Racing v Gotham Preview

Courtesy ISI Photos

With all of the excitement going around about the Women’s Cup next week, this match almost seems like a forgotten game. Gotham and Racing played to a scoreless draw earlier this year in the Challenge Cup, with NJ/NY only needing a draw to top the Eastern group. It seems like Gotham has been overlooked as one of the top teams because for just about the entire season they have played at least a game less than the other top teams. Racing and Gotham now are the only two to have played 12 matches instead of 13 or 14.

Gotham plays in what I believe to be the most successful style…possession oriented while being defensively disciplined. Many teams like to dominate possession at the expense of leaving themselves open to counters. Gotham only gives up .7 goals per match, although that number has increased recently. Their weakness is that they don’t score a ton of goals. They lead only Racing and KC in that category. Back to style…the main weakness in their possession oriented but disciplined style is that they always seem to be in tight matches. They have only lost 2, but have drawn 5.

Based on Gotham's style preference and Racing’s continued improvement, I expect this to be a tight match. One thing that will be interesting to see is if Gotham sets up to absorb pressure or tries to possess the ball early. I think that Gotham will set up to possess the ball with discipline. Racing may have to be content with not seeing too much of the ball early. Racing doesn't have the midfield to win the game there, so I think Racing's best opportunities will come when Gotham drops its guard a bit.

All that being said, I am going to predict a 0-0 scoreline to mimic the earlier match-up. That would be an excellent point for Racing.