Ahead of Wednesday's midweek action at New York City FC, SportingKC.com caught up American Soccer Now's Franco Panizo to preview #NYCvSKC. Live coverage starts at 6 pm (kickoff at 6:30) on FOX Sports KC, FOX Sports GO, 99.3 FM, and La Grande 1340 AM. Check out MatchDay Central for complete online coverage.
How would you assess NYCFC's season so far? Are they where you expected them to be before the season started?
New York City FC's season has gone about as well as many could have predicted. The club currently sits in second place in the league in total points, its defense has improved, the attack has gotten better and less one-dimensional, David Villa continues to turn back the clock with a steady string of impressive performances, and other players have stepped up and matured. It's been a great season thus far for the third-year team, and there would be more talk about NYCFC possibly winning the Supporters' Shield if it wasn't for Toronto FC's crazy good run of form. Nonetheless, NYCFC has been one of the better sides in the league in 2017.
What Starting XI do you think we'll see on Wednesday? What players could be missing due to international duty and/or injuries?
Patrick Vieira does not deviate much when it comes to fielding a starting lineup. At least he tries not to. NYCFC does play twice in four days this week, but both home games (Saturday's is against the Portland Timbers) are against Western Conference opponents so there is no need to rest anyone against Sporting Kansas City.
You can expect Vieira to go with as strong a team as possible, but that does not mean NYCFC will be at full strength. Villa is very unlikely to play after suffering an injury during the international break, and other surefire absences are that of Rodney Wallace, Yangel Herrera, Ronald Matarrita, Maxime Chanot, Ethan White, Mikey Lopez, and Miguel Camargo. The club's depth will certainly be tested.
What's been the keys to NYCFC's success this season?
If you talk about NYCFC, you have to start with Villa. The 35-year-old striker continues to play out of his mind, and is a candidate to repeat as MLS MVP with his 19 goals and nine assists (he finished with 23 and four in 2016). What has helped NYCFC take the next step, however, is contributions from newcomers like Herrera, Wallace, Maximiliano Moralez, Alexander Ring, and Alexander Callens.
It must also be said that the benching of Andrea Pirlo has paid dividends. There is no denying that Pirlo is a legend in the world's game, but his legs just do not have enough juice to cover as much ground as NYCFC needs in the midfield. The younger options Vieira has gone with do, and they have improved NYCFC, especially on the defensive end.
What changes have you seen in the style of play and tactics for NYCFC in Patrick Vieira's second season?
There have not been many changes in terms of Vieira's strategy. The gameplan still centers around building play up from the back, at times stubbornly, and finding combinations in the attacking half that lead to chances. Villa, of course, is the focal point, but he now has a better supporting cast with Moralez, Wallace, the maturing Jack Harrison, and promising youngster Jonathan Lewis around him. NYCFC can at times play a very pretty brand of soccer, but it has occasional issues being effective if Villa does not do the bulk of the work in the final third.
What are your thoughts on Sporting KC's season?
The 2017 campaign has been, unsurprisingly, another good one for Sporting KC. The club's defense has done a lot of the heavy lifting, especially athletic centerback Ike Opara, but the team as a whole has been good enough for much of the year to contend for the top spot in the Western Conference. Head coach Peter Vermes once again deserves plenty of credit for getting so much out of his group.
That said, the club needs to somehow find some more firepower. Thirty-one goals scored in 25 matches is not an impressive haul by any stretch, and the production up front must improve if Sporting KC wants to have any shot at making some serious noise in the postseason. It is great to have a stingy back line, but you need to have an attack that can reliably do its part in order to truly maximize the strong defensive efforts.
What players and match-ups will you be focusing on for Wednesday's match?
It is hard to pinpoint exactly what match-ups will be worth keeping an eye on given that both sides will be missing players due to international duty and injuries, but the midfield battle between Benny Feilhaber and whoever Vieira determines can play in the holding role. That player could be one that determines the outcome of this match. Feilhaber is capable of unlocking any defense in the league with his passing, and that player will have to do a good job of limiting the American's time and space in order to give what will be a shorthanded NYCFC a shot at picking up three points.
