Idk if there will be a game preview article to comment on, so here we go:
- I have questions regarding the status of the US nats. Coffey has to start and Fleming almost certainly does too, but I would not be shocked if Soph and/or Moultrie/Becky do not. Norris said they didn't train until Thursday.....so they've had one day with the rest …
Idk if there will be a game preview article to comment on, so here we go:
- I have questions regarding the status of the US nats. Coffey has to start and Fleming almost certainly does too, but I would not be shocked if Soph and/or Moultrie/Becky do not. Norris said they didn't train until Thursday.....so they've had one day with the rest of the roster. I'd still lean toward "yes" for all four, but I don't think it's a given. And yes, if one or both of Moultrie or Smith don't start, you bet your ass Sinc will.
- I know we're all going to overreact one way or the other regardless, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is an ugly game on both sides. Neither team --the Thorns to a much worse degree-- have had any consistency in personnel this preseason. Not going to be a lot to take away imo.
- I think there's a decent chance Kling starts over one of Reyes/Müller to start the season.
- I'll be very curious to see how KC lines up. I put this in my KC preview section, but they're missing Glas, Dibernardo, and Scott to start the season and Vlatko said in his Kassouf ESPN interview that 18-year old Claire Hutton is his starting 6. Will Debinha play as an inverted LW? Will Vlatko start both Bia and Chawinga? A lot is up in the air for them.
I’m curious how KC will line up also. Aside from the Brazilians, they’ve had a pretty cohesive and consistent group training together all preseason. Could be a lot messier for us than them…Glas, DiBernardo, Scott, and Weber were all out most of last season too so I don’t think it’ll be really disruptive to their plan.
I swear if they roll out this fresh new season with Sinc I will turn the tv off lol. Sam and Jessie def have to start…we just have no real other options for 6 or 8. Honestly the US Nats we had away didn’t play all that much and only traveled from SD so I don’t know why they wouldn’t be able to start aside from lacking cohesion... Sam is the only one who I could see be given rest, but that’s under different circumstances like having another 6 lol.
Wouldn’t be surprised if Obaze and Hubly started, given they’ve had a much larger chunk of preseason to practice together…although of course Becky and Hubs have played with eachother and it would be weird tossing Obaze out there in this game u less she’s just been killin’ it in preaseason. Still, Becky/Hubly probs.
I do think it’s possible Kling starts, and I’m not sure I like it but it’s so hard for me to say, because I don’t know Müller really at all. I know she’s good going forward, but how will her defensive chops stack up against this league? Certainly anyone is faster than Kling and a Becky/Kling left pairing is ripe for exploiting…Vlatko knows the US players well also. Maybe Kling would do well with a half or 60, but she becomes a detriment after that. Still kinda lean Kling, but wouldn’t be surprised with Müller on the L, with Reyes shifted to the R. Either that or Kling/Reyes.
Unless I'm misremembering, I'm pretty sure I saw a KC reporter say they were anticipating having Glas, Scott, and DiBernardo available to start the season. Pretty sure all three (including DiBernardo who apparently is going to be available Saturday if they can finish the paperwork) have been training for at least a month, so *I* was certainly expecting them to be ready to go. I assume Del Fava probably starts at RB, and Weaver has absolutely torched her in the past, so that's good news for the Thorns.
But yeah, you're right that they've had generally fewer absences. I think I'm most interested to see how they handle the Bia-Chawinga dynamic because if Bia starts behind Chawinga, you'd think that forces Debinha out wide. I'd guess Cooper starts out right since Prince probably isn't good to go?
From a Thorns perspective, I'll be most irritated if Müller doesn't start. She's an experienced pro and has been here all offseason. I don't know if she'll adapt right away, but it's not like she's a BAD defender, she's just also a talented attacker. I hope Soph and Moultrie both start, but if they don't........(Sinc will). The most interesting switch-up Norris could pull on me is if Obaze starts. THAT would be cool and vaguely scary lol.
This is just about the ideal lineup from my perspective. I wouldn't mind seeing Obaze in there, but it will all depend on how she adjusts to the speed and physicality of the NWSL. There are a bunch of questions with the depth of the team, but the top 14 players are right up there with any team in the league. Lets hope that Fleming settles in quickly, because that is the one player who really hasn't played with any of the other players.
