Both D.C. United and Sporting Kansas City will be missing key players when they meet this Friday at 9:30 PM thanks to preparations for the Copa America Centenario. United will be without U.S. defender Steve Birnbaum and Costa Rica national team forward Álvaro Saborío, while Kansas City will be missing Americans Matt Besler and Graham Zusi and Haitian international Soni Mustivar.
United will miss Birnbaum’s composure and aerial presence in particular against the offensive threat of Kansas City. The athletic center back, who this Wednesday played 90 minutes in the United States’ 1-0 tune-up win over Ecuador, has been a steady and consistent presence in the United defense since his introduction to the league in 2014, having started 53 of 54 matches played and logged 4702 minutes on the field for the Black-and-Red. Birnbaum’s talents in the air are an offensive threat as well: he’s registered eight shots this season, the majority of them volleys and headers.
Saborío, likewise, will be missed for his physical attacking presence. United’s leading goalscorer, who has also scored more than 30 goals in over 100 appearances for Costa Rica, has been invaluable this season for his club in his ability to hold up play, muscle by defenders and finish neatly.
But United fans needn’t worry. The Black-and Red have plenty of excellent options in both attack and defense to compensate for the loss of these key contributors. Players such as Fabián Espíndola and Luciano Acosta, who have both split time and shared the field with Saborío this season, offer less direct but equally effective options up front, with their tendency toward creative play and taking defenders on 1v1. New signing Alhaji Kamara is quickly returning to full fitness after a layoff and will provide head coach Ben Olsen with a different option up front. In defense, Birnbaum’s absence will be eased by the experience and chemistry of regular starters Bobby Boswell, Sean Franklin and Taylor Kemp and the physicality and athleticism of Kofi Opare.
Kansas City, meanwhile, will be without their captain, Besler, and not for the first time this season. The 2012 MLS defender of the year has already missed several games in 2016 after suffering a concussion in late March--an absence which might be part of the reason it’s taken the back line some time to gel. They’ll also have to deal with the loss of dynamic winger Zusi, who has three assists and 16 shots this season, and has shown his versatility, at times deputizing effectively at right back in efforts to add stability to the back line. With Zusi out, look for United’s attacking-minded fullbacks Franklin and Kemp to venture forward with more freedom.
Likewise, without Mustivar controlling play from just in front of the back line (as well as Zusi regularly coming inside to help with possession) Kansas City will have to adapt in midfield--potentially allowing United’s growing central partnership of Marcelo and Nick DeLeon to continue to build with urgency through the middle of the park.
With both teams missing key players in a number of areas on the field, each side will likely want to test the other out, so expect an open and exciting game to unfold Friday night.
