Midweek Kick: How do the Revs line up when they travel to Florida for Round of 16 tilt?

Over the years, many teams in Major League Soccer have utilized the US Open Cup competition as a way to get some of their SuperDraft selections and younger Homegrown players first-team minutes. The Revolution have been rather famous for doing so: we can point to last year’s Fourth Round match against Louisville City, where draftees Mark Segbers, Nico Samayoa, and Femi Hollinger-Janzen received, with the exception of Segbers, their only minutes of the season with the first team.

That match against Louisville City also saw former manager Brad Friedel utilize a so-called “blended XI,” which saw those three get matched up with MLS regulars who, because of roster rules, had to play the midweek fixture in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It’s the same methodology that Jay Heaps used when he was the Revs’ gaffer, as he gave Zachary Herivaux his first minutes during the Open Cup loss to Charlotte in 2015.

That practice seems to have ended, for now at least: during last week’s 3-2 extra-time win over New York Red Bulls, manager Bruce Arena used a first-choice XI. One can point to nine days between the Open Cup date and the last league fixture as being a reason to go with the full-strength squad, and it truly shouldn’t shock anyone should Arena decide to go with the same type of squad when they meet Orlando City SC in the 2019 US Open Cup Round of 16 on Wednesday night (7:30 p.m., ESPN+, at Orlando City).

After all, the Revs won’t have another match after Wednesday until next Wednesday, June 26. No need to rest anyone, right?

But how will the Lions, managed by James O’Connor — you know, the same James O’Connor who was the Louisville City manager a year ago — line up when they take the pitch?

Much like New England, Orlando City had a lengthy spell between its last match in the league and its Fourth-Round tie in the Open Cup: while the Revs played LA on June 2 and played New York on June 11, the Lions had from June 1 to July 12 between matches.

And when OCSC beat Memphis 901 FC, 3-1, in the Fourth Round last Wednesday, O’Connor went with a blended XI:


Compare that lineup with the one O’Connor utilized in the league against Montreal on June 1:



See the differences?

Regardless of the lineup the Lions use — will Nani make his Open Cup debut? Does Santiago Patiño, whom we highlighted during the lead-up to SuperDraft in January, stay inserted with the likes of regulars Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Cristian Higuita? — expect patient football. Against Memphis, Orlando built from out of the back and through the wings, and weren’t shy about changing the point of attack.

They are a team that will come out at you right away, and are fast on the counter; the Revs will be loathe to make any mistakes in their own half of the pitch.

If there’s one thing to be aware of, Orlando had difficulty within that first half an hour last Wednesday in breaking down Memphis’s rather compact defending; the 901ers stepped into the passing lanes, cutting the ball down and out of harm’s way before it could give their keeper trouble.

And do keep in mind how Orlando scored last week: on a penalty, a counter, and a set piece. One goal from open play.

Defensively, expect Orlando to be organized, but they can fall asleep; it did so on an early Memphis attempt, and gave up enough space to build a house inside the defending third.

Elsewhere in the Open Cup at midweek

Tuesday sees Columbus host Atlanta United, and Houston hosting Minnesota United.

Wednesday will see DC United hosting New York City FC at Audi Field, FC Dallas will host New Mexico United of the USL at Southern Methodist University’s Westcott Field, Saint Louis FC of the USL will host FC Cincinnati at the World Wide Technology Soccer Park, Portland Timbers will host LA Galaxy at Providence Park, while LAFC will host San Jose at the Band of California Stadium.

A reminder: the winner of the Revs and Lions will host DC United or NYCFC the midweek of July 10/11.

It is also CONCACAF Gold Cup season! The US men’s national team will be in action Tuesday night in Minnesota as the Yanks take on Guyana, while Panama takes on Trinidad & Tobago. That kicks off Group D.

All three of the other groups have already contested their first matches, with Group A — Mexico, Canada, Cuba, and Martinique — playing its second set of matches in Denver Wednesday.

Haiti — for whom Herivaux started on Sunday in Les Grenadiers’ 2-1 win over Bermuda — plays Nicaragua Thursday in Frisco, Texas (FC Dallas’ home stadium).

US will play Trinidad & Tobago on June 22 in Cleveland, then play Panama in the Blue Hell next Wednesday night.

Over in France, the Women’s World Cup is wrapping up the group stages this midweek: Tuesday will see the final matches in Group C with Italy taking on Brazil, and Australia taking on Jamaica. Interesting to see how those two matches unfold today. Group D will see England take on Japan; the Lionesses just need a draw to finish top of the group.

Canada-Netherlands is for the top of Group E on Thursday, with US-Sweden — for the sixth time in the World Cup, the most-played fixture in the women’s world tournament — for the top of Group F highlighting Thursday’s action.

Should the US top the group, the Americans will take on Spain in the Round of 16; if the Yanks finish second, they get either the Netherlands or Canada, whoever finishes second in Group E.

Regardless, Thursday is going to be a dandy.