Photo: Courtesy of Nashville SC
Barring a catastrophic collapse on Wednesday night, Nashville SC is expected to cruise to a comfortable victory over Moca FC and advance to the Second Round of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Nashville took care of business in the first leg of the matchup on the road by way of a 3-0 victory. Tonight, it will host the Dominican side at Geodis Park in the midst of a suffocating stretch that sees the Boys in Gold play four matches in 10 days to kick off the new season.
A victory sets up a rematch of the 2023 Leagues Cup final in the next round for Nashville vs. Inter Miami CF. Leo Messi’s Miami squad received a First Round bye as it was awarded the tournament’s third seed due to club rankings.
Here are three things to watch for during Wednesday’s match vs. Moca FC:
1) Commanding Victory
If there’s one thing Nashville fans want to see after its lackadaisical outing vs. Red Bulls last weekend, it’s a bounce-back performance in which Nashville gives nothing away. Not only would it be ideal, it’s expected.
Nashville comes in -20000 to win the match outright per DraftKings Sportsbook. In the first match between the two sides, Nashville controlled nearly 60% of the possession and peppered the goal with seven shots on target. Moca FC managed to steer one attempt on frame. Similarly, Nashville tallied 31 touches inside its opponents’ box while Moca managed only three.
Regardless of the lineup Gary Smith opts to deploy, the stats and scoreline should not be close when the full-time whistle blows.
2) Rotate the Squad
Again, Nashville finds itself in the middle of an exhausting run of matches to open the 2024 campaign. Expect Smith to heavily rotate the squad on Wednesday night and feature both young players and new signings.
With MLS threatening to pull out of the U.S. Open Cup, the tournament in which clubs regularly give their developing players competitive minutes, the Champions Cup could be one of the few opportunities for the likes of Amar Sejdić or Josh Bauer to crack the Starting XI.
3) Keep it Simple
Nashville SC is expected to win easily due to its massive talent advantage over Moca FC across the board. While it does hold a tactical advantage over the visitors as well, the talent disparity alone should be enough for Nashville to secure the victory. Don’t expect Gary Smith to run out with any out-of-character formation (besides maybe a 4-3-3 due to lack of depth up top at the moment with injuries to Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge) or the late substituting of key players.
The goal of this match is to get in and get out with an easy win, then shift sights ahead to Saturday when Nashville heads to Denver to take on the Colorado Rapids. Wednesday night’s win likely won’t be flashy, but it should be efficient.
Projected Starting XI
Bunbury
Shaffelburg | Muyl | M. Gaines
Sejdić | Anunga
Washington | Maher | Bauer | J. Gaines
Panicco
Up top, Teal Bunbury will likely see another start. There’s a good chance that Nashville GM Mike Jacobs, privy to the severity of Surridge’s injury, is making calls left and right to bring in another option at the striker position. But until then, the club is left without many options, the first of which is the 33-year-old veteran.
Nashville could easily line up in the aforementioned 4-3-3 formation in which Sejdić, Muyl, and Anunga share the middle plane, but of those three, Muyl is the most likely to advance higher up the pitch regularly and nestle between Shaffelburg and Gaines.
Across the back, we see Taylor Washington return on the left while Dan Lovitz remains sidelined with Jack Maher and Josh Bauer in the middle. There’s a chance Brett Kallman gets the nod over Maher, but a steady presence and veteran of the system at center-back goes a long way in coordinating a unified defense. Bauer makes his first start of the year at the neighboring CB spot while the 21-year-old Julian Gaines makes his Nashville debut at right-back, giving Shaq Moore an extra few days to recover.
