PREVIEW: York9 FC vs. FC Edmonton – Match #25

For the third consecutive Wednesday, York9 FC and FC Edmonton are squaring off. Not long after their two-legged Canadian Championship tie (which York9 won 3-2 on aggregate), the clubs both return to York Lions Stadium for a rematch in CPL action.

The Nine Stripes are riding high following a string of good results, including that CanChamp victory and last Saturday's 1-0 win over Pacific FC, the first league win in York9's history. Although out of the running for the Spring championship (currently fifth with a 1-2-3 record), York9 is looking to put together a few more wins heading into the Fall campaign and the next CanChamp round.

Meanwhile, FC Edmonton seems to be stuck a rut. They have just two goals in league play this season, both of which came in their opening game, a 2-1 win over Valour FC. Last weekend, they were shut out in a 3-0 Al Classico loss to Cavalry FC. The Eddies did scrape two goals in the CanChamp against York9, although both came very late in the match and they weren't enough to see FCE through. Jeff Paulus' side sits last in the CPL, with a 1-4-1 record through six games.

Up next, York9 continues their home stand on Saturday, June 22, as they host HFX Wanderers FC (3:30 p.m. ET, on OneSoccer). FC Edmonton will stay on the road, with a cross-country trip to play Pacific FC slated for Sunday, June 23 (6:00 p.m. ET, 3:00 p.m. PT, on OneSoccer).

• Nathan Ingham: The York9 goalkeeper might have a knack for pulling out jaw-dropping saves to rescue his team. He did so on several occasions against Pacific, and a few times against FCE in the CanChamp as well. Even if the Eddies are able to break down a stingy York9 defence, they'll have a tough job beating Ingham cleanly, so they might hope for a screen or deflection in the box.​
• Set-pieces: FC Edmonton's defenders might still be having nightmares about the trio of corner-kick goals York9 scored against them last time they were at York Lions Stadium. Jeff Paulus has surely had his side drilling those set plays ever since, though, so they should be better-prepared to deal with crosses. It helps that 6-foot-4 centre-back Amer Didic has returned to match fitness, too.​
• Find out what worked: The best half of football FC Edmonton has played all year came in the first 45 of last Saturday's loss to Cavalry. Although they couldn't score, they outshot the Cavs 13-3 in the first half, displaying an energy that's been lacking from their game for a while. That dominance certainly didn't last, into the second half, though. If the Eddies can recapture the spark that got them out of the gate so aggressively against Cavalry, the goals will surely come.​

York9 FC: Nathan Ingham; Diyaedinne Abzi, Daniel Gogarty, Luca Gasparotto, Morey Doner; Wataru Murofushi, Emilio Estevez, Manuel Aparicio, Kyle Porter, Ryan Telfer; Rodrigo Gattas

FC Edmonton: Connor James; Allan Zebie, Mélé Temguia, Amer Didic, Kareem Moses; Ramon Soria, James Marcelin; Bruno Zebie, Oumar Diouck, Marcus Velado-Tsegaye; Randy Edwini-Bonsu



Q: Will all goals that are scored be assisted? A: So far, there have been 32 goals scored in the Canadian Premier League. Of those 32, 26 (or 81%) were assisted by another player. It would be a smart bet to believe that in any given game, all goals will be assisted. Q: How many total saves will there be in the match? A: By taking a similar approach to this question as the previous one, you'll see that goalkeepers have collectively made 125 saves across 23 league games. That's 10.8 saves per game between both goalies. Q: Will a Canadian-born player score? A: Easy answer: yes. A majority of the league is Canadian, and a majority of the starting XIs for clubs are Canadian as well. Believe in the power of maple syrup and mounties, and believe in the Canadian CanPL players.

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