Gotham v Louisville Pre Match Thoughts
Louisville travels to New Jersey to face Gotham on late Sunday afternoon at 5:30, and will be looking to duplicate the result that they achieved at home in June. The availability report will probably make for interesting reading for both teams. Pickett has been confirmed as out after leaving the last match at halftime. Coach Björkegren said that Howell was “50/50”. Gotham has new and returning World Cup players too, but their availability hasn't been formally announced yet. The NWSL Availability Report rules are an absolute mess and are in need of serious revision, but that will be a topic for another day.
Louisville is now in maximum point accumulation territory, and probably but not definitely need 3 points here. It is still too early to determine which teams above Louisville absolutely need to drop points, so any chance to make sure the team above you gets zero when you face them has to be taken. Any loss probably leaves no margin for error for the rest of the season. In my recent piece for the State of Louisville I stated that 12 points would probably be enough, possibly 11.
I hope to see some improvements in sharpness and cohesion during the next match. The projected kickoff temperature is 79 degrees, so the players will get a break from their hometown's absolutely oppressive heat this week. At this point of the season, their is a decent chance that many players are carrying some kind of ache or pain. Any chance to take the weather out of the equation will surely be appreciated.
For a chance to beat Gotham, Louisville will almost surely need improved performances from Nadim, DeMelo, and Monaghan this match as they are their most likely goal scorers in my opinion. With Howell not sure to start, them team could be looking at its fourth different midfield in four matches which isn't the recipe for success. The back four will be different too, so if Louisville is to scrape 3 points at Gotham, there will likely need to be a player or two that put in 8-plus level performances.
