With an international break on the horizon, Patrick Vieira and New York City F.C. will put in some work as they travel down south for a friendly match-up against Necaxa.
A friendly match-up in October for an MLS team? If you told that to NYCFC last year, they would tell you there’s no time for that. But in the 2016 campaign and with Patrick Vieira at the helm, his club has clinched a play-off berth and now can sit back until November.
After this Friday night against the Houston Dynamo, NYCFC won’t have another season match-up for the next two weeks due to an international break. However, NYCFC will put in some work down south and face-off against recently promoted Necaxa of Liga MX.
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Vieira’s three designated players have all retired from their international sides, so expect David Villa and Andrea Pirlo on the pitch, Frank Lampard will still be nursing his calf injury.
If I’m Vieira, this is primetime to do a full rotation of his squad and give his usual starting 11 a good rest. Players such as Thomas McNamara, Andoni Iraola, Josh Saunders, RJ Allen, Jack Harrison and Frédéric Brillant could use some time off the pitch.
This friendly match-up could also be helpful for NYCFC and give them some experience against another league, especially if they qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League, which is a very high probability.
The clash will be televised on the YES Network and is scheduled for 9:30 pm ET on Friday, October7th. Empire of Soccer first reported the friendly match.
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