Racing v Gotham/Gotham v Racing Preview
Image via Racing Louisville Twitter
It seems pointless to do a preview of the same match twice, so this will serve as a preview for both matches. Gotham need 2 points to guarantee a playoff spot and are still in the running to get a first round bye. It's a little tricky to manage a quick Thursday/Sunday turnaround. If you are Gotham's coach Scott Parkinson you have to decide if you want to try to go all out on Thursday to get 3 points and play the rematch on Sunday without as much pressure, or hold back knowing that you might get a weaker Racing lineup on Sunday. Parkinson has said point blank that he isn't afraid to rotate according to Jersey Sporting News reporter Jenna Tonelli. Jenna thinks that Lloyd will play on the short turnaround. I suspect that Racing will go for its strongest available lineup (which will not include Betos who is going to miss the last two matches with a wrist injury) on Thursday for the home match and look to rotate heavily on Sunday. I could definitely envision some regular starters not even making the trip to New Jersey. On the other hand I am almost always wrong about line ups.
Racing also has incentive to get 3 more points to break Orlando's point accumulation percentage record for an expansion team. However, this is a much lower incentive than making the playoffs. The previous two matches between these teams have ended in a scoreless draw in the Challenge Cup and a 1-1 draw in the league with neither match being particularly memorable. Gotham isn't exactly a dynamic offensive juggernaut, but is usually fairly solid on defense.
Emily Fox just played a full 90 mintues on Tuesday for the USWNT. If I were in charge, I would wrap her in bubble wrap and sit her for the last two matches. There's no need to risk any kind of late season injury to “the franchise”. However, I don’t think coaches tend to think like this, so I expect to see Fox get the start on Sunday in New Jersey. Barring any unexpected additions to the injury report, on Thursday look for an Ashley-Bonner(fingers crossed)-Riehl-Simon backline, an Otto-Milliet-McCaskill midfield and a Yuki-CeCe-Jorian front three. On Sunday my prediction would be a Fox-Hendrix-Martin-Miramontez, Olofsson-McCaskill-Milliet, and Matthews-Salmon-McClure line-up. Of course, this will almost certainly be wrong.
Since I am probably going to be rooting for Gotham in the playoffs, let's say that both teams get what they want with each winning their home match. This scenario won’t move Gotham up to second, but an OL Reign win or draw with KC (who are announcing their permanent name on Saturday) likely eliminates that possibility anyway.
