PREVIEW | Red-Hot United Hosts Combined Standings-Leading Cosmos

A top-of–the-table showdown is coming to Minnesota as the New York Cosmos visit the NSC Stadium to face Minnesota United. The Loons are in fine form, pushing to a tie on points with Ottawa Fury FC in the Fall Season Standings, while chasing the Cosmos in the Combined Standings.

TEAM OVERVIEW

New York Cosmos: The Cosmos are coming off of a thrilling 1-0 victory against Jacksonville Armada FC on Saturday. Raúl broke a 0-0 tie through a 12-yard strike in the 74th minute. The Cosmos played well offensively, beating out Jacksonville in corners (5-0), attacks (15-3), shots on target (5-0) and time of possession (56-44).

With the victory, the Cosmos extended their unbeaten streak at Shuart Stadium to 18 matches and remain tied for second place in the Fall Season Standings on points with Minnesota. With eight games left before the postseason, New York holds a six-point edge over the Loons and Ottawa Fury FC for the top spot in the Combined Standings. If the Cosmos can maintain it, they’ll lock up home field advantage throughout The Championship.

Minnesota United FC: The Loons are 5W-2D-0L since suffering a 2-1 defeat to the Cosmos in New York on August 5. Last Saturday night, they posted a convincing 3-1 victory against the Carolina RailHawks.

After conceding a Futty Danso goal in the fourth minute, Minnesota United put on a second-half display of offense, scoring three goals in eight minutes. An own-goal equalizer from Carolina’s Daniel Scott sparked the second-half comeback as Pablo Campos and Kevin Venegas scored in the 77th and 81st minute, respectively, to cap off the victory.

Tuesday night United kept rolling with a 2-1 comeback victory over the Atlanta Silverbacks at Silverbacks Park. Atlanta forward Pedro Mendes struck first on a counterattack in the ninth minute, not long after his side went down to 10 men, but Christian Ramirez answered in the first half and J.C. Banks found the match-winner for Minnesota in the 83rd minute.

With his goal on Tuesday night, Ramirez became Minnesota United's all-time leading goalscorer. The 24-year-old Californian has netted nine times this season.

MATCHUP HISTORY

The Cosmos and Loons have played each other twice this season. The first matchup was a 1-1 draw on May 30 that featured a 90th-minute equalizer from Raúl, served up on a pinpoint deep ball from Andrés Flores.

The most recent matchup was a 2-1 victory for the Cosmos back on August 5. The Cosmos had many advantages during the course of the match, outshooting Minnesota, 10-3, plus creating more corners and attacks (10-7 and 20-11, respectively). They’ll look to execute a similar game plan this Saturday.

NOTES

Raúl Keeps Rolling: Saturday’s game-winner for Raúl marked his sixth goal of the season and 22nd consecutive appearance in NASL play. He’s the only Cosmos player to play in every league match this year.

The Stretch Run:  Potential tactical changes from coach Manny Lagos will be something to look out for prior to kickoff. This will mark Minnesota United’s third match in eight days.

Offensive Power Battle: The Cosmos enter Saturday’s match continuing to lead the league in shots taken (192). This fixture will feature the league’s two top-scoring teams: Minnesota’s 40 goals against the Cosmos’ 36.

Diversified Scoring: Christian Ramirez (3 goals), Justin Davis and Daniel Mendes (2 goals apiece) have all been key factors in Minnesota’s last seven matches, and the Loons are unbeaten in that timeframe.

The Road Ahead: This matchup marks the beginning of the Cosmos’ final eight matches of the season. It looks to be a tough schedule ahead. The close of the Fall Season includes six matches against teams within four points of the Cosmos in the Fall Standings.