PREVIEW | Eddies vs. United

Minnesota United travels to bagpipe-wielding Edmonton this Sunday for an afternoon match against FC Edmonton. The Eddies defeated Ottawa in a mid-week match in the Amway Canadian Championship Preliminary Round.

The youngest team in the North American Soccer League, with an average age of 24.5 years old, Edmonton has speed and desire. The Eddies enter the 2015 season with high expectations and eyes set firmly on earning a place in the postseason.

OPPONENT

A key to the Eddies earning three points in Edmonton is creating chances early. FC Edmonton conceded a goal in the opening 12 seconds of its first match of the season and conceded another opportunity to Mark Anderson of the Carolina RailHawks in the second week after just 20 seconds of the match had passed. The Eddies' back line is big and difficult to beat through the air with speed on the outside. Against one of the more consistent and impressive defenses in the NASL, composed passing and finishing in the final third are necessary to break them down.

FC Edmonton's attack relies heavily on the play of its outside midfielders. Led by 2014 Best XI midfielder Lance Laing and Sainey Nyassi, who has made instant impact in his first NASL season. Edmonton plays the ball up the pitch on the ground through the wings, occasionally knocking it forward in the air to the center forward. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Christian Ramirez – Ramirez notched his first goal of the season last weekend with a precise penalty. Last season's Golden Boot winner was confident after last Saturday’s match that there are more goals to come, saying the floodgates are open and the Loons are back on track.

Pablo Campos – Giving the Loons their first goal of the season, Campos linked well with Ramirez in a change of formation that saw an uptick in chance creation for United against the San Antonio Scorpions.

Lance Laing – Laing began last season playing left outside back but was moved into the midfield for the NASL Fall Season. It was no coincidence that the Eddies began moving up the 2014 table with that change. Laing is explosive, good on a ball, and dangerous streaking along the outside of the pitch.

Sainey Nyassi – Creating chances out of the midfield, Nyassi provides great balance on the right side for the Eddies. The Gambian international likes to run at defenders and play low passes across the box to crashing midfielders and has set up two goals this season.

Matt VanOekel – Playing for Minnesota from 2008-2014, this is VanOekel’s first match against his former club. There has been good and bad from VanOekel this season—with a few blunders leading to opposition goals.

MATCH PREVIEW

Minnesota United switched formations last Saturday, reverting to a 4-4-2 after experimenting with a 4-1-4-1 through the first two weeks of the season. Head coach Manny Lagos’s change in strategy paid off against the Scorpions, with United notching its first goal of the season in the 33rd minute of the match. For United striker Pablo Campos, the goal was a special one.

“It was kind of a dream come true after a year and a half of waiting – to be in the starting lineup and even better to score a goal,” he said. “Even more for it to be the first goal of the season and to help the team come back after losing by one goal last week.”

It has been a trepidatious start to the season for United. The team lacked confidence going forward through two weeks, failing to hit the target, or even pull the trigger in the final third of the pitch. That all changed when Miguel Ibarra received a return pass from Greg Jordan and cut across two defenders to play a ball into the box for United’s first goal of the season. The game opened up from that point on, with fluid runs coming out of the midfield and movement from the United forwards on both offense and defense.

“When we work as hard as we were defensively, it opens up the game for us offensively,” forward Christian Ramirez said. “We win the ball in dangerous areas, and we're able to get at teams right away.”

The interplay of Campos and Ramirez is the key to scoring for United. The Campos-Ramirez combination is one of the most potent in the NASL. This past Saturday illustrated what is possible when both United strikers are on the pitch at the same time.

“We play in the same position, but we have different qualities – Christian doesn't like to play with his back to the goal, like I do,” said Campos. “He likes to get the ball more turned – I like to check to the ball and get hit a little bit, then turn. I think if you have the same style of play, it is very difficult to play together, but those differences make the difference.”

When Campos and Ramirez are both hitting the target and on their game it opens up space on the pitch for United’s other attacking options like Miguel Ibarra and Jonny Steele. This past Saturday also marked the first time this season that Ibarra has started wide, giving the United States Men's National Team midfielder time and space to take on players and set up his teammates.

Matches between Minnesota and Edmonton are generally more conservative, with both teams feeling each other out early, then making changes at halftime and creating chances in the second half. Minnesota holds the edge over Edmonton in matches all time, winning the Flyover Cup the past three years.

Look for a tight match this weekend, with both teams coming into the match in decent form. Minnesota and Edmonton kick off at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 3.