Fresno currently sits in 11th place in the Western Conference standings, with five points from three games. Rising is in 15th with three points.
So far, they’ve drawn two games (New Mexico away, Reno home) and won one (RGV away).
Rising haven’t managed a victory over Fresno. This same fixture resulted in a 1-1 draw last season after Amadou Dia was sent off halfway through the first half. In the July return, Phoenix suffered a 4-0 drubbing as each side picked up a red card.
Don’t expect Fresno to play a possession-based game. They’re averaging just 42% possession this season, and have had less than their opponents in all three games to date.
However, they’ve only conceded two goals, with both coming before the half-time break. Only two teams in the USL Championship can boast a better record – Ottawa Fury and Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Both of those goals conceded came from outside of the penalty area. Meanwhile, Fresno has found success close to (and to the right of) the six-yard box.
Consistency is Key
It’s not particularly difficult to predict Fresno’s starting XI, as ten players have started all three games in 2019.
C.J. Cochran is enjoying Fresno life as the starter in goal, having served most of his USL career on the bench. He joined the Foxes in November after a five-game loan spell with the club in 2018. He’s previously featured for Nashville, Oklahoma City and the Atlanta Silverbacks. Cochran boasts an impressive 81.8% save rate in the three games so far
Canadian Zach Ellis-Hayden returns to the backline for his second year at the club, after contributing two goals and six assists in all competitions last year. Ellis-Hayden joined Fresno ahead of their inaugural season last following his release from Orlando City B when the team went on hiatus. A decent distributor of the ball (83.8% pass completion), expect him to create chances from the wing.
Alex Cooper can be found on the opposite flank. Capped several times for Scotland’s U-17 team, Cooper endured an injury-affected youth spell at Liverpool. He also featured for several Scottish clubs, including Ross County, St Mirren and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, before moving to California in March 2018. So far, he is joint-leader on the team for interceptions (9).
6-foot-3 center back Ramón del Campo can be expected to deal with any aerial threat, winning 14 of 16 aerial duels so far this year. Don’t discount him on the ground, either – he succeeded in three out of every four tackle attempts last season. The 25-year-old joined Fresno in January 2018. His former clubs include Ottawa Fury and Puerto Rico’s NASL side. He was also shortlisted for the PDL’s Young Player of the Year Award after his performances for San Jose Earthquakes U-23 in 2014.
Michael Daly is the other half of the centre back pairing. At 31, he’s spent the entirety of his professional career in the American lower leagues, first joining the Wilmington Hammerheads in 2013. From there, he spent two seasons at Sacramento, before spells at Bethlehem Steel, the Carolina RailHawks and Oklahoma City Energy. He returned to his native California in December 2017 after signing for Fresno.
Seth Moses is the link between defence and midfield. While he is a solid distributer of the ball, his main weakness is that he gives away a lot of fouls – he currently leads the team in both fouls conceded and yellow cards. Moses started his professional career in Europe, featuring for Austrian club Rheindorf Altach and Eschen-Mauren of Liechtenstein. He also spent some time in Korea with FC Anyang, but didn’t play a game for them.
Midfielder Arun Basuljevic is Fresno’s top scorer so far with two goals. He joined the team in February, and scored both goals in the team’s victory over Rio Grande Valley. His professional career began in 2017 with New York Red Bulls. After failing to break into the Red Bulls first team, he moved overseas to Danish side Fremad Amager and Norwegian Nyköpings BIS.
Fresno’s only other goalscorer (with one) is Brazilian midfielder Jackson. Jackson’s career began with São Paulo. After failing to establish himself in the squad he moved to the US, and became a fixture in the FC Dallas lineup for four seasons. From there Jackson moved on to Toronto, before heading back home to play for Atlético Itapemirim. Returning stateside to feature in San Francisco Deltas’ NASL championship-winning season, he disappeared off the radar when the Deltas folded before signing for Fresno in February 2019.
Juan Pablo Caffa, the Argentinian attacking midfielder, brings top-flight experience to the team. Known for his spells with Spanish sides Real Betis and Real Zaragoza, Caffa is also notable for his violin-themed goal celebrations, earning him the nickname “El Violinista del Viaducto.” First moving to the US with Tulsa Roughnecks in 2017, he joined Fresno ahead of the 2018 season. Expect him to play Fresno’s most incisive passes, and hit long shots with his left foot. One-third of his goals came from outside the penalty area last year (all free kicks).
The final ever-present is striker Jemal Johnson. A former Manchester United academy player, he featured for Blackburn Rovers, Wolves, Leeds and more during a seven-year stint in the English leagues. After a spell with Lokomotiv Sofia (Bulgaria) and in the English non-league system, he joined Fort Lauderdale Strikers. A 2018 signing for Fresno, he was joint-top scorer last year with nine goals (tied with Caffa), but has yet to bag his first in 2019.
The Rotation
Striker Jaime Chávez started the first two games of this season, but failed to register a goal. The 31-year-old has returned home to The Golden State this season, after previous spells at Atlanta Silverbacks, FC Miami and the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Last season with the Rowdies, he scored one league goal in five appearances.
Chávez was replaced in their most recent game by Christian Chaney. However, after picking up a yellow and failing to score, Chaney was subbed off in the 73rd minute. Chaney is in his second season with Fresno, and fired off the most shots (58) in 2018. He previously featured for PDL team Fresno Fuego. After a brief spell in Armenia with Ararat Yerevan in 2016, Chaney returned to California with Sacramento Republic (9 games, no goals). He scored seven goals in 2018 – a shot to goal conversion rate of 12%.
Nigerian striker Qudus Lawal will be hoping to make his first start for the club. So far, he’s appeared off the bench in every match. Lawal’s career began in USL with Sounders 2 in 2015, before playing in the PDL and UPSL.
Former academy midfielders Diego Casillas and Elijah Martin may both make appearances off the bench (they both have two such appearances), but they’ll probably be late: they’ve only appeared for a combined 14 and 13 minutes this season respectively.
26-year-old Sam Howard will be hoping to make his first league appearance for Fresno between the sticks, despite being in his second year at the club. Before joining Fresno in April 2018, the Maryland native was on trial at Chicago Fire, having performed respectably in Sweden’s lower divisions with IFK Åmål (68 appearances,16 clean sheets).
From the Ashes Prediction: First Rising win (and Fresno loss) of the season with a 2-1 victory.