St. Louis City vs Charlotte FC Player Matchup Preview: Simon Becher vs Andrew Privett
- Brian Maurer
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Brian Maurer
We have seen this matchup once before when Charlotte FC was welcomed to St. Louis City for their inaugural home match in 2023. Both teams had different coaches and eras at the time. St. Louis was just setting out on their Western Conference-winning inaugural season with Bradley Carnell at the helm. Charlotte’s head coach was Christian Lattanzio, who led the Crown to a ninth-place Eastern Conference finish and was then let go to make way for current manager Dean Smith, who has substantially raised the floor in the Carolinas.
St. Louis has struggled since and gone through several coaches, with their most recent hire being Yoann Damet. Their squad has been through a bit of a restructuring, especially along the backline, but more importantly, they are going through a tactical adjustment with the hiring of Damet.
On the field, one of the more important matchups to watch will be St. Louis’ forward Simon Becher going up against Andrew Privett. Both look to be early-season replacements for key players from last season. Designated Player Joao Klauss was traded to the LA Galaxy, which left a hole for Becher to fill at the center forward position. Sergio Cordova is reportedly being signed by St. Louis on a loan deal, but it's unclear how quickly he will adapt to their squad. Adilson Malanda was transferred to Middlesbrough, leaving a hole in Charlotte’s backline.
Simon Becher - St. Louis City - Striker
Becher made 11 starts and played 1261 MLS minutes for St. Louis City last season. He vastly underperformed his xG (8.36), scoring only three goals. Overall, he had 9.63 xG+xA in MLS last year in a relatively limited role, showing that he was capable of generating opportunities and getting looks; he just struggled to convert.
This will be a new tactical setup for Becher, who has talented players like Marcel Hartel supporting him, who should give him chances to score, but filling the hole left by Klauss is no small task. He will also have to show he can compete as a starter with Cordova coming to compete for minutes.
Andrew Privett - Charlotte FC - Center back
Privett has been in this spot before and should feel like this is a good opportunity to reclaim the starting job he lost at the beginning of 2025. Becher should be a far easier task than many of the forwards Charlotte is going to face this season, so Privett should feel he can get the better of this matchup.
At the same time, the job has to get done, and if it doesn’t, he could see his minutes fall to newly signed Henry Kessler once he recovers from a hamstring injury.
If Privett can return to his 2024 season form, there is a good chance he can keep his role for the season. According to American Soccer Analysis, Privett had the third-best Goals Added amongst all center backs with over 2000 minutes in 2024. His ability to make an impact on the backline was a reason Smith said he was in the running for the Crown’s Player of the Year that season. This first matchup is an opportunity for him to prove he can get back to that level.
Summary
Both Becher and Privett are looking to establish themselves in the starting XI for their respective clubs this season. They have an opportunity to solidify those positions against each other in this opening week fixture.
Privett likely has an edge as the continuity within the Charlotte group should be an asset. The Crown’s road form left a lot to be desired last year, however, and Damet’s new look squad will want to find Becher opportunities in and around the box to ask questions of Charlotte's backline.