Riding a three-game losing streak and having earned four points in their last five, Minnesota United will host the Spring Season finale against newcomers Miami FC. While both teams are eliminated from the Spring Title chase, there’s plenty for each side to play for in this match.

Miami has picked up form in recent weeks. After a 0-2-4 start (not to mention their 36-24-36 marketing campaign), they’re undefeated in NASL play (1-2-0; 5 points) since acquiring Irish midfielder Richie Ryan. Their draws came at Carolina RailHawks’ WakeMed Stadium and as hosts to the relentless Indy Eleven, while their 1-0 win over FC Edmonton on May 28th was the first in team history.

For Minnesota, it seems the bye-week after their historic win over New York Cosmos killed some momentum. Being stung hard by the injury bug didn’t help, as six of the opening match’s Starting XI have missed time due to various injuries and suspensions over the past four matches. A 2-0 Open Cup victory over Saint Louis remains the lone positive result for United since hosting Jacksonville on May 14.

Previous Meetings

This is the first meeting between Minnesota and Miami.

Officials

Alejandro Mariscal takes the whistle for this match, assisted by Victor Vazquez and Art Arustamyan. Matt Printup takes fourth official duties. There are no listed statistics from PRO for any of the four officials, but Mariscal has been a regular MLS 4th official since 2010.

Roster Report

Miami FC doesn’t have any suspended players going into this matchup. Their injury report is a little shaky to gauge given the lack of press coverage of the team, but they did run out their first-choice XI last week against Indy. Young midfielder Conner Rezende has been injured for a few weeks and will miss this game as well.

Minnesota United FC is missing Greg Jordan. Jeb Brovsky was back in training this week but is unlikely to start on Saturday. Bernardo Añor is out indefinitely with an ankle injury. Danny Cruz and Ben Speas both figure to be at full strength.

Statistical Notes

Miami FC averages 18.5 tackles per 90, which is exactly the same rate as Minnesota. Both teams rely on physicality from their center backs and central midfielders to create chances up-front and (more so in Minnesota’s case) up the wings.

Miami has conceded three penalty kicks in the young season, often due to over-aggression and sloppy tackling. Look for Christian Ramirez and Stefano Pinho to press the Miami defense in this game and try to draw a foul in the box.

Miami completes 76.4% of their passes, averaging around 389 passes per ninety minutes. For comparison’s sake, Minnesota United has a similar rate but makes an extra 36 passes per match. Miami is much more prone to punt the ball from the backline directly to Martinez, bypassing their biggest strength (Ryan) and creating some stupid turnovers in the process.

Miami has picked up 5 points in their last three NASL matches. Minnesota United has picked up 0.

Miami: Last Time Out

Laugh all you want at the transfer fees for Ryan and Lahoud (two holding midfielders): the team has not lost since buying Ryan from Jacksonville last month. He’s played every minute thus far and helped anchor this lineup.

It wasn’t a sexy match by any stretch, but Miami were able to hold Indy Eleven to a scoreless draw. Despite being an unknown commodity going into the season, Daniel Vega has proven to be an above-average NASL goalkeeper, most successful at positioning and distribution. The backline features physical veterans like Rhett Bernstein (who made the NASL Best XI last week) and former Chicago Fire man Adailton.

Play often runs up the left-hand side for Miami, with Trafford and Smith keeping the ball in the defensive and middle thirds as Ryan drifts toward the left (Smith is a less-polished passer than Lahoud). Ariel Martinez is an athletic, physical attacker and is the main distributor for Chavez and Cvitanich. Former Loon Pablo Campos has regularly been on the bench as an unused substitute, as Dane Richards seems to have surpassed him on the pecking order as far as backup strikers go.

Minnesota: Last Time Out

Aside from a gritty 2-0 win in last week’s U.S. Open Cup match against Saint Louis, Minnesota United has fallen into a slump over the past month. The team has lost three straight in NASL, with injuries decimating their starting lineup. Minnesota lost to Rayo OKC, giving the expansion side their first-ever home victory. In a game where neither team could gain momentum, Minnesota only had two shots on target. Christian Ramirez was supposed to have the night off until a late substitution was necessary to get on the scoreboard. The biggest positive has been the infusion of Jack Blake into the Starting XI, giving sorely needed quality and depth in the central midfield.

The Matchup

For weeks now, we’ve been saying that it’s time for Minnesota United to get back into the win column in NASL play. Regardless of where teams sit in the standings, it’s clear that United is a circled-date on every team’s calendar as a marquee matchup. Miami will be no different, and with Campos on the bench there’s even more motivation for the team to succeed as they close their first trimester.

At the risk of sounding like a broken, overly-optimistic record: this is a game which Minnesota should win. With Wednesday’s matchup against Sporting Kansas City looming, players like Speas and Cruz may relish the chance to get back to top form on the weekend’s game. Craig has confirmed that the team will be using as close to an A-team as possible in both matches, and there’s reason to expect a result whenever that lineup hits the field. Against a one-dimensional Miami attack, this shouldn’t be any different.

Kickoff is at 7 PM CDT, with viewing available on beIN or Fox-My 29 locally.