A historic event in sports is set to occur in Kansas City. In celebration, Nathan Dunn and I thought we’d take some time to spotlight the KC Current home opener in the first ever purpose built stadium for women’s professional sports in America.
Topher's Picks
In our previous Spotlight matches I think my football background gave me a slight advantage, but Nathan is going to have a clear advantage in this one being such a soccer head. I think I’m going to keep my strategy simple. If I’m able to select first, I’m definitely going to pick home team wins because I think the Current will be riding high during this historic match. Of course, I always like the shots on goal stats too. The big question is which one to pick first. In my experience most shots wins even more often than most shots on goal so that’ll probably be the first tough decision.
Heading into the season, I’m also thinking that passing volume is going to matter. I think teams that keep the ball off their foot instead of dribbling the air out of the ball tend to create better opportunities. I also really like setpieces from the corner so if most corners is available, I’ll probably try and grab that one up to.
Nathan's Picks
The Current have a lot to answer when they open their new stadium. The team will feel pressure to perform, but results on the field left much to be desired last year as they missed the playoffs and are up against a tough Portland team that finished 2023 second in the regular season. It will also be tough under the direction of new head coach Vlatko Andonovski, with whatever influence he’s been able to implement so far, and the various other personnel changes over the offseason. It may be a difficult task for Andonovski’s team to knock off all the excitement and play the game they intend to play.
I’ll be the contrarian and avoid taking the home team because a game like this is so hard to predict. Topher’s strategy of the most efficient team with the ball is an interesting pick, but something that seems much more accurate today than it was a decade ago because you see some really good teams dominate games today without the possession stats that previously dominated the game. I think some defensive-minded stats may play a role. I feel like the winner will have to come up with some big saves, blocks and challenges.
What are your picks, soccer fans? Is the home team winning? We can't wait to watch the inaugural match, and hope you'll be watching too!
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