New York Cosmos vs. Atlanta Silverbacks: Starting lineups and discussion

The 2014 season kicks off tonight for the Cosmos with a rematch of last season's Soccer Bowl. The Cosmos won that match 1-0, and also managed a win and a draw in their two regular season meetings with the Silverbacks.

The starting lineups for both squads are now out, and Gio Savarese has selected this group:

Starting Lineup: Jimmy Maurer, Hunter Freeman, Carlos Mendes, Roversio, Ayoze, Diomar Diaz, Danny Szetela, Marcos Senna, Sebastian Guenzatti, Mads Stokellien, Alessandro Nosell

Bench: Kyle Zobeck, Hunter Gorskie, Joseph Nane, Jimmy Ockford, Stefan Dimitrov, Hagop Chirishian, Jemal Johnson

Eric Wynalda will go with the following lineup for his first match in charge against the Cosmos:

Starting Lineup: Derby Carrillo, Edgar Espinoza, Bobby Reiss, Alberto Nararro, Mike Randolph, Jesus Gonzalez, Junior Sandoval, Lucas Paulini, David Estrada, Deon McCauley, KwadwoPoku

Bench: Eric Ati, Blair Gavin, Pablo Cruz, Efrain Junior Burgos, Jaime Chavez

Atlanta only has five players on the bench, though they have a relatively small squad even before taking injuries into account. They're short on defensive options if they need them though, so Wynalda will have to cross his fingers and hope that none of his back four are injured or sent off.

It appears that the Cosmos will be lining up in a 4-4-2 formation, with Atlanta playing more of a 4-3-3. Here's hoping we get the season off to a good start with three points!