Toronto FC and visiting New York City FC will both have to contend with key injury absences when they clash on Saturday night.
BMO Field may take on something of a festival atmosphere while the annual Canadian National Exhibition takes place around the stadium. Toronto (5-7-9, 24 points) will return home following its first-ever away win against Inter Miami, having collected seven of nine possible points in its last three matches.
After a slow start to his MLS career, Josh Sargent has excelled in recent fixtures as a roaming front man. Toronto’s record signing took on some of Djordje Mihailovic’s traditional link-up role when he was serving his suspension against Charlotte, and Sargent may continue to do so in the ongoing absence of Niklas Dorsch.
Sargent has a goal and an assist to his name in his last two outings.
“I think we’re all looking forward now. We’ve had a really good week and we all just want to keep improving,” Sargent said in a pre-game press conference.
TFC captain Jonathan Osorio is also likely to miss his fourth straight game with a knee injury. Alonso Coello and youngster Markus Cimermancic, who scored his first MLS goal earlier this month, will likely be tasked with manning the middle of the park in place of the two central stalwarts.
Now tied on points with Orlando City in the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, the home side will be relieved to welcome Walker Zimmerman back to their defense after a one-match suspension.
Winless in their last five in all competitions, NYCFC (7-8-6, 27 points) sit three points ahead of Toronto and above the playoff line. An equalizer in first-half stoppage time against the New England Revolution on Sunday helped New York City secure a point in their last match.
Leading scorer Nicolas Fernandez (13) has not found the back of the net since NYCFC tied TFC 1-1 on July 31.
“We’re going to have to play on their turf now and make sure that we do better than we did in Game 1,” head coach Pascal Jansen said, referring to their previous clash.
Keaton Parks broke his hand against the Revolution, but will still be available for selection. Talles Magno (muscular injury) will be the newest addition to the Pigeons’ lengthy injury list. New York is undefeated in their last seven against the Reds.
–Field Level Media
