Canadian Premier League — Match #78 FC Edmonton vs. York9 FC September 21, 2019 — Clarke Field (3:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. MT) Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca

Two sides looking to bounce back after losses last weekend will converge at Clarke Field on Saturday as FC Edmonton hosts York9 FC for the second time in the Fall season. The Eddies fell to Pacific FC last Saturday in a frustrating shutout, failing to make anything of their 60 per cent second-half possession. That was their fourth loss of the Fall, and the latest in a winless streak that now spans six games. FCE have fallen in recent weeks after hovering firmly around the Fall season title race in July and early August, now sitting fifth in the table with 14 points, but a few moments of bad luck (including a bizarre late equalizer conceded to York9) have hurt severely along the way. RELATED READING: 'An excellent future': Amer Didic's journey home to FC Edmonton || 3 big questions ahead of CPL’s summer closer
York9 will also look to right the ship in this tilt, after they dropped a 4-2 result at home to Valour FC last weekend. Although they started strong by taking the lead seven minutes in, they were never able to fight their way back into the game after the visitors scored a pair of quick first-half goals. The Nine Stripes are a point back of FC Edmonton in the standings, with a 4-7-1 fall record. Their fortunes seemed to be shifting last week when they beat Pacific FC 2-0 on Van Isle, but the home defeat put a stop to their surge.

These two clubs have had a number of hard-fought battles, including a Canadian Championship tie that York9 won on the back of three set-piece goals in the opening leg. The Nine Stripes have yet to win at Clarke Field in two visits, including one at the end of August, but they've also never lost to the Eddies outside of their Canadian Championship meeting (a 1-0 result that still put York9 through on aggregate).

York9 will be back home next weekend to take on Cavalry FC, as the Spring champions visit York Lions Stadium on Saturday (6:00 p.m. ET, on OneSoccer). FC Edmonton will head out on the road for their next match, as they play HFX Wanderers FC, also on Saturday (1:00 p.m. ET, 2:00 p.m. AT, on OneSoccer).

KEYS TO THE MATCH

  • Fullback fill-ins: It's possible that both teams will be missing one of their first-choice fullbacks this weekend. Eddies right-back Jeannot Esua is still suspended after being sent off in the last Al Classico, while York9's usual left-back Diyaeddine Abzi only played the last five minutes of the Valour loss, returning from a fairly lengthy bout with injury. If Abzi's fit to start at Clarke Field, then that'll be a huge boon to the Nine Stripes, who have benefited from his creativity and overlap play all season. Esua, meanwhile, will likely be replaced by Kareem Moses, who's done well in that spot when given opportunities, which the Eddies will require once again.​
  • Due for a goal: Despite FC Edmonton's failure to find a goal against Pacific last time out, striker Tomi Ameobi had a very lively evening. He hit the woodwork with a sizzling long-range effort and had a few other dangerous looks at goal on a night where he looked destined to score. He's scored three goals in the CPL this year, but none since August 1st. Jeff Paulus chose to deploy him up top instead of Easton Ongaro last weekend, and it's unclear how he'll set up his attack this time out, but if Ameobi starts then he'll be the player to watch.​
  • Win the midfield battle: York9 is successful when they're able to control the centre of the pitch, playing through stalwarts such as Joe Di Chiara and, further forward, Manny Aparicio. That'll likely be a focus for Jimmy Brennan's side again in Edmonton. They managed to command the middle against Valour, holding 63 per cent possession and winning more than half their battles, but they were exposed by Valour's pace on several occasions. They'll need to be careful not to give anything up too cheaply in midfield, and to make something out of their possession.​

PROJECTED LINEUPS

FC Edmonton: Connor James; Allan Zebie, Mélé Temguia, Amer Didic, Kareem Moses; Ramon Soria, James Marcelin, Ajay Khabra, Ajeej Sarkaria; Easton Ongaro, Tomi Ameobi

York9 FC: Nathan Ingham; Daniel Gogarty, Luca Gasparotto, Justin Springer, Morey Doner; Wataru Murofushi, Joe Di Chiara; Kyle Porter, Manuel Aparicio, Rodrigo Gattas; Ryan Telfer


HEAD TO HEAD

June 5 - York9 FC 3-1 FC Edmonton (CanChamp) June 12 - FC Edmonton 1-0 York9 FC (CanChamp) June 19 - York9 FC 0-0 FC Edmonton July 14 - York9 FC 2-1 FC Edmonton August 25 - FC Edmonton 2-2 York9 FC

STATS LEADERS

Easton Ongaro & Oumar Diouck - 6 goals (FC Edmonton) Rodrigo Gattas - 7 goals (York9 FC)

INJURIES

Tony Tchani (FC Edmonton) - Doubtful Randy Edwini-Bonsu (FC Edmonton) - Questionable Bruno Zebie (FC Edmonton) - Questionable Roger Thompson (York9 FC) - Doubtful Diyaeddine Abzi (York9 FC) - Questionable

INTERNATIONAL DUTY

None

SUSPENSIONS

Jeannot Esua (FC Edmonton) Oumar Diouck (FC Edmonton)

ACCUMULATION (Players are suspended for one match 14 days after accumulating a 4th Yellow Card)

Amer Didic (FC Edmonton) - 3 Tomi Ameobi (FC Edmonton) - 3 Luca Gasparotto (York9 FC) - 3 Steven Furlano (York9 FC) - 3


REFEREES

Referee: Alain Ruch ARs: Peter Manastyrsky & Michael Hood 4th Official: Giancarlo Pavone

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