By Justin Ruderman
Minnesota is coming an impressive 4-1 win over Querétaro on Wednesday which currently has them positioned among the top MLS teams in the tournament, but a tough challenge awaits as they'll take on an América determined to pick up a win and keep their hopes of advancing alive.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
- 1st meeting between the two sides
- Record at Leagues Cup: MNUFC (5-3), América (4-4)
LAST FIVE GAMES
- Minnesota United:
- 3 Wins, 1 Draw, 1 Loss
- Cruised to a 4-1 win over Querétaro in their opening match
- América:
- 1 Win, 3 Draws, 1 Loss
- Fell in penalties at RSL following 2-2 draw in tournament opener
MAIN STORYLINES
- América is the winningest club in LIGA MX history, holding a record 16 league and seven Concacaf Champions Cup (née League) titles among a cabinet full of other silverware. The one thing missing? A Leagues Cup trophy.
- Las Águilas recently fell to Toluca in the LIGA MX Clausura final and Campeón de Campeones, snapping their record streak of three consecutive LIGA MX titles since the split season began.
- Joining MLS in 2017 after being founded in 2010, Minnesota United is yet to win a trophy in their short club history. Could Leagues Cup be their moment?
- MNUFC sits in the fourth and final advancement position in the MLS Phase One table after the first round of play. They will likely need three points against América to stay there.
- Rather than one of these teams hosting Saturday’s match, the clash will take place at Houston Dynamo’s Shell Energy Stadium in the Texas heat.
KEY FACTORS
- Minnesota United:
- With his goal in Minnesota’s opener, Bongi Hlowngwane (8) moved into third on the all-time Leagues Cup goalscoring charts, behind only Lionel Messi (10) and Denis Bouanga (12). There’s just something about this tournament for the South African.
- Wing back Anthony Markanich has scored five goals in his last eight games while striker Kelvin Yeboah has three in his last two. The goals come from everywhere for MNUFC, and they’d like to keep it that way.
- As with any game the Loons play, set pieces could very well be the deciding factor.
- América:
- Brian Rodríguez scored a world-class free kick in Las Águilas' opening match. What can the former MLSer conjure up on Saturday?
- USMNT attacker Alejandro Zendejas embodies the Mexican-American connection (and rivalry) as América’s No. 10. Now he gets to put on a show back in the Lone Star State, where he grew up.
- Take advantage of the neutral venue. There will surely be droves of América supporters in Houston.
WHAT TO EXPECT?
On the surface, Mexico’s winningest team taking on a trophyless club at a neutral venue would seem like a mismatch. But we know better.
Look no further than their opening Leagues Cup matches, in which América required a 97th-minute equalizer from substitute Érick Sánchez to earn a point before Real Salt Lake outlasted Las Águilas in penalties. Meanwhile, Minnesota United cruised to a 4-1 win at home against Querétaro.
The Loons are ready for the challenge that América presents.
Despite finishing second in last season’s Clausura, Las Águilas were the best defensive team in the league, conceding the fewest goals (10) and keeping the most clean sheets (9). They were equally dangerous in attack, overperforming the highest expected goals total (32.5xG) in LIGA MX with 34 goals and the most possession (57%). Unfortunately, Toluca overperformed just a bit more.
As terrifying as those numbers may look to some teams, MNUFC will see a possession-based opponent as an advantage. The Loons are the only team in MLS to average below 40% of the ball this season, and that game plan has worked like a charm as Minnesota is on pace for their best MLS regular season ever. They’ll look to keep that trend going on Saturday night in Leagues Cup play against one of the toughest tests in the region.
