Match Preview - Nashville SC
Game Info
Kickoff: 7:40pm CT
Watch: Apple TV
Location: GEODIS Park - Nashville, TN
All-Time H2H Record
Austin FC has an all-time record of 0W-2L-1D against Nashville SC.
Austin’s lost the first two meetings between these clubs, both on the road. First a 1-0 loss in May of 2021 then a 3-0 loss in September of 2022. The Verde and Black drew Nashville 1-1 at Q2 Stadium just two weeks later in the heat of the Sebastián Driussi and Hany Mukhtar MVP race. Both players scored in that match in Austin.
Nashville SC Recent Form
The 2022 season was a magical year for both Nashville and Austin, but both of these teams are in vastly different places since the last time they met. Two years ago, both sides were in the top four of the Western Conference for the majority of the season. Now, with Nashville relocated to the Eastern Conference, each team is fighting for their playoff lives during the stretch run of the 2024 season.
Things have not been great in Tennessee as of late with Nashville’s winless streak in league play extending to six games with their last win coming on June 22nd in an ugly matchup with NYCFC. Leagues Cup was also not very kind to “The Boys in Gold”, as they were knocked out in the group stage following a loss at the hands of Mazatlan (who are apparently giants when the Leagues Cup lights turn on) and a draw versus New England Revolution. In their last eight games, Nashville SC has been outscored 19-4.
Over the course of their 26 league games so far, Nashville is similar to Austin. Goals have been hard to come by, as this is one of the few teams with less goals for than the Verde and Black, with just 26 netted in 25 games. On top of that Nashville is (and has been for the majority of the season) beat up. They’ve got injuries to major contributors and rotational pieces alike. Looking at their current injury report, Nashville is expected to be without six players, including leading scorer Sam Surridge, for Saturday’s match.
Nashville was relatively quiet during the summer transfer window as they signed midfielder Patrick Yazbeck to a U22 Initiative deal and brought in winger Jonathan Perez on loan from LA Galaxy. Yazbeck last played for Viking in the Norwegian league where he scored twice in 44 appearances. On paper, Yazbeck appears to be more of a prospect for the future rather than a key contributor for the playoff push. It’s possible that the Nashville front office may already have their eyes towards 2025 considering how little wiggle room they appear to have under the cap.
All things considered, Nashville will enjoy being back at home at GEODIS Park. Austin has been poor (at best) on the road this season, but this is a game that ATX should be expected to bring home a result from.
Austin’s Recent Form
Welcome back, welcome back, welcomeeee bacccckkk. We’re back, baby! The Verde and Black had an excellent showing in League’s Cup relative to expectations and return to MLS regular season action with one thing in mind: PLAYOFFS. Let’s get after it.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock at Hippie Hollow, you’re well aware of Austin’s group stage upset in League’s Cup versus not one, but TWO, Liga MX powerhouse clubs in Pumas and Monterrey (or Mon Terry, if you ask our friend Tucker). After winning the group and advancing, Austin caught an unfortunate break due to tournament seeding and had to go on the road to BMO Stadium to take on LAFC, who had finished second in their group. While the game resulted in a loss, Austin played well relative to the last two trips to BMO and many Verde fans came away feeling positive. The same issues that have plagued the team this season: inability to finish and grievous errors at the back, were ultimately their downfall.
Still, I feel like there is a lot to be excited about with the nine games remaining on the schedule. We still haven’t seen new CB Oleksandr Svatok make his debut and according to Coach Wolff, it appears like we’ll have to wait another week for the Ukrainian to hit the field as he’s reportedly struggling to acclimate to the Texas heat. But that’s not curbing my enthusiasm for Saturday one bit. We’ve already seen very encouraging performances from both Mikkel Desler and Osman Bukari, and it feels like a lifetime ago that the Verde and Black were starting Emiliano Rigoni and Hector Jimenez in those spots.
If you’re an avid listener, you know that we’ve preached that the team has appeared to be doing the right things in regard to building character and resiliency throughout the course of the season despite the disappointing results. Having those “winning intangibles” in place does not guarantee success, but it does pay dividends come crunch time. With the confidence this Austin team should be playing with after a fantastic performance in Leagues Cup, I expect an Austin FC side that can look and be dominant against a team like Nashville.
My hope for Saturday is to see an aggressive starting XI (I don’t mind Driussi up top again!) who come out of the gates with a visibly aggressive mindset. There’s no need to panic against this Nashville club, as they do not generate many high turnovers and are one of the most anemic and boring offenses in all of MLS. While Austin FC is generally close to Nashville in many metrics, ATX has evolved their roster this summer, while Nashville has mostly been forced to stay put. When you start to look at the remaining nine games of the season as this team tries to claw its way back into the playoffs, you’ll see that opponents that are this bad are few and far between. The team has to capitalize and start the final stretch with three points.
Injury Report
ATX - Matt Bersano (Out - Leg)
NSH - Dru Yearwood (Out - Lower Body), Lukas MacNaughton (Out - Ankle), Randall Leal (Out - Hip), Tyler Boyd (Out - Knee), Sean Davis (Out - Knee)
Nashville SC Players to Watch
Hany Muhktar - The 2022 MLS MVP is not putting up the audacious numbers that netted him the honor two seasons ago, but he still is an extremely talented player who is great on the ball and was named an MLS All-Star last month. He plays well in space with pace and can distribute as well as he can finish. He leads Nashville in goal contributions with 12, though it’s been seven matches since he last found the back of the net. Austin can make disrupting his game a primary focus on the defensive end, given the lack of high end talent surrounding him in the Nashville attack.
Patrick Yazbeck - Nashville’s newest addition logged 167 minutes in the two League’s Cup matches The Boys in Gold had in the group stage. He contributed an assist, and was a welcome addition to a depleted club. He’ll need to find a way to gel very quickly with his teammates to make an impact here against Austin.
Austin Players to Watch
Sebastián Driussi - While Rodolfo Borrell has added some shiny new toys and Josh Wolff gave the armband back to Alex Ring, this is still Seba’s orchestra. He is the maestro in the middle that needs to be fed touches to get Austin firing on all cylinders. I’ve mentioned early and often that I think the gravity that a player like Bukari can bring is going to be huge for Driussi in regard to the space he should have to operate. The two best players on the team are still getting to know one another, so I hope they had a good two weeks in practice. Regardless, if this Austin FC team is to make the playoffs, it will be by the feet of Sebastian Driussi.
Osman Bukari - While he’s only played 160 minutes since his debut on July 20th, the fanbase may start to get impatient with Austin’s new designated player if he doesn’t record a goal contribution soon. Fair or not, this is a “what have you done for me lately” type of buisiness. Coach Wolff hinted at full fitness for Bukari in Thursday’s media availability, so I’m hoping we see our first full 90 out of Osman on Saturday.
Austin’s Keys to the Game
Must-Win Mentality - There’s not enough time left in this season to drop points to inferior teams. This Nashville side is a bad team and Austin needs to handle their business. Excuses should be in the rearview. While this isn’t the final form of Borrell’s vision, the depth has been padded, the injury report is barren and there’s no more time to sit back, bunker, and settle for a draw on the road. The playoffs start NOW for this team and if they’re able to embrace that mentality, infuse the talent, and add a dash of confidence, then I’ll enjoy what the team cooks up these last nine contests.
That’s it. Don’t care how you do it, just get the job done. We ride!
Predictions
E - 4-1 Austin FC
ZG - 2-0 Austin FC
