Hello there,
This is new – I wanted to try out a platform that provides more options and flexibility for long-form content. So here we are on mirror.xyz. Don’t worry, I’ll keep posting the GW threads on Twitter as well. Hopefully, this goes well and opens the door to turn updates like the tweet below into something with more context and color:
https://twitter.com/SorareUsa/status/1524790793646522368
I welcome your feedback, comments and general thoughts as usual.
State of the Union:
GW270 covers week 11 in MLS, that means we are almost a third of the way through the season. Let’s check in on how the league is looking:
Just as we all thought, right?
An Austin FC duo leads the league in goals and assists, while Cincy’s Acosta is outpacing Gil for Key Passes. Harriel has arguably been one of the U23 breakouts of this season so far with Philly’s strong start.
At this point we’ve hit a sweet-spot where Expected Goals are becoming significant enough for us to draw some early conclusions about each team. The guys over at backheeled.com did just that in their excellent early-season xG trend recap here.
Where did all the U23 goalies go?
The summer was always going to be a tough scene for U23 line-ups, especially at the GK position. But even within MLS the options have shrunk significantly. David Ochoa had apparently suffered an additional finger injury during his initial recovery at the start of the season. On top of that, he is also dealing with personal issues right now. All the best to David and hopefully we’ll see him back soon-ish.
https://twitter.com/EthanKershaw9/status/1524462126768615425
Thomas Hasal was the other popular option and he will be out for at least 6 weeks after injuring his finger last weekend. That is bitter, especially after he were off to a rough start defensively and conceded 3+ goals multiple times. Instead, Cody Cropper will fill in for him during Vancouver’s good upcoming run of fixtures: SJE | FCD | clt | skc | RSL | fcd | NER | LAFC .
On the upside, Cincinnati seems to have found a good one in Roman Celentano, who has been getting time during Kann’s absence. There is still quite a bit of uncertainty as to whether he can win the starting spot once the latter returns from injury, though. Even then, only 2 of his Rare cards have been minted so far.
Slonina remains as the only U23 keeper that has delivered on his promise so far. The other starting U23 keepers in MLS are Breza, Paes, and Callender – all until June 30 or until Marsmann is fit, in Callender’s case.
Game by game updates (coming in a bit)
With that said, I’m going to hit publish on this now to see how it looks. Then I’ll get back and edit it once more injury reports are live.
First of all, here are the @LineupIQ projections for #GW270.
Not many clear favorites this weekend. That means anything goes and it’s time to trust your gut. Just make sure to avoid DNPs 😉 and with that said…
#OrlandoCity (+160) @ #TFCLive (+165)
Van Der Water joins Orlando's report. In the USOC they played both Pato+Kara for >75 minutes. I think Kara starts while Pereyra replaces Pato as 10.
Osorio and Mavinga weren't training w/ TFC and should be out. Salcedo is back from covid.
Rapids just got done playing against Minnesota earlier today and Wilson subbed on, which is promising.
Cherundolo hinted at an Escobar injury – avoid. Not updates on other players. Rodriguez and Segura will likely have bench or sub appearances before starting again.
https://twitter.com/LACelso_VOBG/status/1524832352089673728
#Quakes74 (+225) @ #VWFC (+120)
Careful: Gregus is a surprise (?) questionable here. I would avoid until we know more. Chofis/Judson confirmed out.
Vancouver will be without defensive key pieces Hasal and Blackmon over the next weeks. Poor Ricketts gets on the scoreboard vs. Toronto and the promptly ends up in covid protocol.
Toye was once again spotted in training but was later ruled out. Kone/Wanyama are back from suspension but Waterman will miss this one.
Fuchs trained earlier and I'll let you interpret this as you like:
https://twitter.com/FuchsOfficial/status/1524031683032498176
Zelarayan is cleared to start in this one, as is Moreira despite being questionable.
Castellanos and Moralez are good to go according to Delia's comments.
Amundsen still questionable without update.
#RBNY (+210) @ #DOOP (+140)
Morgan is unlikely to leave covid protocols before the weekend but Klimala cleared the protocol.
Long is OK and truly "day to day" but even then I'm still putting him into training to be safe.
Uhre was back in practice and should be available as a sub.
https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/status/1524792301490475008
Hamid looked fully healthy in training and could return against Miami.
Higuain made an appearance in the USOC for Miami but then promptly got roasted by Neville.
He also says some of the players on the pitch tonight were asking for game time, and he says that this performance tonight was the reason why they don't start most of the time.
Note: Robinson's bar brawl-esque red does not carry over into MLS play.
#FCCincy (+275) @ #CF97 (-105)
Kann is out again and Brenner is questionable.
No big update out of Chicago. They do get Duran + Czichos back from suspensions. Meanwhile both Torres and Mueller could make their debuts. They could be the offensive spark that the team (and Shaqiri) need.
No updates on Godoy's injury, assume he is out until we hear more. Leal will be out. A couple of players went a full 120' midweek and should play again on the weekend.
Steres is the only health concern of Houston in this one.
https://twitter.com/ChrisBils/status/1524045841908047873
Stuver vs. Tarbell will be close to 50/50. Stuver trained since Tuesday so it depends on how much more time they want to give him.
Ochoa isn’t listed here, but as mentioned earlier, he is dealing with personal issues and so I would not risk him unless you have no other choice (like in U23).
Kreilach remains out for RSL and it may be like that for a couple more weeks as he’s dealing with nerve damage in his back.
#SportingKC (+255) @ #RCTID (+105)
Savarese broke an MLS record for the amount of injury information that he revealed in a single press conference.
Niezgoda/Bravo/Mabiala are OUT Ivacic, D.Chara, and Asprilla are ready.
Sounders rotated completely midweek and got eliminated. Great for sorare managers. They are at full strength except for Arreaga in concussion protocol (and JP's ACL).
Lod played in the USOC. Metanire/Amarillo likely out for this one.
We actually have a big slate next week with 10 games on Wednesday.
No coach explicitly announced rotation for this weekend, however we could be in for some surprises during the next 2 week(end)s.
Fixture updates:
These are most useful when planning some short-term teams/purchases. See here for more details.
Let me know what you think about this format. I certainly prefer it for midweek updates as we go due to the editing and improved formatting capabilities. There should be a way to embed the availability reports and I’ll look into that.
Good luck this GW!