Minnesota United is looking to continue their success with a two-striker formation as they visit New York City FC on Sunday afternoon.
Minnesota (3-1-2, 11 points) mostly plays by a 5-3-2 formation (3-1-2, 11 points) on an undefeated driving with one of the more unique tactical settings in the league. The club is led by an attacking duo, each of whom could start as a lone striker on most MLS pages.
Kelvin Yeboah and Tani Oluwaseyi each have four goals, with the latter points twice in last weekend’s 2-0 victory over Real Salt Lake.
And in an era where most teams only use a center ahead, Manager Eric Ramsay sees no problems in continuing to use a formation more common two decades ago, as long as the duo remain disciplined in the attack.
“The biggest message in and outside the possession of these two is that they stay close enough,” Ramsay said. “And I think that in order to get the advantage of each other’s movement and each other’s physicality they must be close. And I think largely we have seen it in most games.”
When Yeboah and Oluwaseyi visit NYCFC (2-2-2, 8 points), they will also meet a defense that may lack confidence after giving back a two-goal lead in a 4-3 loss on Atlanta last weekend.
Alonso Martinez scored his fourth goal of the season from the penalty, and Hannes Wolf added his second and third. But Atlanta’s late rally stopped a modest three-match undefeated driving and marked just the second time NYCFC had admitted several goals.
City Manager Pascal Jensen indicated that Slip-up would not lead to a significant change in the approach this week, nor would the unique, counter-driven approach of the memory.
“As always, in our games, we want to control the games,” Jensen said. “We want to control the ball. We have to find a good balance when we play a little more directly, because we have also seen some opportunities in that area. But basically check the counter while you are in possession and while you are in the attack is the biggest challenge for us.”
-Field level media
