SAN DIEGO FC VS ST. LOUIS City SC PREVIEW

Feb 28

San Diego FC is set to play their first-ever MLS home match this Saturday against St. Louis City FC. San Diego got off to a strong start by defeating the current MLS champions, LA Galaxy 2-0. Anders Dreyer was the standout player, scoring a brace and securing 3 points on the road for the club. Now that they have all eyes on them, the pressure will be on at home. Here is my match prediction and starting lineup prediction for San Diego FC.

Match Prediction

San Diego FC has set a high bar for themselves by winning their first-ever MLS game. Now, the expectations will be for them to win this match as well, especially against a St. Louis side that missed out on the playoffs last season and set up defensively. On paper, this game is still difficult to predict, but with San Diego expecting a record-breaking attendance of 35,000 fans, I believe San Diego will deliver the goals for their home crowd. I predict that San Diego will be victorious in this match and will dominate the game. Lozano will be the first player to score at Snapdragon Stadium, putting San Diego up early in the first half. This will be followed by a second goal from San Diego's Luca De La Torre. San Diego will enter the second half with a 2-0 lead, but St. Louis will respond with a goal to make it 2-1. St. Louis will have a few more chances, and nerves will be high at Snapdragon Stadium. However, San Diego will seal the game with a third goal from a set piece by none other than Paddy McNair, making it 3-1. The final whistle will blow, and San Diego FC will have a 2-0-0 record, having won their first two MLS games.

Starting XI

Mikey Varas is likely to field a very similar starting XI for this match. He may make one or two changes, but the overall style of play will remain the same.

Defense

CJ Dos Santos
In goal, we will see CJ Dos Santos again. Dos Santos had his first-ever MLS start last week and earned his first-ever MLS clean sheet. He wasn’t tested much, and that will likely be the case again for this match.

Willy Kumado
Despite Loffelsend having a solid debut last week, I think Mikey Varas will give Kumado the starting right-back spot. Kumado had a full week to train and build chemistry with the team, so it will be exciting to see him start for the first time.

Sean McVey
McVey will start again as a center-back. He was solid last week, and with Varas confirming that Andres Reyes is not ready for playing time yet, McVey will remain a starter.

Paddy McNair
McNair will be the starting center-back all season. He had an outstanding start last week and led the backline to a clean sheet. I see McNair scoring a goal this weekend.

Franco Negri
Negri came off the game last week with a knock; however, Varas confirmed that he is match-fit and will start at left-back. Negri contributes a lot offensively and is a crucial part of this team.

Midfield

Jeppe Tverskov
Tverskov is the captain of this team and will always get the starting position unless injured. He was one of the most important pieces of the midfield and will have a great home debut.

Anibal Godoy
Godoy had the highest passing completion percentage last week at 94%. He has been a surprising starter so far. The 35-year-old not only plays an important role in leadership but also on the defensive side.

Luca De La Torre
De La Torre was the best player in the first half last week, covering all areas of the midfield. With this being his home debut in his hometown, I can see De La Torre getting on the scoresheet. He may still have a limit on his minutes and will most likely be substituted during the second half.

Attacking

Anders Dreyer
"La Secadora," as the Latino fan base is calling him, is becoming the star player of this team. Dreyer scored a brace last week and made the MLS Player of the Week list. I think he will have a huge game and could possibly score again.

Hirving Lozano

Lozano will have a much better game than he did against LA Galaxy. He will score the first goal at Snapdragon Stadium and will be named Player of the Match.

Marcus Ingvartsen
Ingvartsen will have a solid performance, though he may not get on the scoresheet again. If that happens, it will be time to start questioning why your starting striker isn’t scoring. It’s still early in the season, and Ingvartsen will remain the starting striker.

Written by: Alejandro Villasenor

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