St. Louis CITY SC 2023 MLS season preview: Tactics, predicted XI, predictions
By Chris Smith
All the talk is over and St. Louis CITY SC are ready to begin their Major League Soccer adventure.
Expansion years are never easy - just ask the likes of FC Cincinnati and Minnesota United. But MLS' newest club can draw on the success stories of Atlanta United, LAFC, and Nashville SC for inspiration.
It's a whole new group of players and anything is possible. So, here's everything you need to know about St. Louis CITY SC ahead of the 2023 MLS season, including tactics, key players, and predictions.
St. Louis CITY SC: Key facts
- Owners: Carolyn Kindle, Jo Ann Taylor Kindle, Jim Kavanaugh
- Sporting director: Lutz Pfannenstiel
- Head coach: Bradley Carnell
- Stadium: CITYPARK
St. Louis CITY SC transfer activity
Transfers in
Player | Former Club | Fee |
|---|---|---|
Joao Klauss | Hoffenheim | $3.4m |
Eduard Lowen | Hertha BSC | $1m |
Tim Parker | Houston Dynamo | $500k |
Njabulo Blom | Kaizer Chiefs | $318k |
Aziel Jackson | Minnesota United | $150k |
Jared Stroud | Austin FC | $100k |
Samuel Adeniran | Seattle Sounders | $100k (rising to $200k) |
Ben Lundt | Phoenix Rising | $50k |
Joakim Nilsson | Arminia Bielefeld | Free transfer |
Roman Burki | Borussia Dortmund | Free transfer |
Rasmus Alm | Elfsborg | Free transfer |
Indiana Vassilev | Aston Villa | Free transfer |
Tomas Ostrak | FC Koln | Free transfer |
Jake Nerwinski | Vancouver Whitecaps | Free transfer |
Nicholas Gioacchini | Orlando City | Expansion Draft |
John Nelson | FC Cincinnati | Expansion Draft |
Jon Bell | New Engand Revolution | Expansion Draft |
Jake LaCava | New York Red Bulls | Expansion Draft |
Owen O'Malley | CU Bluejays | SuperDraft |
Isak Jensen | SönderjyskE | Undisclosed |
Joshua Yaro | St. Louis CITY 2 | - |
Akil Watts | St. Louis CITY 2 | - |
Kyle Hiebert | St. Louis CITY 2 | - |
Celio Pompeu | St. Louis CITY 2 | - |
Max Schneider | St. Louis CITY 2 | - |
Miguel Perez | St. Louis CITY Academy | - |
Caden Glover | St. Louis CITY Academy | - |
Transfers out
Player | Club Joined | Fee |
|---|---|---|
Jake LaCava | Inter Miami | $150k |
Bradley Carnell: Tactics and style of play
Everything we've heard Bradley Carnell and Lutz Pfannenstiel say so far, backed up by St. Louis' pre-season performances, suggests Major League Soccer's newest club will be high-pressing and all-action. Very much in the New York Red Bulls way of thinking.
They'll do this out of a 4-2-3-1, which will allow St. Louis to pile numbers forward in the press but still protect the back four with those two holding midfielders.
Of course, playing in this way is going to require a lot of trust, concentration, and cohesion - not being afraid to leave the back door open, going as a unit, and moving the opposition into the right spots to strike.
For an entirely new group of players, it's likely to go horribly wrong on many occasions this season but as things progress, St. Louis could become a really fun team to watch.
St. Louis CITY SC predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Burki; Newinski, Parker, Hiebert, Pidro; Blom, Lowen; Stroud, Ostrak, Alm; Klauss.
Who is St. Louis CITY SC's key player?
Roman Burki
St. Louis haven't gone down the path of bringing in a huge name right from the off and, indeed their most high-profile player is former Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki. He will also likely be their most important.
Given just how much St. Louis look like committing to a high press with a totally new group of players, there will be gaps and a ton of teething problems, placing immense pressure on the guy between the sticks to act as the last line of defense.
Burki comes with great experience and pedigree, though, having played hundreds of games (including 33 in the UEFA Champions League) in Europe with the likes of Dortmund, Grasshopper, Young Boys, and Freiburg, winning a number of titles in the process.
At 32, Burki is still young in goalkeeping terms, and he'll need all his mental sharpness to help keep St. Louis competitive in year one.
St. Louis CITY SC 2023 season prediction
There are good expansion teams and there are bad expansion teams. The last one, Charlotte FC, fell somewhere in the middle last season, despite most predicting them to finish bottom overall.
What does 2023 hold for St. Louis CITY SC? Well, they're probably going to be very fun, dysfunctional at times, and totally unpredictable. It's going to take time to get these players working as a unit in the system the team wants to play.
For those reasons, they'll likely find themselves low down the standings, but high on the entertainment scale.
Will St. Louis CITY SC qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs? No