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New York City vs St. Mirren: Preview & match thread

New York City FC plays Scottish club St. Mirren in its first-ever match. What can we expect from today's game?

By Rafael Noboa y Rivera
New York City FC

Here we go.

In less than two hours, New York City FC will play its first game ever. This will be our first look at how the team will line up, who's made an impact in training thus far, and how the team approaches games. Regardless of the result, it's a historic moment.

New York City plays St. Mirren, who play in the Scottish Premier League. They are currently in tenth place with 18 points, stuck deep in a relegation battle, and have only scored 20 goals in 25 games. St. Mirren is coming off a 1-0 win against Partick Thistle.

This will likely be a scrappy match, based on St. Mirren's form and the fact that this is the first game for New York City. With this being a friendly, pay close attention to who comes in as a sub; for one, I'll be keeping a close eye on Javier Calle and Kwadwo Poku.

These are my expected lineups.

ST. MIRREN

ST. MIRREN LINEUP

I'm basing St. Mirren's lineup off the last few games they've played.

NEW YORK CITY

NYC LINEUP

I expect New York City to come out in a 4-3-3, at least for this game. The team doesn't really have a holding / defensive midfielder that can serve as the base of a diamond 4-4-2 yet. Based on what I've learned about Javier Calle, I'd expect him to line up on the left up top; he's not mobile enough to supplant Ned Grabavoy on the left, but he's a big player and that can help open up space for David Villa in the middle. Tony Taylor has impressed the coaching staff in training camp, and he plays as more of a right-winger, so he's in the right.I've got Grabavoy on the left, Jacobson in the middle (since he's a box-to-box midfielder) and Mix on the right, playing further forward.


You can watch the match above, and we'll be conducting a match thread below, in the comments.

MATCH THREAD RULES

This is our first-ever New York City FC match thread, so: Welcome! We're glad you're here! Wipe your feet, mind the gap, and be sure to check out the other pages at this outstanding site. While you're here, though, we have a few rules and regulations.

  • Absolutely no links to illegal streams. They're bad and they get us in trouble. This shouldn't be an issue today, but let's be cognizant of that going forward.
  • We have rules against "relentless negativity." Nobody likes a Negative Nancy, even when we're losing to a scrub team. Don't knee-jerk and post outlandish or hurtful things just because you're frustrated.
  • Along those lines, outright abuse of players or match officials is verboten. It's fine to say "wow, that's a bad call, match official," but it's NOT okay to direct copious amounts of abuse in the direction of said official over a call you did not like.
  • Treat other people in the match thread the way you would want someone else to treat your grandmother. Be nice. Observe Wheaton's Law. This is a community of fans, not an un-moderated message board.

Finally, while we don't have a rule against profanity, any language that is sexist, racist, or homophobic in nature will be swiftly deleted and you may lose posting privileges. This is an open, supportive community.

Have fun. I believe that we will win. Let's see if we get off the year to a fantastic start.

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