is the defense that shines. They have only allowed an average of one goal per match (4th) and racked up 7 clean sheets (8th) on the season. Looking just at their home matches, they still average exactly one goal against per match, but their goals for per match creep up to 1.33 with an xGF at 1.58.
There is plenty of talent on Detroit’s roster. Maxi Rodriguez, Antoine Hoppenot, and Deklan Wynne are three players to watch in this next match. Rodriguez has flourished in Detroit after leaving San Antonio. He has scored five goals (T-2nd) and has a team-high player rating of 7.54. Hoppenot needs no introduction. The Flow has done well with his new club scoring five goals, five assists (2nd), and leading in both chances created and big chances created. Wynne, who has logged minutes at the MLS level, has been an important part of Detroit’s inaugural USL campaign logging a team-high six assists and two goals.
FiveThirtyEight is giving LouCity a 50% chance to walk out with a win and a 22% chance Detroit grabs all three points. Thankfully for Louisville, Detroit has a midweek match against the Birmingham Legion. A tough stretch for the maroon and gold. Between the on-field matchup and the atmosphere the Detroit fans bring to their match, it should be an entertaining game this weekend!
Parting Thoughts
Be sure to check out my assessment of LouCity's performance the first half of the season (How's It Going Pt. 2) as well as my feature on Josh Wynder!
Want to do a little more reading on LouCity? I suggest the following:
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