Nashville can move from Espinoza into Mukhtar and Surridge, then defend with a central group that has stayed intact through two shutouts. New York have enough runners to reach the box, although their shot volume has produced very different shot quality from match to match. The first clean look after New York's press, and whether the next clearance ends the attack, will decide the scoring shape.
Hall and Cowell finished at New England, with Mehmeti and Forsberg supplying them, but Toronto held a similar stream of New York shots to poorer chances. Palacios, Woledzi and Schwake played through Nashville's recent shutouts, and Woledzi repeatedly ended Philadelphia attacks. New York now lose Nealis and Donkor to suspension after both played the last match; Donkor had supplied an assist. Nashville rested Mukhtar and Surridge for much of the Philadelphia game and can use them behind New York's revised back line. I expect New York to push for early entries while Nashville's central pair handles the first contact and its front players exploit space after the press. That's why I'm siding with Nashville's defensive stand and a game in which at least one attack stays off the scoresheet.
