Gotham FC vs Bay FC preview: Keeping up the momentum on the West Coast

NJ/NY Gotham FC will visit the California Bay Area for the first time as they face 2024 expansion side Bay FC on Friday night. The team is coming off their third win in four games and the first time they have scored multiple goals in a fixture. This will be Gotham's second trip to California and third overall to the West Coast this season after their season opener in Portland against Portland Thorns FC, and their visit to San Diego against San Diego Wave FC two weeks ago.

After starting their season with a win over Angel City FC, Bay FC's season has not at all gone to plan, having lost seven of their next nine games. Recently, their most five-game losing streak came to an end thanks to a come-from-behind win against San Diego last week.

Another piece of positive news is Gotham FC's injury report getting smaller and smaller every week. After missing close to a month with a thigh injury, Tierna Davidson made her return to the field as a 66th-minute substitute against the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday. One player who will not be back however is Kelley O'Hara. O'Hara did not travel with the team to San Jose and will not return until their game against Angel City FC after the international break on June 8 at the earliest.

The good news will hopefully continue with a win against Bay FC. Here is the preview of Gotham FC's upcoming game.

Date

Gotham FC will play Bay FC on Friday, May 24.

Time

The match will be played at 10:00 PM ET.

Location

The game will take place at PayPal Park in San Jose, California.

How to watch

The match will be exclusively streamed on Amazon Prime Video. Those without Prime can do a free trial in order to watch the game.

Weather

It looks to be a mild and windy night with 60° being the forecasted temperature with 62% humidity and 13 mph winds expected.

Injury report

Midge Purce, Abby Smith, Taylor Smith, and McCall Zerboni remain on the Season Ending Injury List and will be out this week.

Kelley O'Hara will also be out with a knee injury and Katie Stengel will be out with a thigh injury. Kristen Edmonds, Sinead Farrelly, and Svava Guðmundsdóttir are out due to an excused absence. Tierna Davidson is off the injury report.

Players to watch

With a cross-country flight and a shorter week than usual, expect a fair bit of rotation for this Friday's game. Bay FC games tend to be chaotic and high-scoring so look for the entirety of the forward line to be heavily involved and have their fair share of chances this week. Specifically, look for Lynn Williams and Ella Stevens to continue their fine form from the past few weeks.

The same can be said for Bay FC. Despite their struggles, their two marquee signings of Asisat Oshoala and Racheal Kundananji have been as good as advertised. They can create opportunities regardless of how well the rest of Bay FC is playing on the night.

Prediction

Gotham FC's good form and Bay's high-scoring games will continue this week as Gotham will come out of San Jose with a 3-1 win. The goal-scorers will be Lynn Williams, Ella Stevens, and Crystal Dunn, who will score her first goal with the Bats on Friday.