What to expect from stable Portland Thorns vs versatile Gotham FC in a decisive NWSL clash – tactical preview

In most of Europe, the season has just kicked off, with the English WSL having their first game week just last weekend. However, over in the USA, the final matches of the regular NWSL 2023 season are just around the corner. On the one hand, Portland Thorns may take the three points and rise up to the top of the leaderboard, surpassing San Diego Wave. On the other hand, Gotham FC may claim the win and take the second-place position from Portland Thorns.

This tactical analysis and match preview revisits tactics deployed in a previous match between the two while sharing analysis and discussing what to expect from the upcoming game. 

The season 

Putting the rock-bottom finish in 2022 behind them, Gotham have put together some remarkable performances this season. The new squad that was aggressively rebuilt over winter has quickly found its way to work together. They generated strong momentum by winning four of the first five games this season. At the moment, Gotham are tight on the reigning champions heels, with just a two-point difference separating them.

With all their games, Gotham increased their average xG from 0.98 last season to 1.36. Likewise, the possession rate was increased from 48.75% to 53.5%.

Even though the club was dealing with difficult situations, Portland Thorns earned the title in the 2022 season. Under the leadership of their new coach, Mike Norris, the Thorns have advanced into second place, one point behind Wave.

Gothams versatility

Juan Carlos Amorós signed on as Gotham FCs permanent head coach in November 2022. He has been leading the reconstruction of the squad and playstyle since then. So far, he has shown his complete confidence in the capability of this new squad by instilling plenty of versatility into the gameplay.  

Below are the starting XI diagrams from Gothams recent games. I coloured a few players who have taken on multiple roles. The attacking midfielder Delanie Sheehan was seen in the winger and centre-back positions. Margaret Purce has quality in both offence and defence and has played forward winger and full-back.

Defender Nealy Martin has taken the attacking midfielder job as the team needed. Nighswonger, the young player decorated for her attacking ability, was getting her defence training in the left-back position.

This versatility was not limited to the starting XI but ran through the entire length of games. Teams with excellent attacking full-backs like Nighswonger typically send the centre-back or defence midfielder to cover for the full-back while she pushes up. However, as shown below, in Gothams recent game against the San Diego Wave, the attacking midfielders, both left and right, dropped to cover for Nightswonger. 

It takes a lot of courage to be experimental like this. Amorós strategies not only showed his confidence in manoeuvring versatility and off-the-ball movement at this level but also his faith in players to execute it. Its hard to deny that players like Sheehan and Zerboni, who can cover multiple zones smoothly, are the critical keys of Amorós philosophy.

Thorns stability

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