Minnesota still has the inside track on fourth place, but teams in the middle of the table have incrementally gained ground on the Loons. Facing the Cosmos in New York, a point on the road would be an acceptable result, but might make the race for the postseason an even tighter affair.

A favorable schedule bodes well for the Loons’ chances, and the team has improved its play as of recent, but Minnesota’s win last Saturday — just its second in its last nine games — came at home against a Rayo OKC team in crisis. An encouraging performance against an in-form Cosmos team would bode well for the stretch run.

Recent Form

Cosmos	W	W	W	W	D	+8 GD	2.6 PPG
MNUFC	W	D	D	D	W	+3 GD	1.8 PPG

Neither Minnesota nor New York have lost any of their last five matches, but the Cosmos — the NASL’s hottest team — dropped only two points to Minnesota’s six.

Previous Meetings

Minnesota holds a 1-4-4 all-time record and a minus-three goal differential against New York, with its lone win coming earlier this season at home. Playing the Cosmos in New York, the Loons hold a 0-1-3 record and a minus-three goal differential.

Christian Ramirez has three goals in the all-time series, while no Cosmo has more than one.

Officials

Referee	Alejandro Mariscal
Assistant	Claudiu Badea
Assistant	Victor Vazquez
Fourth	Jared Simons

Mariscal has officiated five previous Minnesota United games in his career. This season, Mariscal has issued nine yellows and no reds while working three NASL contests.

Roster Report

Per Jeff Rueter’s training report, Chris Klute, Danny Cruz, Daniel Mendes, Greg Jordan, Bernardo Añor, Juliano Vicentini, Kristian Nicht, and Aaron Perez have not made the trip to New York.

Rovérsio and Ayoze picked up knocks in the Cosmos’ last game, but both are said to have recovered and are available for selection this evening.

Statistical Notes

Minnesota has allowed just one goal in its last five games. During that run, the Loons conceded 11.2 total shots and allowed just 2.4 shots on target per game. Opponents took an average of 5.0 shots from inside and 6.2 shots from outside the box per contest, and the Loons blocked 3.8 shots per. Over that five-game span, Minnesota’s opponents were only able to place 32.4% of their shots on target.

New York: Last Time Out

In an August 31st, midweek 3-1 home win over Indy, Giovanni Savarese opted a 4-1-4-1 and a starting XI of Jimmy Mauer;Jimmy Mulligan, Hunter Freeman, Carlos Mendes, Ayoze; Daniel Szetela, Ruben Bover; Sebastián Guenzatti, Juan Arango, David Diosa; Jairo Arrieta.

In his team’s scoreless draw away to Fort Lauderdale, Savarese kept to that 4-1-4-1, rotating in Lucky Mkosana on the left wing, Adam Moffat shielding the back four, and Rovérsio in the center of defense.

Though both are left footed, the converted left back Diosa provided much more width against Indy than Mkosana — who has played as New York’s center forward in the past — did against Fort Lauderdale.

Hunter Freeman has since departed for Miami, placing added importance on the health of the oft-injured Rovérsio, with the oft-repeated caveat that the Brazilian is one of the better center backs in the league when healthy.

Matchup

The big question for Minnesota is when does Kevin Venegas return to the starting XI? With Jeb Brovsky emerging as a dependable defensive right back, Carl Craig will have plenty of incentive to start him on the road against the high-scoring Cosmos. Keeping Brovsky in the back four also allows Craig to retain Aaron Pitchkolan as a holding midfielder. Craig’s use of the pair in a 4-1-4-1 has played a significant part in the Loons’ recent defensive record.

At the same time, Minnesota’s attack is stuck in first gear, producing just two goals in its last four contests. Last season, Venegas was given a run out on the right wing and turned in an impressive game. Depending on how match fit Venegas is, that could be an option, but it would require sending Jamie Watson or Lance Laing to the bench, both of whom played well last weekend. The pace Laing and Venegas could offer down the flanks would be an asset, but so is Watson’s graft.

Looking at the Cosmos, New York often seems to struggle to get goals from its center forward, whichever is presently in Savarese’s good graces. However, the Cosmos’ midfield, led by Juan Arango, more than makes up for that deficiency at the point of attack. The Loons will need an organized defensive effort if they hope to pick up points this evening.