WHO:

Bethlehem Steel, 10-11-4, 34 points, 9th place Eastern Conference

WHAT:

A Friday LouCity home USL match!

WHEN:

Friday, September 15, 2017, 7:30 p.m.

WHERE:

Louisville Slugger Field, 401 E. Main Street, Louisville, KY 40202

WATCH:

WBNA-21 on TV, 1080 WKJK for radio, YouTube for the stream

WHO, AGAIN?

Bethlehem played LouCity fairly well in the teams’ last meeting up at Lehigh, despite what the score might say. This is a talented team fighting for their playoff lives. The Steel are not to be discounted in this match, especially with the return of Cory Burke from national team duty with Jamaica. City is favored to win, of course, but they still have their work cut out for them in this one.

The Steel play a 4-2-3-1, which could trouble the purple (or black, I guess) midfield depending on how the defense is tasked. It’s hard to know who’s going to be playing for the Steel as they rarely use the same lineup twice. The matchups to watch, though, will probably be on the wings. How will the Steel handle Smith and Jimenez and keep them from serving in balls from wide areas to our attackers?

Aaron Jones and Matt Real have gotten most of the minutes for the Steel in the last several matches, with spot appearances from Georgio Wijnaldum and former Kentucky Wildcat Charlie Reymann. The Steel fullbacks generally don’t play high up the field, and try to remain fairly connected to their centerbacks. That could be problematic against Louisville unless the defense plays deeper.

A team like Bethlehem that needs points on the road might open themselves up a bit, too, which generally leads to good attacking sequences for LouCity. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing that tonight.

COME ON, CITY!