Wednesday brings a midweek matchup of two teams looking to reverse their recent fortunes. While Minnesota and Tampa Bay sit in fourth and sixth place in the combined table, respectively — with a game in hand over fifth place Rayo OKC — each has just one win in its last five contests. For the Loons, who will play four of their next five contests away, the need for three points is even greater.

Recent Form

Tampa Bay	D	L	L	W	L	-3 GD	0.8 PPG
MNUFC	W	D	D	L	L	-1 GD	1.0 PPG

The Loons’ current run of form is its worst in 2016. Minnesota did, twice, go four matches without a victory last year. It opened the 2015 season 0-3-1, and also went 0-3-2 from May 30 to July 11 in a stretch of time that spanned from the Spring Season to the Fall Season.

Previous Meetings

Minnesota leads all-time series 11-7-8, but Tampa Bay won the most recent meeting between the two. The Rowdies were the deserved 2-0 winners on May 28 in Blaine, as Joe Cole and Eric Avila scored on either side of halftime against a tepid Loons effort.

Officials

Referee	Rosendo Mendoza
Assistant	Victor Vazquez
Assistant	Amber O’Connor
Fourth	Matt Printup

Mendoza has issued seven yellow cards, and no reds in the two matches he has officiated this season.

Roster Report

FiftyFive.One’s Jeff Rueter reported earlier today that midfielder Greg Jordan is running and doing ball work again in his recovery from knee surgery. While not available for Wednesday’s game, that news is encouraging. Full back Kevin Venegas is also progressing in his return from a less-severe knee injury and is now making lateral cuts, though he too will not take part this evening. Bernardo Añor is a third making progress in his rehab, but not ready for competitive play.

Damion Lowe and Daniel Mendes are back to match fitness and available for selection. Danny Cruz is doubtful after injuring his foot last Sunday in Edmonton. Stefano Pinho is still sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Statistical Notes

Against Edmonton, it was hoped the reintroduction of Ben Speas to Minnesota’s lineup would help bridge the gap between midfield and Christian Ramirez, the Loons’ lone center forward. Speas attempted only two passes to Ramirez on the day, in spite of the pair playing the full 90 minutes together. Over the course of the game, Minnesota managed to complete just six passes to Ramirez as a team and only one inside the 18 yard box.

Granted, the Eddies boast the league’s most formidable defense, but the Loons have to find a way to get the ball to the league’s leading scorer who serves as the point of attack in Carl Craig’s 4-2-3-1 system.

Looking at Speas’s pass chart against Edmonton, OPTA credited the attacking midfielder with three key passes (shown in yellow) on the day, but two of those came from corners. Speas was also unable to complete any passes either to or from the 20-to-30 yard range in front of goal, where many no. 10s make names for themselves.

It would not be unreasonable to attribute Speas’s last outing to rust, as his first start in many weeks came against a difficult opponent. The Loons will be hoping he can recapture his early-season form sooner, rather than later, as the team finds itself in a very competitive race for the postseason.

Tampa Bay: Last Time Out

The Rowdies suffered a painful defeat at the hands of the Cosmos over the weekend. PC scored in his debut for Tampa Bay, as did Joe Cole, giving the Rowdies a 2-1 halftime lead. However, New York — awarded a pair of penalty kicks on the night — rallied to claim all three points with an added-time winner from David Diosa.

Perhaps referencing Tampa Bay owner Bill Edwards’s June 25 statement regarding the quality of officiating in the NASL, Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese commented after the game, “I think today we saw a team that is much better than the way they behaved. This team, against us, is like they looking always for an excuse to say why they’re losing.”

Stuart Campbell and his charges surely felt hard-done by the outcome, but there were positives for his side. While forward Carlos Preciado has managed just two shots on target through his first 206 minutes with the Rowdies, the second line of attack in Tampa Bay’s 4-2-3-1 is menacing.

Purchased from in-state rival Fort Lauderdale, PC made his first appearance for the Rowdies, lining up on the left wing. The Brazilian made an immediate impact, tallying a goal and an assist. Center-attacking midfielder Joe Cole — who has scored five goals, notched four assists, and created 18 scoring chances in 11 starts — was on the receiving end of PC’s assist. And Eric Avila — a tidy player who has completed 73.1 percent of his passes in the opposition’s half in his 18 starts this season — operated as Tampa Bay’s right winger.

Against the Cosmos, Campbell opted for a central-midfield partnership of Juan Guerra and Martin Vanguard — the former tasked with more of a defensive role.

NASL veterans Darnell King and Tamika Mkandawire formed the right-half of the Rowdies’ back four, with double-L enthusiast Neill Collins playing alongside Mkandawire, and Walter Ramírez playing opposite King.

The sometimes spectacular, sometimes calamitous Matt Pickens occupied his usual spot between the posts.

Tampa Bay looked the better side in the first half, but it was New York that kept its focus during a heated and chippy contest, using late substitutes to good effect as Sebastián Guenzatti helped set up Diosa’s winner.

Matchup

Both teams are likely to play 4-2-3-1 and both have conceded 23 times in 18 matches. Expect goals.

Hopefully, for the sake of fans in Minnesota, its the Loons scoring them. Minnesota is averaging just 0.8 goals per game during its four-game winless streak and has not scored a goal itself — drawing Puerto Rico 1-1 thanks to an own goal from los Naranjas — in over 180 minutes.

The loss of Kevin Venegas to a knee injury has had a noted impact on the offense. The right back is still tied for the league lead in assists in spite of missing several games. With Damion Lowe unavailable, the Loons turned to Jeb Brovsky against the Eddies. Used primarily as a holding midfielder, Brovsky had played some rightback during his time with New York City FC.

Brovsky is a fine defender, but in a system that often relies upon overlapping fullbacks for width, does not completely fill the role when deputized to play out of position. Pushing the athletic Lowe out wide produced similar results. The industrious Danny Cruz may be the best fit to play in Venegas’ stead, but will likely be rested with an eye towards the weekend.

The question for Craig is, does he return Brovsky to right back and likely task him with marking PC? Or, does he return Brovsky to holding midfielder and ask him to shadow Joe Cole?

With Cruz unlikely to make an appearance, who starts on the wings? Jamie Watson has come on as a substitute in recent matches. Perhaps he and Speas — while not as dynamic as other options when Minnesota has a fully fit roster from which to choose — can provide the combination play and guile needed to produce a cohesive attacking effort in the final third.

In short, someone has to get Ramirez the ball in dangerous positions. And a back line that has been regularly shuffled around in recent weeks needs to come together, and contain a Rowdies attack that has been bolstered by the addition of PC.