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Nashville SC Preview Soccer

Preview: New York City FC vs Nashville SC

October 2, 2021
Jonathan Slape
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Nashville SC’s return to Nissan Stadium was punctuated by a frustrating 2-2 draw with Orlando City. Tomorrow, they head back on the road as the take on New York City FC. Can Nashville pick up a win on the road? Will New York City FC break their two match loosing streak?

New York City FC

New York City FC come in to Sunday’s match in the midst of a tough run of form. In their last six matches, they have only managed to secure one win and are currently in the midst of a two game loosing streak. Those last two matches coming to team below the playoff line, including a 2-0 to the Chicago Fire.

Currently sitting in fourth place on goal difference, Ronny Delia’s men desperately need to pick up wins if they hope to secure a home playoff match. With a provebial six pointer on the table, NYCFC will be pushing for a win.

When these two teams last played each other, both teams were missing players due to the international break. NYCFC was missing both of their starting centerbacks in the match. It will be interesting to see how the match up changes with Maxime Chanot and Alexander Callens available.

Taty Castellanos was rested against Chicago but against Nashville should return to the lineup. He will look to drag the back three of Nashville out of position and create some opportunities for himself along with the like of Maxi Moralez and Jesus Medina.

For all the talk of Hany Mukhtar as an MVP candidate, Castellanos is firmly in the mix. The forward is tied for fourth in the league with 13 goals scored, and has added on an additional seven assists. With Heber missing the bulk of the year with injury, Castellanos has been a vital presence for New York up front.

After an impressive start to the season, New York have cooled off recently. They’re still firmly in the playoff conversation, but three points against a competitor for home playoff matches would go a long way at this point in the season.

Nashville SC

Since their 5-1 win over Inter Miami, the Boys in Gold have been unable to secure a win with draws against Chicago and Orlando. Their most recent draw being the most frustrating given that they went up 2-0 before conceding a late equalizer on set pieces.

If Nashville wants to hold onto their spot in the table, they are going to have to solve their issues on set pieces. So have this season, they have dropped 11 points due to set piece defending

Against Orlando, we saw Coach Gary Smith go with what most agree is the first choice 11 and with an international break coming after this match, it would not be a surprise for him to start the same team against Orlando.

Hany Muhktar continued his MVP season with another goal against Orlando and finds himself just one assist away from double digits in both categories. If Nashville is to get points against NYCFC, Mukhtar will have to be at the top of his game.

While I expect that C.J. Sapong gets the start alongside Mukhtar, I would like to see either Daniel Rios or Ake Loba get a chance to get into form. As good as the Sapong and Mukhtar partnership has been, Nashville will need secondary scoring to make real progress in the playoffs.

After draws in their last two matches, Nashville have put themselves in the difficult position of needing three points on the road in one of the more difficult places to play in the league. With the international break coming up next, there’s no reason to take this one conservatively.

Availability report

Pod Picks

Ben Wright

Score: New York 1-0 Nashville
Scorers: 
MOTM: Joe Willis
Bold Prediction: NYCFC Score early and with stand a ton of pressure from Nashville late.

Jonathan Slape

Score:  New York 121 Nashville
Scorers: Hany Mukhtar, Aké Loba
MOTM: Hany Mukhtar
Bold Prediction: Loba comes off the bench and gets a late winner

Andy Simmons

Score: New York 1-0 Nashville
Scorers: 
MOTM: Randall Leal
Bold Prediction: over 9.5 corners

Chris Ivey

Score: New York 1-1 Nashville
Scorers: C.J. Sapong
MOTM: Joe Willis
Bold Prediction: Willis bails Nashville out with an amazing save

Fan Forecast

Kit matchup

Match Info

Teams: New York City FC (4th) vs Nashville SC (2nd)
Power Rankings: New York City FC (3) vs Nashville SC (2)
Odds: New York (-155), Draw (+275), Nashville (+375) via BetMGM
Date: Sunday, October 3
Time: 11:00 AM Central, Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey
TV:  CW58 (local), ESPN+ (out of market)
Radio: 94.9 The Game 2 (English); El Jefe 96.7 (Spanish)
Forecast: 82°/67°. Sunny. 10% chance of rain. 54% humidity.

Author: Jonathan Slapeoriginated from outside of Atlanta but has lived in Nashville since 2005. Original member of Speedway Soccer and has been talking and occasionally writing about Nashville SC since the USL days. Self proclaimed official fashion correspondent. Outside of Nashville SC you can find him singing the praises of Jurgen Klopp, discussing the latest in sneakers and soccer fashion with a good stiff drink.

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