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Charlotte FC's predicted starting XI vs Philadelphia Union

Ryan Donahue

By Ryan Donahue

Photo courtesy of CJ Hellner/TopBin90


With back-to-back draws against Columbus Crew and Austin FC in last weekā€™s fixtures, Charlotte now focuses on the Leagues Cup this upcoming weekend as the side will travel to Philadelphia Union to take on their rivals in the North.


While the Leagues Cup matches against Philadelphia and Cruz Azul next week at home do not have any impact on Charlotteā€™s league standing, the tournament is a great opportunity for the side to push toward securing a place in the CONCACAF Champions League with the winner securing a bye to the Round of 16.


Last season, Charlotte who struggled with their domestic league form made an impressive run in the Leagues Cup, going all the way to the Quarter-finals before surrendering defeat to Inter Miami who had just come up off the back of the Lionel Messi signing.


Charlotte has an almost fully fit squad and Karol Świderski back, which helps fill the Designated Player gap of Liel Abada, who is at the Olympics. Dean Smith and the club will be eyeing the opportunity to push further into the later rounds of the tournament.


Philadelphia is coming into this match against Charlotte with two big home wins over a struggling Nashville (3-0) and bottom of the Eastern Conference side New England Revolution (5-1). If one thing is certain, Jim Curtinā€™s side knows how to score goals. Dean Smithā€™s defensive pairing of Adilson Malanda and Andrew Privett will need to be at the top of their game if Charlotte hopes to maintain a clean sheet against this Union team.


Ahead of the match, our team assessed how Dean Smith will likely line up for the first match of the Leagues Cup.


Defensive unit


With a week of rest since Charlotte last played in Austin, the center-back partnership of Adilson Malanda and Andrew Privett will most likely remain unchanged along with Jere Uronen and Nathan Byrne as the outside backs giving Charlotte its best back four possible to play. Kristijan Kahlina is also a given in goal.


Midfield line


In the midfield, Ashley Westwood will captain the side along with Brandt Bronico and Nikola Petkovic to make up the midfield three. Dean Smith mentioned his press conference this week that Djibril Diani has a groin injury and Nikola Petkovic is in contention for a start. Leading up to the match Bronico spoke to the media noting the importance of taking it one match at a time and focusing on what variables are in the team's control.Ā 


When asked about the midfield partnerships, Bronico noted that he, Westwood, and Diani have a clear understanding of the roles that Smith wants each of them to play and believes the success of the midfield comes from each of them willing to work for each other and fluidly adapt to changes throughout the game.


Forward line


With Świderski available for selection, he is expected to get the nod to start up top with Patrick Agyemang as the leading candidate off the bench who would bring a different dynamic to the attack. On the wings, Kerwin Vargas will likely slot in on the right to fill in for the unavailable Abada, and luri Tavares is expected to keep his spot on the left after scoring a goal against Austin last week.Ā 


With Smith having most of his first-choice players available, off the bench we will likely see Agyemang along with possibly Ben Bender, Brecht Dejaegere, or Tyger Smalls.


While the results of the League Cup do not directly impact Charlotteā€™s MLS season standings, securing a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League along with picking up their first trophy in club history will surely be a target that the Charlotte Front Office will hope to obtain.


Predicted XI


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