Meanwhile, the midfield maestro in blue, Andrea Pirlo will seek to send his side three points clear of the Montreal Impact at the top of the East with a win in Toronto. Montreal don’t play the Red Bulls until Saturday. NYCFC (4-3-4), who are on a three-game winning streak, may also be bolstered by the return of Frank Lampard, who has yet to play a minute in the 2016 MLS season.
Neither Giovinco nor 36-year-old Pirlo were named Monday to the Italian training camp squad ahead of Euro 2016 but with Antonio Conte’s final roster not named until May 23, both will be hoping to impress in Wednesday’s matchup.
TFC were rocked by news this week that Jozy Altidore will miss six to eight weeks with a hamstring injury picked up in the midst of his penalty miss against Vancouver. The problem involves the same hamstring the US international injured in pre-season and the most recent development means Altidore will almost certainly miss June’s Copa America Centenario.
Coach Greg Vanney’s options are further limited by injuries to Jonathan Osorio and Marky Delgado. Osorio picked up another ankle knock on the weekend and while it is well on the mend he is doubtful for Wednesday. Delgado is almost certainly ruled out with his own hamstring injury picked up in the home opener against Dallas. Jay Chapman is in contention for his first start of the season and Mo Babouli is also likely to play from the start. Benoit Cheyrou remains sidelined with a quadriceps problem but could return within a week.
New York coach Patrick Vieria has Federico Bravo available for selection after serving a suspension for caution accumulation and the Frenchman may need to freshen up his team after they played late Sunday in Portland.
TFC lost their claim to stingiest defence in MLS by shipping four goals against the Whitecaps and will have their work cut out stopping Khiry Shelton and David Villa, who has scored in three consecutive games and sits tied with Giovinco at the top of the MLS scoring charts with 8 goals.
Villa scored twice on matchday two this season at Yankee Stadium but Toronto’s early season resilience helped them claw their way back to a 2-2 share of the spoils. When the sides met at BMO Field in 2015, NYCFC’s inaugural season, Villa also notched a brace to secure a 2-0 win.
Projected Line-ups
Toronto: C.Irwin, D.Moor, D.Perquis, S.Beitashour, J.Morrow, D.Lovitz, M.Bradley, W.Johnson, J.Chapman, S.Giovinco, M.Babouli
New York City FC: J.Saunders, R.Mataritta, J.Hernandez, F.Brilliant, RJ. Allen, A.Pirlo, M.Lopez, M.Diskerud, T.McNamara, D.Villa, K.Shelton
Broadcast: TSN4