Washington Spirit vs. Racing Louisville FC – 7:00pm EST, Paramount+ Audi Field | Washington, D.C. Match Facts: The Washington Spirit (0-1-0) come home to Audi Field to host Racing Louisville FC (0-0-1) with both sides searching for their first win of the Challenge Cup. The Spirit were narrowly defeated by a strong performance from the […]

Washington Spirit vs. Racing Louisville FC – 7:00pm EST, Paramount+

****Audi Field | Washington, D.C.

Match Facts: The Washington Spirit (0-1-0) come home to Audi Field to host Racing Louisville FC (0-0-1) with both sides searching for their first win of the Challenge Cup. The Spirit were narrowly defeated by a strong performance from the North Carolina Courage last weekend, despite a high-profile debut from Trinity Rodman. Racing hits the road for first time in club history following a memorable inaugural match against the Orlando Pride at Lynn Family Stadium.

Players to Watch: Richie Burke’s side will take plenty of positives despite Saturday’s result, chief among them being the attacking prowess of Kumi Yokoyama. Much of the Spirit’s success in the Courage’s final third came through Yokoyama, who added her first goal of 2021 in the defeat.

For Racing Louisville FC, it’s Savannah McCaskill. Deployed in a more deep-lying role under Christy Holly, McCaskill was an ever-present threat across the pitch against the Pride last weekend. Racing will be sure to be as dangerous in their second match of the year, and look for McCaskill to lead the charge.

Keys to the Game: Washington’s switch to a back-three was exploited multiple times against North Carolina, with deep-lying runs from the Courage’s front four – leading to plenty of chances for the home side. Against the likes of Nagasato, Kizer, and Ekic, the Spirit will need to tighten up their defensive tactics to allow Yokoyama and Ashley Hatch to run forward.

Keen-eyed NWSL fans will have seen that the Spirit’s problems with defensive spacing mirror those that the Orlando Pride gave against Racing last weekend. Holly has done well to set up a 4-4-2 that can exploit these spaces from deep, and more of the same from Saturday will give them similar success.

Ways to Watch: American viewers can find tonight’s match of Paramount+ – while fans in Canada and abroad can stream the match at twitch.tv/nwslofficial2