Preview (July 13, 2018) – The past week or two has been a roller coaster for Minnesota United FC. They hit a high with a 4-3 win over the defending MLS champions Toronto FC, highlighted by a Darwin Quintero hat trick. The next game against Houston Dynamo, they hit a low. A 3-0 loss with two set-piece goals allowed. With MNUFC having a friendly midweek against Costa Rica powerhouse Saprissa there could be some changes coming to the squad.

Preview: Minnesota United vs. Real Salt Lake

Will new signing Romario Ibarra feature?

There is little to no chance that new Designated Player Angel Rodriguez will feature but there is a small chance that Ibarra will. It will be interesting to see what he can come in and provide to the squad.

How does the midweek friendly affect the squad?

Minnesota United played Costa Rican powerhouse Saprissa in a friendly on Wednesday. Fransisco Calvo was the only regular starter who started the game, so Adrian Heath gave some tired legs some badly needed rest. Mason Toye and Frantz Pangop had strong showings during the friendly. Will this translate to minutes on Saturday for the two?

Will Adrian Heath change anything to solve the defensive and set-piece problems?

There was a report by Megan Ryan of the Star Tribune that the Loons were practicing set pieces during the week. Will this yield any results on Saturday? Marking and defending set pieces has been a major issue for the Loons this season so far.

Will the two new signings in Ibarra and Rodriguez lead to a change in tactics for Adrian Heath? Will he stick to the 3-5-2 formation that has had mixed results? The game on Saturday may be a good indicator of which direction Heath wants to lead the club in the coming months.

Projected Formation

——————-Ramirez—–Quintero——————

Gomez—–Schuller—-Maximiniano—Warner—-Ibarra

———Calvo———-Boxall——–Kallman————

————————Shuttleworth———————–