After 442 days, Orange County SC will once again play in front of fans as Sacramento Republic FC visit on Saturday night.
OC sit fifth in the Pacific Division on goal difference, while Sacramento are in fifth place. Both sides sit far below their expected positions in the table at this point, but it is worth noting that both opted for later starts to the 2021 season in an effort to have fans present at matches.
The capitol-city side are thus far indomitable, beating Los Dos and Las Vegas to take six points from a possible six.
OC have no points after a frustrating loss to Tacoma Defiance last Sunday. Despite the loss, there were glimpses of positivity for a side with a significantly new look in midfield and attack.
Braeden Cloutier sent out his team with the 4231 formation that was used in early 2019. We expect the lineup to be mostly unchanged, with Eero Markkanen to start up top for the hosts.
Saturday’s match is an opportunity to bounce back quickly for the hosts, but it is likely to be a competitive fixture. Over the last three matches between OC and Sacramento, both sides have picked up a win and a draw.
The two sides will see a handful of players returning to face their former sides. Thomas Enevoldsen, of course, played for OC in 2018, before spending the back half of 2019 on loan in Sacramento. Republic left back Duke LaCroix turned out briefly for OCSC in 2017, as a striker, before suffering a knee ligament injury.
While on the subject of knee ligament injuries, Adam Jahn totaled over 30 matches for Sacramento over two separate loan stints in 2014 and 2016. However, the striker will not feature as he suffered a ligament tear in last Sunday’s match.
Seth Casiple will also miss out due to a ligament injury in his foot.
The match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. Pacific time (3 a.m. +1 GMT) at Championship Stadium at the Orange County Great Park. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ for those in the US and on the USL YouTube channel for international viewers.
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