Minnesota United vs. St. Louis City
What: U.S. Open Cup Round of 16
When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Allianz Field
Stream: Paramount+
Weather: Rain, 48 degrees, 6 mph south wind
Form: MNUFC blew out St. Louis 3-0 in MLS play on Saturday. Both teams beat USL Championship sides in the Round of 32 on May 7 to reach this stage of the national tournament. Loons topped Louisville City 1-0; St. Louis beat Union Omaha 2-0.
Update: After St. Louis’s MLS winless streak reached 10 matches Saturday, reports out of Sweden on Monday had head coach Olof Mellberg being fired. MLS insider Tom Bogert said that news was premature.
Another update: Other reports out of Sweden had club Malmo pursuing Loons’ attacker Sang Bin Jeong. Before the primary transfer window closed in May, at least one other MLS Eastern Conference team was looking into the South Korean.
Absences: Joseph Rosales (suspension) and Kipp Keller (hamstring) are out.
Starting XI: Against Louisville, the Loons used a 5-4-1 formation: FW Darius Randell; MF Sam Shashoua, MF Curt Calov, MF Hoyeon Jung, MF Sang Bin Jeong; LWB Kieran Chandler, CB Devin Padelford, CB Morris Duggan, CB DJ Taylor, RWB Julian Gressel; GK Wessel Speel.
Milestone: Against Louisville, Randell became the youngest United player to score a first-team goal in its MLS history. He was 17 years and 255 days old.
Context: One Cinderella; 15 MLS teams. The USL Championship’s Pittsburgh Riverhounds are the only non-MLS team remaining in the competition. They play Philadelphia Union on Wednesday.
Look-ahead: If the Loons advance, the quarterfinals are July 8-9. The semifinals are Sept. 16-17 and the final is Oct. 1.
Scouting report: St. Louis is the more desperate team, while the Loons are in better form and have worked to build up players outside its first-choice starting XI with more minutes against Louisville and in the MLS loss at Houston last Wednesday.
Prediction: More first-team-type players are expected be in the mix on Wednesday and the Loons will be able to keep St. Louis down and out. Defense leads to cup runs. Minnesota wins 1-0.
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