Nashville SC kick off their 2024 Leagues Cup campaing tomorrow, coinciding with new head coach BJ Callaghan‘s first match in charge of the club. Can Nashville recreate their tournament last season and go on a run despite horrible form in the league?
Match info
Teams: Nashville SC vs Mazatlán FC
Odds: NSH (-130), Draw (+270), MZT (+320)
Date: Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Time: 8:00 pm CT, Geodis Park, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Forecast: 94º/75º. 85º at kickoff. Partly cloudy. 0% chance of rain. 76% humidity. 4-7 mph wind.
Head-to-head
Prior meetings: None
Mazatlán FC
17th (Liga MX) | 1 point | 0W-1D-3L | -6 GD |
Last match: 1-0 loss at New England
Things haven’t gone great for Mazatlán the last several years. After finishing 10th in last year’s Apertura, their form plummeted after the break, finishing in 14th in the Clausura. Then heads began to roll.
Manager Ismael Rescalvo was fired in April after a dismal 4-0 loss to Pumas at home, lasting less than a year in the job. Víctor Manuel Vucetich was given the job heading into the 2024 Apertura, becoming the 10th manager Mazatlán have had since their founding in 2020.
It… hasn’t been great to start. They’ve lost three of their four matches to start the season, conceding eight goals, scoring two and struggling to create chances.
10 players left in the offseason, and the Cañoneros never truly replaced them. Gustavo Sánchez and Gustavo Del Prete have come in on loan and immediately started, but they lack the quality of most top or mid-tier Mexican sides. Per Transfermarkt, Mazatlán are the 14th most valuable squad in Liga MX, and operate at a fraction of the budget of the top sides. Their general instability hasn’t helped.
That doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous. Paraguayan midfielder Josué Colmán finished last season’s Apertura with 10 goals and assists, among the top 10 in the league. Similarly, Luis Amarilla scored seven goals in the Clausura, good for eighth-most in Liga MX. Mazatlán have several players who would be Designated Players in MLS, and despite their struggles (as evidenced by two shots on target against New England), they’re still more than capable of punishing mistakes.
Nashville SC
12th (MLS Eastern Conference) | 26 points | 6W-8D-11L | -13 GD |
Last match: 3-0 loss at Philadelphia Union
Much like they did last year, Nashville SC enter Leagues Cup in terrible form. With six consecutive losses heading into the tournament, their play on the field has been the worst it’s ever been in their seven years as a club.
The difference this time is coaching. BJ Callaghan will man the touchline for the first time, and he brings a wave of optimism and promises of more expansive, effective soccer.
With Callaghan taking charge, the entire roster is up for evaluation, giving players a clean slate and a chance to change their positions on the depth chart. New signings Patrick Yazbek and Jonathan Pérez are available to debut as well, giving Nashville much-needed attacking edge from midfield and the wings.
This squad still has weaknesses, and fans need to be patient with Callaghan as he takes over a struggling team. But tomorrow will give fans the first glimpse of the kind of team Nashville want to be as they enter this new era, and a win over a poor Mazatlán team would all but guarantee their spot in the knockout rounds.
Pod Picks
Ben Wright
SCORE: NSH 2 – 1 MZT
SCORERS: Hany Mukhtar, Jacob Shaffelburg
MOTM: Hany Mukhtar
BOLD PREDICTION: Nashville take more than 20 total shots for the first time since their 2-1 loss to New England.
Chris Ivey
SCORE: NSH 1 – 2 MZT
SCORERS: Forster Ajago
MOTM: Forster Ajago
BOLD PREDICTION: While I am bullish on Callaghan, there are still a lot of missing pieces right now and Nashville has looked lost without Zimmerman.
Jeff Remlinger
SCORE: NSH 1 – 0 MZT
SCORERS: Sam Surridge
MOTM: Hany Mukhtar
BOLD PREDICTION: Nashville attempts to hold possession but is mostly ineffective except for the 1 game winning goal
Ronan Briscoe
SCORE: NSH 2 – 0 MZT
SCORERS: Jacob Shaffelburg, Hany Mukhtar
MOTM: Hany Mukhtar
BOLD PREDICTION: Mazatlán is not a good team, and Nashville benefits from the new manager bounce to secure their spot in the knockout stages.
Valair Shabilla
SCORE: NSH 2 – 0 MZT
SCORERS: Hany Mukhtar, Patrick Yazbek
MOTM: Hany Mukhtar
BOLD PREDICTION: Nashville score within the first 20 minutes and the last 10 minutes.
Fan Forecast
Nashville SC kick off their #LeaguesCup2024 campaign tomorrow night against Mazatlán FC. Can they get a win in BJ Callaghan's first match in charge? Vote in our #FanForecast and reply with a #BoldPrediction. #NSHvMZT
— Speedway Soccer (@SpeedwaySoc) July 31, 2024
Related
Author: Ben Wrightis the Director of Soccer Content and a Senior MLS Contributor for Broadway Sports covering Nashville SC and the US National Team. Previously Ben was the editor and a founder of Speedway Soccer, where he has covered Nashville SC and their time in USL before journeying to Major League Soccer since 2018. Raised in Louisville, KY Ben grew up playing before a knee injury ended his competitive career. When he is not talking soccer he is probably producing music, drinking coffee or hanging out with his wife and kids. Mastodon
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