Canadian Premier League — Match #54 York9 FC vs. Valour FC August 10, 2019 — York Lions Stadium (3:30 p.m. ET) Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca

The CPL returns to York Region on Saturday for an afternoon clash between York9 FC and Valour FC, as these two sides on different trajectories meet for just the second time this year.

The Nine Stripes enter this game itching to get back out on the pitch, having trounced HFX Wanderers FC 6-2 last time they played, two weeks ago. York9 seems to be establishing themselves as a serious contender for the CPL's Fall championship, with a 3-2-0 record to start this second campaign, putting them one point back of both Cavalry FC and Forge FC at the top of the table.

This week's visitors to York Lions Stadium, Valour is hoping to get back on their feet and climb out of the basement of the standings. Their last match was a 1-0 loss to HFX Wanderers on Monday, which ended their two-game run of draws. The Winnipeg-based club is winless in their last nine CPL games, with six losses in that stretch. They've got some fresh legs in the lineup, with July newcomers Jose Galan and Michele Paolucci just starting to integrate into Rob Gale's system.

Up next, Valour will return home to take on Forge FC next Saturday, August 17 (6:00 p.m. ET, 5:00 p.m. CT, on OneSoccer). York9, meanwhile, will finish their three-game homestand (also on Saturday) by hosting Pacific FC (3:30 p.m. ET, on OneSoccer).

KEYS TO THE MATCH

  • Overcome absences: Both sides will have a few major holes in their lineups this weekend, with York9 captain Manny Aparicio serving a suspension along with Valour's Raphael Ohin and Jordan Murrell. The absence of Aparicio and Ohin leaves a lot of question marks for this game's midfield battle; both would likely have played major roles in each team's possession work, so this match could be won or lost on which side adapts better.​
  • Don't lose the spark: York9's 6-2 win over HFX was one of the most inspired offensive performances of the CPL season. For a team that, not so long ago, struggled through a multi-game goal drought, the Nine Stripes looked like they were scoring at will. They need to rekindle that spark, two weeks later; part of it may have been Ryan Telfer's deployment up top to allow Rodrigo Gattas to operate from a wider role, which was a major factor in bringing about Telfer's brace and Gattas' hat-trick.​
  • Find Paolucci: Valour has yet to fully unlock the talent of their newest forward, Michele Paolucci. The Italian scored four minutes into his first start for the club, but he was very quiet last week, limited to just 17 touches (only one of which turned into a shot) in a 90-minute effort. Finding ways to get Paolucci on the ball more should be objective number one for Valour's attack, which could become dangerous if Paolucci and Michael Petrasso develop a good partnership.​

PROJECTED LINEUPS

York9 FC: Nathan Ingham; Morey Doner, Luca Gasparotto, Roger Thompson, Diyaedinne Abzi; Joe Di Chiara, Emmanuel Zambazis; Kyle Porter, Wataru Murofushi, Rodrigo Gattas; Ryan Telfer

Valour FC: Tyson Farago; Martin Arguinarena, Adam Mitter, Skylar Thomas, Diego Gutierrez; Jose Galan, Louis Béland-Goyette; Michael Petrasso, Dylan Carreiro, Marco Bustos; Michele Paolucci


HEAD TO HEAD

July 1 - Valour FC 1-3 York9 FC

STATS LEADERS

Rodrigo Gattas - 5 goals (York9 FC) Tyler Attardo - 3 goals (Valour FC)

INJURIES

Josip Golubar (Valour FC) - Out (ACL) Ali Musse (Valour FC) – Out

INTERNATIONAL DUTY

None

SUSPENSIONS

Manuel Aparicio (York9 FC) Raphael Ohin (Valour FC) Jordan Murrell (Valour FC)

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

Luca Gasparotto (York9 FC) - 3 Skylar Thomas (Valour FC) - 3 Diego Gutierrez (Valour FC) - 3


REFEREES

Referee: David Barrie ARs: Andre Pickler & Sean Hornsby 4th Official: Fabrizio Stasolla


FANTASY PREDICTOR Download the Centre Circle app to play predictor ahead of each match.

1. Which team will make more tackles? A: Of the teams playing this weekend, the top team for each matchup in terms of average tackles per match are: HFX (14.3), York9 (12.4) and Pacific (13.6) 2. Will the team with more possession win? A: Besides the fact that the more possession a team has in a match the more likely they are to dictate play, the three current top teams in the CanPL Fall Competition are also currently the top three teams in terms of average possession. 3. Will an outfield player have over 70 touches? A: In last week's lone matchup, only one player managed to get over 70 touches. Is this an outlier or are players unlikely to posses that much of the ball in a CanPL match?

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