Austin FC 2023 MLS season preview: Tactics, predicted XI, predictions

Austin FC head into the 2023 MLS season with expectations through the roof.

After laying the foundations in their expansion year, the Verde and Black enjoyed more success than they could have dreamed of last campaign, finishing second in the Western Conference and making it through two rounds of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

With that, Austin earned themselves a first-ever spot in the Concacaf Champions League. But, of course, extra pressure comes with this sort of territory, and Josh Wolff will need to maintain high standards if they’re to keep rubbing shoulders with Major League Soccer’s elite.

So, here’s everything you need to know about Austin FC ahead of the new MLS season, including tactics, key players, and predictions:

Transfers in

Transfers out

For the most part, Austin lined up in 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formations last year, just as they did in 2021. Wolff enhanced the attacking soccer he’d promised from day one and deployed a ‘positional’ style of play.

Given the complications of positional play, with players needing a close understanding of where they are on the pitch and each other’s movements, this was quite a risk in Austin’s first-ever season. And indeed, it went horribly wrong on multiple occasions. But in year two, things clicked, with Austin one of the most consistent, exciting, and hard-to-beat teams in MLS.

Wolff is unlikely to change a winning formula and will hope to see his team playing with even more cohesiveness.

Austin FC predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Stuver; Lima, Väisänen, Cascante, Kolmanic; Ring, Pereira; Rigoni, Driussi, Fagundez; Zardes.

Sebastian Driussi

Few players in Major League Soccer last season could match the output of Sebastian Driussi, who helped himself to a whopping 22 goals and five assists in 34 regular season appearances. Only…