Well, we got #soccer’d MW1. 0-3 thanks to an early red card, a late winner (loser for us), and a missed pk. That’s the trifecta!

Oh, well onto MW2.

The story of MW1 was the poor performance of CONCACAF Champions Cup (CCC) teams. After playing midweek (and most of them traveling internationally), CCC teams went 0W-1L-5D in MW1. Now, ahead of MW2, they all played domestically. (Only St. Louis played on the road, at Houston). Will that make a difference?

Houston v NYRB

Houston advanced against St Louis in CCC midweek despite not having Hector Herrera and Sebastián Ferreira due to long-term injuries. They had to play Jan Gregus as a False 9 and really don’t have a solid second option striker. Obviously, HH creates so much for them that his presence will be severely missed. But, the D is really strong from the support by Olsen’s formation. Artur is great at the #6 role. The backline with Steve Clark behind them is solid.

The Red Bulls looked good in Game 1 @ Nashville, too. Allowing just 0.1xGA is a great start to the Sandro Schwarz regime. Understanding Nashville were short-handed, but they were stymied by RB’s midfield. New center back signing, Noah Elie, looked great alongwith his countryman Emil Forsberg. The two Swedes led NYRB in G+ after week one with +0.15 and +0.48 goals added, respectively.

Ultimately, I see two solid defensive sides with lots of questions on who can actually score goals.

• Under 2.5 -112

Other Plays I Like

• Vancouver -110: ‘Caps at home and they have two CCC legs against a difficult Tigres team under their belt. Charlotte played great at home, but NYCFC had nothing in the attack. Charlotte’s 2.0xGF came from a pk and header on the goalline. I like the ‘Caps in their home opener.
• FCC +0.25 -115: Really??? FCC on the road to Chicago and we’re getting a quarter of a goal!? The Fire played to a draw against a well-travel Philly team, but FCC played at home midweek and the trek to the Windy City is brief. Boupendza and Miazga are back, Acosta and Miles Robinson were rested. I think this is an overreaction to the CCC results in week 1.
• Rapids u2.5 -120: Another game with two teams where I ask myself, who will score the goals? Nashville struggled to do anything against NYRB without Hany and Sam Surridge in MW1. The Rapids gave up 4 in the first half at Portland last week. Yet, it was all off 0.5xGA. I expect a stout defensive effort from the ‘Pids in Chris Armas’s home opener.