By Tony Álvarez
Not to say these teams should be in "panic mode", but they both find themselves in an early must-win situation after the first slate of games in Leagues Cup, which makes the encounter between New York City FC and Club León this Friday at Sports Illustrated Stadium a very interesting one.
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
- First ever matchup between the teams
- Record at Leagues Cup: NYCFC (4-4), León (2-4)
- New York City FC will look to bounce back at home
- Club León wants to keep scoring trend against NYCFC
LAST FIVE GAMES:
- New York City FC:
- 2 Wins, 1 Draw, 2 Losses
- Coming off shutout loss to Puebla on Matchday 1
- 3-0 defeat to Puebla would tie for their largest loss in MLS this season
- Club León:
- 2 Wins, 0 Draws, 3 Losses
- Coming off tough PK loss to Montréal as they went all the way to a 7th attempt
MAIN STORYLINES:
- New York City FC were embarrassed at home in Leagues Cup opener vs Puebla
- Club León looks to get back on winning side; only 1 win overall since the middle of April
- Rogelio Funes Mori scored León lone goal vs Montréal, his first goal with León in his 2nd appearance
- After 3-0 loss in the opener, NYCFC has conceded 3+ goals in back-to-back games for the first time since May 2023
- Oscar Jiménez had six saves in their opening game, that's tied for the most after the 1st round of games
KEY FACTORS
- New York City FC:
- Have lost their las two first round games at Leagues Cup
- Will they change their lineup to play more experienced players in this game
- Will be playing their 2nd consecutive game at the Red Bulls home in New Jersey
- Club León:
- Rogelio Funes Mori will look to continue to show he has not lost a step in the attack
- Oscar Jiménez seems to have locked down the starting goalkeeper spot for the rest of the tournament
- James Rodríguez played the full game on Thursday but came away with a yellow card in his Leagues Cup debut
WHAT TO EXPECT?
NYCFC are coming off a tough loss at home against a Puebla team that created key opportunities and capitalized unlike their opponents. Seymour Reid and Nicolás Fernández Mercau got their first starts of the season and seemed to start creating chemistry little by little on the pitch. However, it was not enough to generate goals and that is something that Pascal Jansen will need to address.
Club León on the other hand, started off the right way with a Rogelio Funes Mori goal after a James Rodríguez cross, but then were dominated by CF Montréal only to fall in a long 14-penalty shootout. Sebastián Santos hit the crossbar to the end game in favor of the home team in sudden death and the Esmeraldas only got one point of the game.
While a team will capture the win after this one, it is important to note that a victory after 90 minutes played means a lot to both squads to secure three important points, because if we reach another shootout from the spot inside the box, the most a team can grab are two points and considering how things are going with the high level of play in the League Cup, it might not be enough for New York City FC or Club León to advance to the knockout stages.
