Everyone wanted to quickly move on from the Sacramento fiasco, and we thankfully got a midweek US Open Cup match win as a pallet cleanser. The first meeting between Louisville City and Lexington Sporting Club wasn’t as lopsided as one would have hoped, but it was a confidence-boosting win heading back into league play. Next up; Detroit City.
Detroit, coming off an Open Cup win of their own, hasn’t been setting the league on fire in their sophomore USL campaign. Just one win and three losses to their name to start the season. However, FiveThirtyEight is still giving them a 53% chance to make the postseason. They are only conceding 1 goal a match (12th) but have only been scoring 0.8 per match (19th). They have registered 3.8 shots on target per match (14th) which is actually much better than LouCity, who currently sit in 22nd with 2.3. It’s still early but ouch. Morados beat them three times last season including an Open Cup battle and a late-season match to clinch 1st in the East. We will see if they can make it 5 straight (don’t forget their 2016 Open Cup meeting)!
Faces to fear include Maxi Rodriguez, Michael Bryant, and Skage Simonsen. Rodriguez led in goals (9) and player rating (7.52) in 2022 and is also currently leading in both categories again in 2023 (1 goal with a 7.75 player rating). Bryant is 2nd for player rating with 7.34 as well as interceptions per 90 with 2.5. Simonsen is a newcomer from Loudoun who registered his team’s lone assist (an area he lead Loudoun in last season), created 2 big chances, and leads his team with 2.5 successful dribbles per 90. It’s also worth mentioning that Louisville native and former LouCity player Richey Ballard is now with DET!
The boys in purple have a 64% chance to win, according to FiveThirtyEight, with Detroit only having a 19% chance to win. I like those odds, but crazier things have happened. Both teams need a win to feel more comfortable with their early season standings. Does LouCity get their groove back or does Detroit steal points on the road? Excited to find out on Saturday!
Parting Thoughts
Want to do a little more reading on LouCity? I suggest the following:
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