The start of 2017 presented City with a lot of questions. Questions, that so far, Jason Kreis and his squad have had all the answers to. Can the Lions win at home? You bet. Can City win on the road? Definitely, and against a solid NYCFC side. Can the boys grind out tight results like a contender should? They've definitely answered that question.
The next question that needs answering is can Orlando City find a result on the road versus last year's Eastern Conference Champs, Toronto FC? A result would verify that City is a legitimate contender, but we know the boys will have their hands full against a good team with big name weapons like Altidore, Giovinco, and Bradley in a hostile environment.
On Saturday, Toronto FC defeated a Houston Dynamo side that deploys the same 4-4-2 diamond Kreis has made famous in MLS to the tune of 2-0. The scoreline could have been much worse for the Dynamo.
That match provides City with a fresh example to learn from. Kreis likes his diamond and TFC have been consistent with their look so we can take a few pointers from Houston that they didn't execute well on, assuming City and TFC roll out the same formations Wednesday.
The midfield will be critical here. Far too often TFC found space between the deeper lying midfield three and the backline versus Houston in their win on Saturday. This allowed Jozy and Giovinco to connect with each other and allowed the midfield to play them balls, and that led to goals for the Canadians.
Arguably the biggest figure in this match is City's Antonio Nocerino. So far in 2017 his play hasn't received a lot of credit, but hear me out, the Italian holds the keys to the car in this showdown. His play is going to have to keep contact with the backline and pressure quickly to disrupt the TFC creative minds in order to not leave guys like Specs, Tommy Redding or Jose Aja on an island in the middle of defense.
But there's more to why Antonio will play such a critical role on Wednesday, his ability to recover possession in the middle of the park and play the ball quickly. Obviously, that's key for everybody in the City midfield but with TFC's five-man midfield, they will overload the City diamond if pressed right away. It will be important for Nocerino to not turnover the ball in the middle in front of the defense. If the Italian's distribution is on point with quick decision making, City will find it easier to break the initial press and eventually take advantage of the space farther up the pitch with Cyle and Carlos against a TFC back three. From there, it will be up to the goal scorers to take their chances, but it all starts with the deeper lying midfielders disrupting TFC, recovering play and getting the attack going quickly.
The Italian played an instrumental role when City visited NYCFC and his play will have to be on par with what we saw that day. If Noce has himself a game, don't be surprised if City get a result in Toronto.
