This Saturday, Sacramento Republic FC welcome Tulsa Roughnecks to Bonney Field in what will be their second to last home match of the season. Although we at ICS generally do not like to pull terms like “must win” out often, the match against Tulsa is probably the closest to it that the Republic have seen so far this season. With that gauntlet thrown down, let’s take a look at Saturday’s match.

Setting the Table

Sacramento and Tulsa will be competing for more than just three points in this weekend’s match; they’ll be competing for a spot in the playoffs. With just one point separating the 7th place Republic from the 5th place Roughnecks, Sacramento will be gunning for Tulsa’s spot in the table and the postseason berth that goes with it. Although a win on Saturday does not guarantee Sacramento a playoff spot, it does go a long way to eliminating Tulsa as competition. As such, the Roughnecks will be doing everything they can to protect that spot.

They’ll need to work extra hard to protect it, since Sacramento has an advantage that stretches beyond this weekend’s game. The Roughnecks have played a total of 26 games this season, 3 more than the Republic. Those 3 games in hand give Sacramento a tremendous advantage in the wider playoff race.

No Mirković, No Party.

Without a doubt, Ivan Mirković has the most extensive collection of yellow cards of any Sacramento Republic player. Over the course of his time with the team, and he’s been a mainstay since the beginning of the club, Mirković has accumulated 22 yellow cards across all competitions, the most of any Republic player by a wide margin. Of course, collecting cautions is an occupational hazard for Mirković as the Republic’s primary defensive midfielder.

Unfortunately the the Republic, that occupational hazard occasionally results in suspensions and after receiving his 8th caution of the season in last week’s match, Mirković was handed a 2 match suspension by USL. That suspension, along with injuries to potential replacements Octavio Guzman and Gilberto, adds another dimension of difficulty to Saturday’s match.

“We might have to play a slightly different way,” said Republic Head Coach Paul Buckle about the suspension’s impact. “We might have to change our shape a little bit to accommodate one or two coming into the team.”

The fact that Sacramento will need to make some changes in the wake of the Mirković suspension should not come as a surprise to many Republic fans, seeing as how he has been a key contributor for the team since the club’s inaugural match. He is the primary defensive midfielder for Sacramento. He wins the ball back, slows down the opposing teams transitions and attacking plays, and just generally makes himself a nuisance for the Republic’s opponents. He also provides an outlet for the back four, helping the team transition from defense to attack.

Things to Watch For

Although Buckle has come out and said that Sacramento will likely be trying to change things up a bit in the wake of the Mirković suspension, there have been no real indications of exactly what that will entail. Derek Foran seems to be the only available player who has even a little bit of experience at the defensive midfield spot this season, so it could very well be possible that he is involved in whatever changes take place. Whatever changes are made will certainly have a significant impact on the match, for good or for ill.

In addition to being able to essentially eliminate Tulsa as serious postseason competition, Saturday’s match is significant because it is the second to last match at Bonney Field that Sacramento has for the remainder of the regular season. After Saturday, the Republic have three straight matches on the road against Vancouver Whitecaps 2, Timbers 2, and Orange County Blues. In addition to the high number of road games ahead, Sacramento’s final 4 games of the season are all played within 13 days of each other, making getting a full 3 points this Saturday even more important.

Player to Watch

Rodrigo Lopez- Unfortunately for Republic fans, Rodrigo Lopez seems to be in a bit of a slump, one that traces it’s roots back to his 3 game suspension earlier this season. He just simply has not played at his usual level since returning from that suspension. If Sacramento are to get a win on Saturday and set themselves up for a good playoff run, that will need to change against Tulsa.

How to Watch

Sacramento Republic FC kick off against Tulsa Roughnecks on Saturday at 8pm PDT. It can be viewed, as every USL match can, live on YouTube.