Minnesota United: 3 things to watch for vs. Orlando City
By Tyler Hanson
Minnesota United will play host to Orlando City on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium. With both teams in need of points, it should be a very entertaining match.
Here are 3 things to watch for when Minnesota United takes on Orlando City on Saturday in Minneapolis.
A familiar foe
Minnesota United manager Adrian Heath will be coaching against his former club this weekend. Heath coached at Orlando City for 5 years, before being sacked in July of last year.
This match will certainly mean a little more than most for Heath, who would love nothing more than to beat the club that fired him not even a year ago.
Heath isn’t the only one with Orlando City ties though, as Trinidadian international Kevin Molino also played in Orlando for 5 years, before being traded to the Loons in February. Molino is sure to be a little more motivated for this match this match than most, as he’ll hope to get Minnesota the 3 points against his former club.
Lack of attacking depth
Minnesota was already pretty thin up front, but they also found out that rookie Abu Danladi is set to miss 2-3 weeks minimum due to the injury he suffered against the Galaxy, furthering Minnesota’s problems.
What makes sense now is to put Johan Venegas in the middle as the #10, while having Miguel Ibarra on the left-wing, and Kevin Molino on the right. It also likely means a return to the 18 for Danish international Bashkim Kadrii, who has been left out of the squad for the last several matches. Perhaps Kadrii can take this opportunity to prove himself and get back in the conversation for minutes, assuming he makes an appearance.
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Containing Cyle Larin
One thing that Orlando City has going for them is that they have arguably the most dangerous striker in the league on their team. Larin is a big, physical striker, who presents a problem for any back line.
Minnesota’s Center backs, Francisco Calvo and Brent Kallman, will have to be very physical with Larin in the hopes of frustrating the Canadian international, just as they did with SKC’s Dom Dwyer a couple of weeks ago.
It will be very interesting to see if Minnesota’s defense is up to the task against a very dangerous Orlando City attack.