Gotham FC vs Racing Louisville FC preview: Keeping pace in the playoff race

In their second and final meeting of the regular season, NJ/NY Gotham FC will travel to Kentucky to take on Racing Louisville FC. These two teams last played one another on Sunday, April 28 at Red Bull Arena where the match ended in a 1-1 draw. This game could be looked at as the turning point in Gotham's season as this was the first of their ongoing seven-game unbeaten streak.

They will take on a Louisville team who may be about to start a streak of their own. While they only have two losses this season, tied for the second-fewest in the league with Gotham, they sit just seventh in the table with just three wins. Two of those three wins have come in their last two games, which could be a sign of this Louisville team finally converting their draws into wins.

Additionally, Louisville has only lost one game at home all season back on May 10 at the hands of the high-flying Washington Spirit. They fell 2-1. With that said, half of Gotham's six wins this season have come on the road.

Let's now preview this weekend's matchup between Gotham FC and Racing Louisville.

Date

Gotham FC and Racing Louisville FC's match will take place on Saturday, June 14.

Time

Kickoff is set for 12:00 PM EST.

Location

The game is at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, KY.

How to watch

The match will be broadcasted on ESPN, ESPN+, and ESPN Deportes.

Weather

It looks to be a hot one with temperatures in the mid to low 80s and very little to no cloud cover throughout the game.

Injury report

Midge Purce (knee), Abby Smith (lower leg), and Taylor Smith (thigh) will all remain on the season-ending injury list for this game. It is also expected that Kristen Edmonds (knee), Kelley O'Hara (knee), and Lynn Williams (lower leg) will remain unavailable for this weekend's game against Louisville. Svava Guðmundsdóttir remains out with an excused absence.

Update: Esther González (foot) is also out for Saturday's game.

Players to watch

Coming off her best game in a Gotham FC shirt against Angel City FC, look for Rose Lavelle to carry on that form against Louisville. Not only did she score her second goal of the season last week, but she looked dangerous and creative every time she touched the ball. If Racing even gives her an inch, then expect her to take a yard.

For Louisville, keep an eye out for rookie Emma Sears. The 28th overall pick in the 2024 College Draft solidified a spot in Louisville's attack, starting in each of the last five matches. She has also scored two goals in her previous three games. Ironically, the pick Louisville used to draft Sears was acquired from Gotham in a three-way trade with Bay FC this past offseason.

Prediction

This game could be the toughest for the Bats in some time. While Racing does not have a ton of wins, they are incredibly hard to beat, especially at home. Expect this one to be a closely fought contest with the difference being a goal or less. The final prediction for this game is a 1-1 draw with the goals coming from Sears for Louisville, and Ella Stevens for Gotham FC.