On Saturday, Charlotte FC begin life under new management when they host the New York Red Bulls from Bank of America Stadium.
It will be the first-ever meeting between both sides in the Major League Soccer regular season, though they did face each other in the Round of 16 of the U.S. Open Cup last month, with the Red Bulls winning 3-1.
Match preview
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The international break was not a very relaxing one for Charlotte FC players and personnel, as the club announced the sacking of manager Miguel Angel Ramirez.
At the time, it was somewhat surprising to learn of the Spaniard's dismissal, given how this brand-new team had begun their inaugural campaign.
The Crown are currently contending for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, just two points back of Inter Miami through their opening 14 fixtures.
Interim boss Christian Lattanzio will aim to find common ground with his players while trying to address their concerns, two things that, according to veteran defender Christian Fuchs, did not happen under Ramirez.
On their home field, Charlotte have been incredibly competitive for the majority of the season, winning five of their seven league affairs at Bank of America Stadium.
They seem to thrive in the incredible atmosphere that their fans have provided them, which has played a big part in their early successes.
Whatever this group may lack in terms of quality, they make up for with their heart and work ethic, as they have proven to be a challenging side to defeat.
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At long last, the Red Bulls put together a fantastic performance in front of their home fans late last month, winning their first domestic contest of the year at Red Bull Arena, defeating DC United, 4-1.
Gerhard Struber's men are among the league leaders when it comes to expected goals per game, and in recent matches, we have finally seen them put those chances away, scoring 10 goals in their previous three fixtures in all competitions.
That offensive outburst should temporarily answer the big question surrounding this team's issue at centre-forward, though we will have to wait and see if they can maintain that kind of precision in the final third in the weeks to come.
Over their past few encounters, Struber has seen his players succeed by flooding the final third with attacking midfielders, putting opposing sides on their heels and forcing them to make poor decisions.
Morale is relatively high in New York, with this team having dropped only one of their last 11 competitive fixtures, sitting just three points behind their arch-rivals across the Hudson River, New York City FC, with the Pigeons currently leading the Eastern Conference standings.
The Red Bulls had struggled at home until their previous fixture, but they have looked incredibly sharp on the road this year, collecting points in five of their six domestic games played away from home, including four wins.
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Team News
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Ben Bender scored his second of the campaign for Charlotte in their previous encounter, as he is two back of Karol Swiderski for the team lead.
Last week in his team's UEFA Nations League encounter, Swiderski came on for Adam Buksa, scoring the match-winner to help Poland defeat Wales 2-1.
Even with a nearly two-week international break, the Crown could be missing numerous players through injury this weekend, including Vinicius Mello (left foot surgery), Adam Armour (left knee surgery), Yordy Reyna (left thigh), Pablo Sisniega (concussion), Chris Hegardt (left knee surgery) and Harrison Afful (left lower leg).
Daniel Rios had the only goal in their U.S. Open Cup defeat at Red Bull Arena, while Brandt Bronico has been a tireless worker in midfield, providing a solid link in between the defence and the attack.
A brace from Luquinhas helped the Red Bulls to a comfortable home victory over DC United in their previous encounter, with the other tallies coming courtesy of Lewis Morgan, plus an own goal from Tony Alfaro.
Struber could be missing several players with injuries, as Andres Reyes (foot), Wikelman Carmona (foot), Lucas Monzon (hamstring), Ashley Fletcher (knee), Serge Ngoma (hamstring) and Cameron Harper (knee) are all likely to be out for this encounter.
Aaron Long, who started both games for the US national team during the international window, surpassed Thierry Henry in total MLS league minutes played in their final game last month, moving into 11th all-time in that category.
Charlotte FC possible starting lineup:
Kahlina; Mora, Makoun, Corujo, Lindsey; Bronico; Bender, Alcivar, Ortiz; Rios, Shinyashiki
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Coronel; Edwards, S. Nealis, Long; Amaya, Yearwood, Casseres, Tolkin; Morgan; Luquinhas, Klimala
We say: Charlotte FC 2-1 New York Red Bulls
It has been an emotional couple of weeks for the players and fans in Charlotte, and we expect to see a highly motivated and well-organised home team this weekend, eager to turn the page and use this turmoil as a rallying cry moving forward.
That should give them a psychological edge over a side who are extremely dangerous in the final third but have gone winless in their last two MLS road contests.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
