Call it! Guessing tonight’s Republic Lineup against Arizona United

With only Daniel Trickett-Smith out for Sacramento Republic tonight, assuming no San Jose Earthquakes loans, Head Coach Paul Buckle has 21 players to choose from when picking his starting XI against Arizona United tonight.

Here’s the XI I think he will pick.

With Derek Foran officially back from injury, it is almost a guarantee that Buckle will get the band back together and insert him into the defense alongside Chris Christian, James Kiffe, and Emrah Klimenta. Both Foran and Christian are just one yellow card away from a one-game suspension, meaning that if either go into the referee’s book tonight they will be unavailable for next week’s match against Seattle Sounders 2 in Sacramento.

In midfield it seems likely that Buckle will keep things largely the same with Koval and Cazarez partnering up to hold down the fort as twin defensive midfielders. Despite a less-than-perfect performance last time out, Octavio Guzman has been playing well enough recently that he should still be a definite starter. Captain Danny Barrera has also been doing fairly well recently and seems like a good bet to start.

However, last week we saw the first glimpse of Max Alvarez in what seems like forever. Some fans have been clamoring for the Republic original to get more time on the field and tonight would be a good time a time as any for him to get a start and remind Buckle why the fans still love him.

With Adam Jahn’s likely absence we will be seeing a fresh forward pairing up top tonight for the Republic. One forward will undoubtedly be Sacramento native Cameron Iwasa, who has been on fire recently. Pairing up with the young on-form striker will likely be Thommy Stewart, the most experienced forward on the roster by far. Although Stewart has not been banging in goals recently, he has shown in the past that he has what it takes to put the ball in the net. A goal would do him some good tonight.

Tonight’s 7:30 PT kickoff is fast approaching. Get hyped y’all. It’s almost time for the game.

What lineup choices are you expecting from Paul Buckle tonight? Are they different from your ideal lineup? Let us know in the comments below. If you want to make a pretty graphic like mine, go to Lineupbuilder.com.