Minnesota United at Sacramento Republic<\/p>\n
What: U.S. Open Cup round of 32
When: 9 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Heart Health Field, Sacramento, California
Stream: Paramount+, CBS Sports Golazo Network
Weather: 64 degrees, clear skies, 9 mph north wind<\/p>\n
Form: In MLS play, the Loons have won two straight road games, including a 2-1 victory over San Diego on Saturday. Sacramento has only one loss in six games in the USL Championship this season, plus two consecutive wins in the opening rounds of the national tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cSacramento is a fantastic team with a really good coach and a really good staff, a great community that has supported that team for so long. Great crowds,\u201d Loons head coach Cameron Knowles said Saturday. \u201cI\u2019ve been there a number of times as a coach and have known a lot of players and coaches that have gone through that club. It\u2019s a real staple of USL and a top-tier organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recent matchups: This is the first game between the two clubs.<\/p>\n
Context: The list of opponents to start United\u2019s season was particularly difficult, and it was struggling after losing to the top teams in the East (3-1 to Nashville) and West (6-0 to Vancouver). But since then, the Loons have seven points from the last three matches and a respectable total of 11 points across seven matches (1.57 points per game). That puts them right at the playoff line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere we find ourselves having had some adversity through that, and then this run of the last three games, to be really steady and pick up some points against very good teams is just really encouraging,\u201d Knowles said Saturday. \u201cI\u2019m super happy for the guys as they keep putting themselves in a position to be competitive within this league.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tidbit: Loons Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad hired Neill Collins, the current Sacramento coach, to be lower-level English club Barnsley\u2019s head coach in 2023. They both returned to the U.S. by 2024.<\/p>\n
Absences: Michael Boxall (adductor), Peter Stroud (quad), Julian Gressel (toe) and Dominik Fitz (illness) are out.<\/p>\n
Look-ahead: With only 18 players available for Open Cup matches and the Loons playing in MLS on Saturday, Knowles is expected to have a rotated squad from who started the San Diego win to who will play in the Sacramento match. Other players will take on double duty.<\/p>\n
James Rodriguez, who is coming back from extreme dehydration, will be available to play after missing the L.A. Galaxy and San Diego wins. Backup goalie Alec Smir will start in net as Drake Callender gets a break, Knowles said Monday. Third-string keeper Kayne Rizvanovich is one of the few additional players also on the California road trip.<\/p>\n
Up next: If the Loons beat Sacramento, the Open Cup\u2019s round of 16 will be either April 28 or 29. They would play the winner of San Jose Earthquakes and Phoenix Rising.<\/p>\n
Spotlight: Mamadou Dieng averaged 0.5 goals per 90 minutes across the 2024 and \u201925 seasons at Hartford Athletic, so he proved he can score against USL Championship teams. But the forward has yet to score in a tiny sample size of 159 minutes since joining the Loons at the end of the transfer window last August.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgainst Sacramento, if he comes into that game, they have two center backs who are very good, very dominant in the air,\u201d Knowles said Monday. \u201cThat would be a good matchup, and he would have them for pace in behind and present a real threat that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
In MLS, Minnesota sure could use a viable striker alternative to Kelvin Yeboah.<\/p>\n
Stat: 2017. That\u2019s the last time MNUFC lost its opening-round match in the U.S. Open Cup. Every other year Minnesota has played in the tourney, the Loons have advanced at least one stage.<\/p>\n
Prediction: Even with a rotated squad, Minnesota will be a big favorite on the road and should be able to get it done. Loons win 2-0.<\/p>\n
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