Pre-match Preview: CITY SC wraps up April with first match against LAFC

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - St. Louis CITY SC will finish the month of April on the road with its first of two meetings with LAFC this season.

Last weekend, CITY secured its first point of April in a 0-0 draw with Vancouver Whitecaps FC, ending a four-match losing streak.

With the all-time series at 3-0-1 in favor of its opponent, St. Louis will be looking to pick up its first-ever win against LAFC this Saturday.

A Home Shut Out

An injured and slumping St. Louis side was able to fend off the top-scoring club in MLS Saturday night.

It was CITY’s fifth shutout of the year, and Ben Lundt’s second of his MLS career. The St. Louis defense held the Whitecaps to just one shot on goal, which was its lowest in any match this season.

St. Louis displayed a strong performance on the other side of the pitch as well, finishing with two shots on goal on eight total attempts. There was a moment during the first half where CITY saw a ball hit the back of the net, but the ‘VAR demon’ struck again, and the goal was called off soon after.

It was an unfortunate and frustrating decision, especially for a club that has had more disallowed goals than it has scored this month. But it showed a clear improvement in the attacking third, which has been an issue in past games.

“I think there are a lot of positives to take from today’s game,” Coach Mellberg said after the match. “We were well-organized. We worked hard. We prevented them from creating big chances. Happy with that today.”

The difficult month of April is coming to a close, but St. Louis will have one more hurdle to clear before it does.

Up Next

CITY SC will head out west to play its first of two matches against LAFC this season.

LAFC has been well-established as one of CITY SC’s kryptonite over the last couple of years. Not only has St. Louis never beaten the Black and Gold, it has also never scored against it. In the last three meetings between these two, CITY is 0-2-1, including a scoreless draw that represents the single lone point it has ever taken from LA.

LAFC is coming off a thrilling 3-3 draw with Portland Timbers - a match that could’ve easily resulted in three points for its opponents had it not been for a late penalty by forward Denis Bouanga. The draw was its first of the season, bringing its overall record to 4-4-1 as the seventh-place team in the Western Conference.

This was the first time all year that LAFC was able to take points from a match that saw its opponent score first. This club scores a majority of its goals in the second half, and has 10 different goal scorers so far this season. If CITY can find a way to score early and hold a strong defensive stance in the second half, it could be the key to securing three points.

St. Louis broke its losing streak last week and took its first point of the month. It still occupies the 12th place spot in the West, holding a record of 2-4-3.

Injuries have now become a major issue for this club. Last week, it was announced that center back Henry Kessler sustained an injury during Friday’s training. Kessler, who is now sidelined with a hamstring injury for at least six weeks, was added to a long list of CITY players who have been absent due to injuries.

As it currently stands, Roman Bürki, Tomas Totland, Jayden Reid, Chris Durkin, Rasmus Alm, Eduard Löwen, and Henry Kessler are listed as out or questionable for the match. Totland, Reid, Durkin, and Alm were all active in some capacity at Tuesday’s training. And Coach Olof Mellberg told reporters that Bürki is “not far away” from returning to action.

LAFC has been running either a 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 for much of the season, with the emphasis being its attacking trio of Bouanga, David Martinez, and Olivier Giroud. CITY will once again have its work cut out in the defensive third, as Bouanga and Martinez combine for nearly half of its opponent’s goals.

Bottom Line:

The injuries are stacking up, and April has not been kind in of results. But, after last week, it’s clear that this club has the ability to produce offensive opportunities. After the LAFC match, St. Louis will enter a stretch where it will play five games in 14 days (May 3 to May 17). The club must start knocking names off its injury list by then if it hopes to find any sort of success and keep its healthy players healthy. But, it’s fair to say that in those players’ absence, others have stepped up. The MLS season is almost a third of the way through. So, regardless of who St. Louis puts on the pitch, now is the time to start wrangling in points.

Kick-off is set for 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 27, at BMO Stadium.

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