Minnesota United: 3 things to watch for vs. Houston
By Tyler Hanson
Minnesota travels to Houston to take on the Dynamo on Saturday. With 3 points on the line, the Loons will hope to earn just their second win of the season.
Who Starts in Goal?
With John Alvbåge back healthy, goalkeeper is once again a position with question marks. Despite Alvbåge’s relatively poor form while he was healthy, perhaps Adrian Heath would like to give the Swede another chance to prove himself.
Bobby Shuttleworth’s good recent form however, will make things very difficult for Alvbåge, as he hopes to gain the starting spot back. It will be interesting to see who Adrian Heath chooses to start in goal against the Dynamo.
The Central Midfield
The central midfield is something that is always going to be up in the air, as the Loons have a lot of possible options, but only 2 open spots. Sam Cronin, Collen Warner, Ibson, Rasmus Schüller, and Collin Martin are all hoping to be in the starting XI, but who should get the start?
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Last week’s pairing of Collen Warner and Sam Cronin did well, but seemed a bit too defensive. This pairing would work well against certain opposition, but Houston is a team that the Loons should want to attack and aim for the 3 points. The ideal central midfield pairing would likely include Sam Cronin and a more creative midfielder, with Warner being a guy Heath can bring on to close out the match if Minnesota is ahead.
The ideal pairing with Cronin seems to be Rasmus Schüller. The Finnish international has the creativity and vision that would allow him to push forward a bit and help the attack, as Sam Cronin sits just in front of the back four, helping to break up the attack. The coaching staff has also mentioned that this is the first week that Schüller has felt at home in Minnesota, so perhaps his play moving forward will reflect that.
The Left Wing Ppot
Bashkim Kadrii seemed to have a bit of a grasp on the position after a strong performance against RSL, but he really struggled against RSL, failing to track back, and seeming lost once he received the ball. It will be interesting to see if Heath hopes Kadrii can bounce back and gives him another chance against Houston, or if fan favorite Miguel Ibarra gets the start.
Ibarra has looked better than Kadrii defensively, but has struggled a bit going forward. It will interesting to see if Heath would prefer having that extra defensive help, or whether he wants to bank on Kadrii’s playmaking potential.
Next: Minnesota United: 3 takeaways from the Dallas match
Kickoff will be at 8:30pm EST (5:30pm PST) on Saturday in Houston.