Gotham FC vs Washington Spirit preview: On the precipice of the Shield
Fresh off the international break, NJ/NY Gotham FC will visit the Washington Spirit in a high-stakes first vs. third matchup. This is the second and final regular-season meeting between the two sides, as the Bats claimed a 1-0 victory in the previous matchup at the Queens Classic in July.
Alas, Gotham FC enters this match after a pretty brutal international break from an injury standpoint. Both Jordynn Dudley and Bruninha have landed on the SEI list with a foot fracture and an ACL tear, respectively. While these are huge blows to the squad, it is far from a death knell, as this team has been able to chug along while dealing with injuries to high-profile players throughout this season, including Rose Lavelle, Jaedyn Shaw, and Emily Sonnett.
Meanwhile, Washington has had a very weird season so far. They started off slowly, as their first win didn't come until game number five, before managing to get back on track and look like the dominant Spirit team that many have become used to in recent years, and jumping up to the top of the table. However, they have stumbled with just four wins from their previous 10 matches and only one win from their previous six home matches. This could give the NJ/NY side the advantage, but the home side is still very dangerous.
Saturday could be a huge day for Gotham FC in their pathway to both an NWSL Shield and an NWSL Championship. A win over Washington would guarantee a top-two seed in the playoffs, meaning they would have home-field advantage through to the Championship game. A win combined with a win from the North Carolina Courage over the second-placed San Diego Wave FC later in the day would clinch Gotham's first Shield in club history. Here is a preview of Saturday's matchup.
Gotham FC vs Washington Spirit preview
Date
The game will take place on Saturday, October 17.
Time
The fixture is scheduled to begin at 12:30 PM ET.
Location
The match will be played at Audi Field in Washington D.C..
How to watch
The match will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.
Weather
It looks to be a cold one on Saturday, with game-time temperatures staying around 55 degrees, with wind speeds around 15 mph and gusts up to 25 mph. Humidity will hover around 50%, with significant cloud cover to start before clearing up slightly as the match progresses. Chance of rain is low, staying at 15% throughout the 90 minutes.
Injury report
Bruninha (knee- SEI), Sofia Cook (ankle), Jordynn Dudley (foot- SEI), Kayla Duran (knee - SEI), and Emily Sonnett (knee - SEI) are all out for Saturday's fixture.
Players to watch
Despite the goal-scoring total being lower than expected, Sam Kerr has not skipped a beat since joining the club in July. While four goals and four assists is not a bad total, especially with players like Shaw and Lavelle picking up their production recently, it's not the crazy goal totals fans have been accustomed to her putting up in her career. Yet, she has already accumulated 9.6 xG, the 9th most in the league despite only playing 14 out of 27 games. It feels like Kerr is on the brink of truly breaking out scoring-wise, and this would be the perfect point in the season for that to come.
Despite the Spirit misfiring in recent weeks, Trinity Rodman has not slowed down. The MVP candidate has put up 19 goal contributions so far this season, a new career high. Obviously, anytime that any team plays Washington, Rodman is going to be front of mind, but the season after signing a record-breaking contract, her play has backed up the Spirit's faith in making her the highest-paid player in the world.
Prediction
The NJ/NY side has gone five matches in a row without losing to the Spirit, with three wins and two draws in that timeframe. Combine that with the Spirit's shaky form at home as of late, Gotham FC will get the job done with a score of 2-0, with Kerr bagging both goals.
