Minnesota United: 3 Things to Watch For vs New England

With Minnesota missing 5 starters against the Revolution, earning a point or 3 in New England will be an uphill battle. Here are 3 things to watch for.

Minnesota United will travel to New England to face the Revolution on Saturday, one of only 3 MLS matches during the international break. Here are 3 things to watch for during the match.

Who fills in for Minnesota’s international players?

Minnesota will be missing 4 starters due to International duty. Rasmus Schüller, Francisco Calvo, Johan Venegas, and Kevin Molino will all be away on national team duty, which leaves the Loons with some holes to fill. Molino has been starting on the Right wing, so his absence may present an opportunity to Bashkim Kadrii or Josh Gatt, and the one who doesn’t start will likely come in as a late match sub.

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To make up for Johan Venegas’ absence, perhaps a striker partnership of Christian Ramirez and Abu Danladi up top, and 2 central midfielders in Mohamed Saied and Collen Warner, forgoing the inclusion of a true #10, which Venegas would likely play. This would be a 4-4-2 of sorts, and seems to be the Loons best bet. The central midfield pairing of Saied and Warner would also make up for Rasmus Schüller’s absence. In place of Calvo, expect a Vadim Demidov and Brent Kallman CB pairing. Kallman put in a Man of the Match performance against Colorado, and has earned another start.

Will Josh Gatt be healthy this week?

When Minnesota United signed US International Josh Gatt in February, manager Adrian Heath knew that his new addition wasn’t quite match fit yet. Gatt didn’t appear in any of Minnesota’s first 3 matches, but maybe that was just Heath being cautious because the Loons had other options. With Molino out, we’ll see whether Gatt is match fit yet, because he’ll likely make an appearance if he is. Once Gatt gets fully fit, he would certainly make a dangerous bench option for the Loons.

The full back situation

The fifth starter that Minnesota will be missing this week is Left back Justin Davis, who was sent off against Colorado. What I’m expecting Minnesota United to do with the full back positions is moving Jèrôme Thiesson from right back to left back, as he can play both, and then starting former NASL player Kevin Venegas at Right back. Though Venegas is unproven at the MLS level, I still feel like he would be a better option than Jermaine Taylor, as he at least has the speed to make up for any positional mistakes.

Next: Minnesota United earns first MLS point

Where to Watch:

Kickoff – 2pm EST (11am PST)
Canada – MLS LIVE
US – CSN New England, My29 WFTC, MLS LIVE