Idk if there will be a game preview article to comment on, so here we go:
- I have questions regarding the status of the US nats. Coffey has to start and Fleming almost certainly does too, but I would not be shocked if Soph and/or Moultrie/Becky do not. Norris said they didn't train until Thursday.....so they've had one day with the rest of the roster. I'd still lean toward "yes" for all four, but I don't think it's a given. And yes, if one or both of Moultrie or Smith don't start, you bet your ass Sinc will.
- I know we're all going to overreact one way or the other regardless, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is an ugly game on both sides. Neither team --the Thorns to a much worse degree-- have had any consistency in personnel this preseason. Not going to be a lot to take away imo.
- I think there's a decent chance Kling starts over one of Reyes/Müller to start the season.
- I'll be very curious to see how KC lines up. I put this in my KC preview section, but they're missing Glas, Dibernardo, and Scott to start the season and Vlatko said in his Kassouf ESPN interview that 18-year old Claire Hutton is his starting 6. Will Debinha play as an inverted LW? Will Vlatko start both Bia and Chawinga? A lot is up in the air for them.
Lineup:
Weaver-Smith-Hina
Moultrie
Fleming-Coffey
Müller(Kling)-Becky-Hubly-Reyes (Kling)
Hogan
I’m curious how KC will line up also. Aside from the Brazilians, they’ve had a pretty cohesive and consistent group training together all preseason. Could be a lot messier for us than them…Glas, DiBernardo, Scott, and Weber were all out most of last season too so I don’t think it’ll be really disruptive to their plan.
I swear if they roll out this fresh new season with Sinc I will turn the tv off lol. Sam and Jessie def have to start…we just have no real other options for 6 or 8. Honestly the US Nats we had away didn’t play all that much and only traveled from SD so I don’t know why they wouldn’t be able to start aside from lacking cohesion... Sam is the only one who I could see be given rest, but that’s under different circumstances like having another 6 lol.
Wouldn’t be surprised if Obaze and Hubly started, given they’ve had a much larger chunk of preseason to practice together…although of course Becky and Hubs have played with eachother and it would be weird tossing Obaze out there in this game u less she’s just been killin’ it in preaseason. Still, Becky/Hubly probs.
I do think it’s possible Kling starts, and I’m not sure I like it but it’s so hard for me to say, because I don’t know Müller really at all. I know she’s good going forward, but how will her defensive chops stack up against this league? Certainly anyone is faster than Kling and a Becky/Kling left pairing is ripe for exploiting…Vlatko knows the US players well also. Maybe Kling would do well with a half or 60, but she becomes a detriment after that. Still kinda lean Kling, but wouldn’t be surprised with Müller on the L, with Reyes shifted to the R. Either that or Kling/Reyes.
Unless I'm misremembering, I'm pretty sure I saw a KC reporter say they were anticipating having Glas, Scott, and DiBernardo available to start the season. Pretty sure all three (including DiBernardo who apparently is going to be available Saturday if they can finish the paperwork) have been training for at least a month, so *I* was certainly expecting them to be ready to go. I assume Del Fava probably starts at RB, and Weaver has absolutely torched her in the past, so that's good news for the Thorns.
But yeah, you're right that they've had generally fewer absences. I think I'm most interested to see how they handle the Bia-Chawinga dynamic because if Bia starts behind Chawinga, you'd think that forces Debinha out wide. I'd guess Cooper starts out right since Prince probably isn't good to go?
From a Thorns perspective, I'll be most irritated if Müller doesn't start. She's an experienced pro and has been here all offseason. I don't know if she'll adapt right away, but it's not like she's a BAD defender, she's just also a talented attacker. I hope Soph and Moultrie both start, but if they don't........(Sinc will). The most interesting switch-up Norris could pull on me is if Obaze starts. THAT would be cool and vaguely scary lol.
This is just about the ideal lineup from my perspective. I wouldn't mind seeing Obaze in there, but it will all depend on how she adjusts to the speed and physicality of the NWSL. There are a bunch of questions with the depth of the team, but the top 14 players are right up there with any team in the league. Lets hope that Fleming settles in quickly, because that is the one player who really hasn't played with any of the other players.