Opposition Scouting report: Austin FC

Austin FC visits the Seattle Sounders in somewhat roller-coaster form, having advanced out of the Leagues Cup Phase One but also in the midst of a 1–6–1 run in league play. We asked Verde All Day's Phil West to fill us in:

Notable injuries

Owen Wolff's bad luck continues this season with an ankle injury suffered in the Leagues Cup match against Puebla. The good news is that Jon Bell's injured pubis is healed; the fan base had questions about how that injury happened that never got answer.

Recent form

In Leagues Cup, it's been great, with two wins and then a PK win over Club América sending Verde to the quarterfinals next Wednesday ... where, despite being the No. 2 seed in MLS, they'll be "away" to Toluca in Harrison, N.J. In league play, they're 1-6-1 in their last eight, and though some of that predates interim head coach Davy Arnaud's time at the helm, they are 1-4-0 in MLS with him in charge, with that only win coming against Seattle.

Key players

18-year-old homegrown standout Ervin Torres has been a recent revelation, getting his first goal on Sunday in the loss to Dallas and bossing whatever part of the midfield he’s been asked to play, whether it’s as a deeper-lying playmaker or as a more advanced part of the attack. Myrto Uzuni scored a hat trick against Puebla and got an additional goal against América, and though he wasn’t able to follow that with a goal in his most recent match, he’s been the team's sole reliable Designated Player this season. And, of course, since it’s Austin, keep an eye on the saves and various other basketball-adjacent scoops and rebound gathering that Brad Stuver offers. His goals-against numbers aren’t flattering, but that's a function of all the xG he gets peppered with — he remains one of the best goalkeepers in the league.

One thing opposing fans should know

Arnaud's lack of meaningful rotation is nudging his new inverted wingback system out of the way as Verde fans’ current main concern. Against Dallas, Arnaud only switched out two players from the squad that played América three days earlier — those two being nominal DPs Brandon Vázquez and Facundo Torres — and they came out lacking energy and focus, going down 1–0 in first-half stoppage time and ultimately losing. With the Leagues Cup knockout game looming, as well as a Saturday home match against Philly on the horizon, it would make sense that Arnaud swaps out more players for this one. But I’m predicting it doesn't happen, just because Arnaud appears to only trust certain players in this new system. Jayden Nelson, in particular, is being criminally underused, even though he’s looked like Verde's most potentially impactful player in the limited minutes he’s gotten since returning from the World Cup. (He did get on Canada's squad, whereas Facundo Torres’ subpar season likely contributed to him not being selected for Uruguay's, making Nelson the first and only Verde player to date to have played World Cup minutes.)