David Critchley urges St. Louis City SC to be more ruthless against Nashville SC after a 2-1 defeat to Minnesota United. The coach emphasizes converting dominance into goals and highlights key players like Eduard Lowen and Sam Surridge. The prediction favors a Nashville victory.
St. Louis City SC's interim head coach, David Critchley, has challenged his squad to display a "more ruthless" approach following their recent 2-1 defeat against Minnesota United. This call to action comes ahead of their upcoming match against Nashville SC.
In the previous match, St. Louis City took an early lead with Eduard Lowen converting a penalty. However, Kevin Yeboah's two penalties, including a 90th-minute winner, turned the tide for Minnesota United. The situation worsened for St. Louis City when Chris Durkin received a straight red card in the 72nd minute, effectively diminishing their chances of securing a point.
Currently, St. Louis City finds themselves struggling in the Western Conference, positioned 14th and just two points ahead of the bottom-ranked Los Angeles Galaxy. Critchley emphasized the need for his team to convert their dominance into tangible results. He highlighted their impressive performance metrics but stressed the importance of capitalizing on opportunities and securing victories.
"I thought we were brilliant on both sides of the ball," Critchley remarked, acknowledging his team's overall performance. He further elaborated on their first-half performance, praising their aggressive counter-pressing and quick ball recovery, which allowed them to maintain pressure and ultimately earn Lowen's penalty.
Critchley emphasized, "But we do have to be more ruthless. We have to score more goals in these moments and really put teams to bed." He also acknowledged that, while they had a high field tilt, possession, and expected goals (xG), that those needed to lead to goals. He stated that good teams hanging around can hurt you, as was seen in the second half of their match.
Looking ahead, St. Louis City faces a significant challenge as they host Nashville SC, a team firmly positioned for the playoffs. Nashville, currently third in the Eastern Conference, experienced a setback in their last MLS game against San Diego FC, losing due to a second-half goal by Hirving Lozano.
Nashville will be aiming to bounce back and end their goalless drought, which ended their impressive 10-match MLS scoring streak, since their goalless draw against D.C. United on May 17.
Players to Watch:
St. Louis City – Eduard Lowen: Lowen showcased his passing accuracy and scored a goal. In their match against Minnesota, he completed 57 of his 60 passes and became the first player in St. Louis' history to have an MLS match with both a passing accuracy of at least 95% (min. 50 passes) and a goal.
Nashville SC – Sam Surridge: Surridge has been a key player for Nashville this season, scoring 18 goals – more than any other Nashville player, tying Lionel Messi for most in the league. Despite a poor outing against San Diego, Surridge managed to create one big chance and fire one of Nashville's four shots on target.
Match Prediction: Nashville Win: Despite recent away losses to Inter Miami and San Diego, Nashville is expected to pose a tough challenge for St. Louis City. St. Louis has struggled since the beginning of the season, earning just 10 points in league play (W2 D4 L14). In that time, St. Louis' 10 points are the fewest picked up by MLS teams.
In their only previous meeting, Nashville secured a 3-1 home win in June 2023, with Hany Mukhtar scoring all three of Nashville's goals.
Opta Win Probability:
- St. Louis City – 28.3%
- Draw – 24.3%
- Nashville – 47.4%