Gotham FC vs Seattle Reign FC preview: a Monday night clash in Cascadia

Following a return to the win column in NWSL play, NJ/NY Gotham FC will travel to the Pacific Northwest in the second 2023 Championship Game rematch against Seattle Reign FC. Both teams are coming off wins last week with Gotham just getting by the Houston Dash 2-1. Meanwhile, Seattle has been starting to look the Seattle of old as they disposed of Angel City FC 3-2 to give them their third win in a row.

Seattle had gotten off to their worst start in team history with just two wins in their first 16 games before the Olympic break. Things have started to shift positively since the return to play with three wins from three games. This includes big wins against two teams they're competing with in the race for the last few playoff spots in Racing Louisville FC and, somewhat controversially, Angel City. Even more impressively both of these games were on the road.

For Gotham, this begins a three-match week that could heavily affect their standing in two different competitions. A win on Monday night will see them make their first move in the NWSL standings for a long time as they will move past the Kansas City Current for third. Then, they have to fly back home and prepare for a CONCACAF W Champions Cup match against C.F. Monterrey Femenil at home. The Bats then return to NWSL play on Sunday at home to the Utah Royals. This will likely lead to highly rotated teams.

Meanwhile, Gotham FC and the Reign have seen some high-profile departures this past week. For the NJ/NY team, it was announced that forward Katie Stengel has joined newly promoted English WSL side Crystal Palace Women. For Seattle, they lost arguably their best player Sofia Huerta departed on loan to French side Olympique Lyonnais. These are two losses that the teams will miss, but there is a game to play. Here is a preview for this Monday night matchup.

Date

Gotham FC and the Seattle Reign will play one another on Monday, September 16.

Time

The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:00 PM PT, 10:00 PM ET.

Location

The game will be played at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.

How to watch

The match will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

Weather

This looks like a very comfortable game weather-wise. The temperature at kickoff is forecast to be 66 degrees, with just 60% humidity and a 0% chance of rain.

Injury Report

Midge Purce (knee) and Abby Smith (lower leg) remain on the season-ending injury list.

For Monday, the Bats will be without Svava Guðmundsdóttir (excused absence), Sam Hiatt (foot), Maitane López (hip), Kelley O'Hara (excused absence), and Jéssica Silva (illness).

Players to watch

Since coming back from injury, Esther González has been in great form, culminating in goals in Gotham's last two games. If the forward can start firing in the goals, then that will be a huge boost for a Gotham team that has struggled to score goals throughout this season.

For Seattle, Ji So-yun has been a key player in Seattle's recent turnaround in form. Similar to Gotham, Seattle has also struggled to score for a lot of this season but has seven in their last three games with So-yun a big reason why. Fans should watch her not just because of her two goals and an assist in her last two games, but her team-leading 28 chances created this season.

Prediction

This will be another tough, low-scoring affair like last week against Houston. Expect Gotham FC to come out on the winning end once again though with a 1-0 win thanks to a González goal which will extend her goalscoring streak to three consecutive games in all competitions.