PREVIEW: FC Edmonton vs. HFX Wanderers FC – Match #51

FC Edmonton's homestand continues on Wednesday as HFX Wanderers FC come to visit Clarke Field for the second time this month, looking to shake off a four-game losing skid.

HFX arrive a fairly battered side, having been trounced 6-2 on the weekend by York9 FC to add further frustration to their trying road swing. This run of games away from Wanderers Grounds finishes with this Eddies matchup, the fifth road game (across two competitions) that HFX will have played in 14 days. The Wanderers do have a win in the CPL's Fall competition, a 1-0 home win on July 6 over York9, but since then they've had a tough spell which they'll hope to break out of this week.

The Eddies, on the other hand, sit squarely in the middle of the table with a win, a loss, and two draws in the Fall. The draws came in FCE's last two matches, a pair of home results against Valour FC (0-0) and Forge FC (1-1). Their lone win was a plucky 2-1 triumph at Tim Hortons Field, which required Jeff Paulus' side to weather an intense attacking storm from Forge FC.

Speaking of storms, the forecast in Edmonton is calling for dry weather at gametime on Wednesday night, which should be music to the ears of Eddies fans, who have seen weather delays in their last two matches.

Next up for HFX Wanderers is a return to Halifax, where they'll take on Valour FC on Monday's Civic Holiday (3:30 p.m. ET, 4:30 p.m. AT, on OneSoccer). FC Edmonton's next match is also at home, an August 10 clash with Pacific FC (6:00 p.m. ET, 4:00 p.m. MT, on OneSoccer).

• Fresh legs: HFX coach Stephen Hart shouldered some of the blame after Saturday's 6-2 loss, conceding that it was a mistake to play the same starting 11 as had faced Ottawa Fury the previous Wednesday. He explained that he'd done so to try and protect several players working their way back from injury. This time, though, expect to see him rotate his squad a bit, since the Wanderers' energy levels failed them against York9. Perhaps the likes of Juan Diego Gutierrez or Kodai Iida could return to start?​
• Find your target: Taking on Forge on the weekend, FC Edmonton attempted 28 crosses (many of which were long free kicks, granted), only six of which found a blue-shirted player. If that's the way they want to play, they'll need to do a lot better with finding their target men in the box — as Amer Didic did for Easton Ongaro's late equalizer for FCE on Saturday.​
• Perea-Skublak partnership: In their last two games, both of HFX's strikers — Luis Alberto Perea and Thomasz Skublak — have lined up together, with Skublak sitting in a pocket behind Perea. It's worked out fairly well; in the two matches, Skublak has two goals (plus a York9 own goal he created), and Perea has one. The partnership has the makings of a solid one-two punch, with Skublak's energy and Perea's creativity complementing each other well.​

FC Edmonton: Connor James; Allan Zebie, Mele Temguia, Amer Didic, Jeannot Esua; Kareem Moses, Ramon Soria; Bruno Zebie, Oumar Diouck, Marcus Velado-Tsegaye; Tomi Ameobi

HFX Wanderers FC: Christian Oxner; Alex De Carolis, Matthew Arnone, Peter Schaale, Chrisnovic N'Sa; Kodai Iida, Akeem Garcia, Elton John, Juan Diego Gutierrez; Thomasz Skublak, Luis Alberto Perea



Q. Which team's keeper will make more saves?

A: Out of the four teams playing Wednesday night, Pacific and Halifax have been averaging the most shots on target with 5.3 and 4.4 respectively. If this trend continues then Valour and Edmonton's keepers should be facing more shots.
Q. Will a defender score a goal?
A: Since the beginning of the Fall competition, we've seen what looks to be an increase in set-piece goals being scored. Look at this as an opportunity for another defender to get on the scoresheet.
Q. Will there be more goals in the 1st half or the 2nd?
A: As teams start to play more often and well-rested players becoming rarer, it has taken teams longer to find their footing in matches ex. Forge and Edmonton this past weekend.

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