WHO: Indy Eleven, 6-3-1, 19 points, 1st place Group E

WHAT: LIPAFC part III, and City’s first visit to Indianapolis since the 2019 Eastern Conference Final, which was dope

WHEN: Saturday, September 5, 2020, 7:00 p.m. EDT

WHERE: Mammoth Cave Lucas Oil Stadium

WATCH: TV on WBKI, stream on ESPN+, listen on 790 WKRD

WHO, AGAIN? I think it’s safe to say we know Indy Eleven pretty well at this point. It’s a tough game on their wonky field inside of the world’s largest airplane hangar. Indy haven’t played a game since the last LIPAFC about ten days ago, so the whole “fresh legs or loss of focus” debate is ripe for the arguing. They’ve had plenty of time to stew over the loss and game plan for how to try and win this time around.

Morados, on the other hand, have had a standard week to recover from their draw against St. Louis. It feels like the first normal game week City’s had in forever. The last road trip wasn’t particularly special, and it seemed Hackworth’s charges were reacting to St. Louis’s game plan rather than trying to exert their own influence on the match. That sort of approach may not be quite so successful against Indy, a team that will be more than happy to overpower opposition if given the chance.

Ayoze is back for this game, which adds width to the XI attack. I expect to see Pat McMahon and Oscar starting for City in this game with the task of trying to compress the space Indy has in the middle of the field and force Tyler Gibson & Co. into bad decisions. Louisville City won the midfield battle in the last match, but will have their hands full in this rendition thanks to the outlet that Ayoze provides. Plus, Tyler Pasher and Andrew Carleton are still on the team. We can also probably expect the return of Paddy Barrett, who makes things difficult for any center forward.

It’s a tough game, and a really important one. Depending on the results of St. Louis v. SKCII on Friday night, these points may be even more valuable than they already are. A win puts Morados on top of the group; a loss or a draw may see them drop to third again. There are only six games remaining on the schedule at this point, and every point is needed in this race.

Let’s go get three and then everything else takes care of itself. VAMOS MORADOS!