Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. St. Louis City

Another Friday means that another Orlando City game is almost upon us. The Lions will be back to regularly scheduled Saturday programming this week as the boys in purple will try to keep the good vibes rolling after a 3-1 win over the Chicago Fire last week. It won’t be an easy task though, as the high-flying, free-scoring St. Louis City SC visits Exploria Stadium.

A first ever matchup with St. Louis means I spoke to Shjon of River City Ramble, an excellent podcast covering soccer in the city of St. Louis. I also answered some of his questions, so make sure to check them out.

The attack as a whole has been phenomenal, but former Lion Nicholas Gioacchini has been particularly good and leads the team with 10 goals. What has made him so successful?

Shjon: I personally chalk Niko’s success to finding a system and style of play that suits him. He has found great chemistry with a lot of the attacking players on the squad, and sometimes the reason for that just isn’t apparent to the fans. We just get to see the results — goals. But more importantly, He isn’t necessarily being relied upon as the target man, which allows him to use his pace and his footwork to get himself into shooting positions, while also finding space to create opportunities. Being one of the highest fouled players in the league really helps too.

Of St. Louis’ eight losses, five have come on the road. Obviously its always tough to win away from home, but do you believe there are any specific reasons for that stat, or is it simply difficult to win on the road in MLS?

S: Honestly its just incredibly hard to play on the road in MLS. There are a lot of really strong fanbases in the league and that always plays a factor. It’s no secret in this league that forcing City to play with a majority of the possession is the strategy. That, or just play long ball all day.

Roman Burki has quietly put together a great first season with seven clean sheets and a save percentage of 78.3%, both of which rank near the top of the league. How important has he been for St. Louis this year?

S: Burki has been absolutely key to this squad. There is a reason he wears the armband for this squad — not just for his stellar saves. He is a strong communicator on the pitch, he sets the formation from the back, he has really good vision out there too. There have been so many games when he has come up huge in the second half to shut the door and keep City in the lead and get those three points.

Are there any players who will be unavailable due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting XI and score prediction?

S: As of the last report I saw, the only player in question is Joao Klauss, and from what Bradley Carnell said before last match, he could have potentially been in the lineup but was left out as a precaution. However, Njabulo Blom will miss this game for yellow card accumulation.

As for lineup? Back line will likely be sticking with who has been hot lately: Kyle Hiebert as left back, Tim Parker and Josh Yaro at center back, Akil Watts at right back. Midfield can be a bit of an interesting topic, especially without Blom, but I think the main three will be Eduard Lowen for sure, Indy Vassilev, and my money is on Aziel Jackson as your central triangle. Wingers almost definitely are Jared Stroud and Rasmus Alm. And Niko will start centrally. The only real changes I would expect to see are at center back, Joakim Nilsson may be on for Yaro, though Nilsson is still coming back from a longterm knee injury and may not be thrown into the fire, or at that central midfield spot of AZ Jackson. If Klauss is good to go, AZ sits and Klauss and Niko reunite — in which case, look out. Your center backs are gonna be in some serious danger.

For a score prediction, I’ll go with a rare 2-2 draw here.

Thank you to Shjon and the folks over at River City Ramble for helping us get to know St. Louis. Vamos Orlando!