Down their biggest star, Charlotte FC still like their chances in their Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs opener against New York City FC on Tuesday (6:45 ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV; FS1, FOX Deportes).
“No fuel,” head coach Dean Smith told reporters when asked if he’s using Wilfried Zaha’s Game 1 suspension (red card) as motivation for his squad.
“I'd just say, there’s one team that’s won 11 out of the last 13.”
In-form squad
As Smith reminded during Monday’s media availability, no team had more wins over the final 13 games of the MLS regular season than Charlotte.
This impressive run of form helped The Crown secure home-field advantage in their Round One of their Best-of-3 Series vs. NYCFC as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference (56 points; 19W-13L-2D record).
Even more notable, they did it largely without a key contributor: Spanish midfielder Pep Biel, whose nagging injury problems have ruled him out for the remainder of the season.
“We’ve missed players of that caliber before,” Smith said. “… We’re going to miss him [Zaha], that’s for sure. But the people who are coming in have a point to prove, and I like people when they’ve got a point to prove.”
Chief among them is Liel Abada, the Israeli international winger who Smith tabbed as Zaha’s most probable replacement.
“Obviously, Liel’s not played as many minutes as we probably would’ve liked over the last month or two, but he’s done well in training so far,” Smith said. “So that’s the likelier one.”
Should Abada get the nod, he’d partner up top with fellow Israeli Idan Toklomati, the club’s top scorer this season (11g/4a), which helped him place third in this year’s 22 Under 22 rankings.
NYCFC threat
Defensively, Smith warned that Charlotte need to be wary of NYCFC’s transition play, which allowed them to earn a 2-0 win at Yankee Stadium last month behind a brace from Alonso Martínez, the Cityzens' biggest offensive threat with 17g/2a.
The Crown took the home fixture by an identical scoreline in July.
“They gave us a couple of problems with Martínez’s deep runs,” Smith recalled of their 2-0 home win over the summer. “And then we went to their place and actually dominated more of the ball. They caused us problems with transitions at times.
“Just looking at some of their stats, nearly 60% of their chances since we played them have been on transitions as well. So our rest defense has to be good.”
Fortunately for Charlotte, the backline anchored by reigning Goalkeeper of the Year Kristijan Kahlina and the center back duo of Tim Ream and Adilson Malanda has posted seven clean sheets in the club's last 10 matches.
Home cooking
For Smith, playing Game 1 in front of a raucous Bank of America Stadium is the perfect setting for Charlotte to begin their postseason adventure.
“We’ve sold something like 34,000 tickets already, so there’s going to be noise there,” Smith said. “We’re getting supported by our supporters and it means a lot to everybody in this city.
“Hopefully, we can go and do that.”
