Gotham FC vs San Diego Wave FC preview: Looking to end a busy week on a high

NJ/NY Gotham FC is coming off their second consecutive win after arguably their best performance of the season resulted in a 1-0 victory over the Houston Dash on Wednesday night. This second matchup of the season against San Diego Wave FC marks Gotham's first trip to the West Coast since their season-opening 1-0 win against the Portland Thorns.

After both teams took part in the season-opening Challenge Cup, which ended 1-0 in favor of the Wave, both Gotham and San Diego have struggled to find consistent form this season. The teams sit in the bottom two playoff spots, seventh and eighth respectively, albeit with at least one game in hand on the teams ahead of them.

This game marks the end of a busy stretch for Gotham as it is their final of three games in eight days which started with them at home in New Jersey last Saturday, in Houston on Wednesday, and in San Diego on Mother's Day. Similar to their Wednesday game against the Dash, Gotham will be at a travel disadvantage with the Bats making the voyage from Texas while San Diego played their midweek fixture at home.

The match should be a good one. Here is a preview of the upcoming battle between Gotham FC and the San Diego Wave.

Date

Gotham FC will play the San Diego Wave on Sunday, May 12 (Mother's Day).

Time

The match is at 7:30 PM ET.

Location

The game is at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California.

How to watch

The Game will be nationally broadcast on Ion. For information on how to watch Ion, click here.

Weather

It looks to be a really nice Sunday in San Diego. Temperatures look to be in the sixties, with 10 mph winds, 60% humidity, and only a 10% chance of rain.

Injury Report

The injury report is somewhat similar to Wednesday with Tierna Davidson (thigh), Katie Stengel (thigh), and Kelley O'Hara (knee) remaining out. None of the players on the season-ending injury list had their status changed for Sunday. Midge Purce (knee), Abby Smith (lower leg), Taylor Smith (thigh), and McCall Zerboni (knee) are still out. Svava Guðmundsdóttir (excused absence) is unavailable. In addition, Sinead Farrelly (excused absence) is also reported to be out.

Kristen Edmonds (knee) was listed as questionable last week but was named on the bench for the match but ultimately was an unused substitute. She remains questionable for this match.

Players to watch

For Gotham, there is only one answer, and that is Lynn Williams. She's scored the Bats' only goal in their last two matches and her goal against Houston brought her level with Sam Kerr for most goals in all competitions in NWSL history. She likely will not play the full 90 against the Wave. However, she should play and at least have a shot at breaking the goal record on Sunday.

For San Diego, Jaedyn Shaw is coming off of a phenomenal game on Wednesday against Utah Royals FC where she scored a penalty and assisted Makenzy Doniak for the second goal of the game. Shaw has been in fine form for club and country scoring five goals in her last seven games for the USWNT. She also has two goals and an assist in her last 157 minutes with San Diego.

Game prediction

After a long week, with a tough opponent on the other side of the country, the prediction game ends in a 1-1 draw ending Gotham's two-game winning streak but extending their unbeaten run to four games. Goals will be scored by Esther González for Gotham and María Sánchez will get her first goal for the Wave.