Louisville City’s first of three away matches resulted in a win against a spirited Detroit City. Looking to keep their lead in the East and challenge San Antonio for the top spot in the league, LouCity will head south to try to take some point from Miami FC. These two teams faced off early in the campaign, and that encounter ended as a convincing win for Morados. Miami is in the playoff picture, however, with 40 points in 26 matches, they reside at the bottom of the spectrum. With that said, their lead over the first team out, Tulsa, should be sufficient and FiveThirtyEight is giving them a 95% chance to enter the playoffs.
Miami scores 1.2 goals per match (17th) with 3.9 shots on target per match (16th) and 41 total big chances created (11th). While their offensive stats are somewhat mediocre, their defense is their bigger success story. They have only allowed 1 goal per match (5th) and have amassed 13 clean sheets (T-1st). Fairly comparable numbers to what we saw with Detroit. In fact, they fall within close proximity of one another on the “Good-Lucky” Matrix and the plotting of GF/G and GA/G (which makes sense given their similar table standings).
Players to keep an eye on include Florian Valot, Romeo Parkes, and Paco Craig. Valot, a long-time member of the NY Red Bulls system, has four goals (3rd), seven assists (1st), and a team-high 7.46 player rating in this campaign. With 41 chances created (1st) and seven big chances created (1st), he has been a bright spot for Miami’s attack. Parks may not have the starts that some of his teammates have, however, he has made the most of his time on this pitch this year. He has scored five goals (2nd) at a rate of 0.39 per 90 (1st). He has made 3.0 shots per 90 (1st) and 1.2 shots on target per 90 (1st) with 1.0 possessions won in the final 3rd per 90 (1st). If he doesn’t make the start, he could make an appearance as a super sub. And finally, there is Paco Craig. We are quite familiar with Paco. He leads his team in clearances per 90 (4.3), blocks per 90 (1.1), and has the 2nd highest player rating at 7.22. He is a defensive anchor and their team captain. It’s also worth giving the former LouCity midfielder Speedy Williams a shout out here too.
According to FiveThirtyEight, the boys in purple have a 42% chance to earn all three points in this match and a 29% chance it ends in a draw. LouCity has been red hot as of late and the hosts have won five of the last six. Will LouCity continue their push to be the best in the league or will Miami further solidify their playoff aspirations? Based on their previous meetings and the team’s current form, there is a lot of reason for optimism for LouCity fans. Let’s hope the boys can get it done in Florida!
Parting Thoughts
Want to do a little more reading on LouCity? I suggest the following:
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