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The Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati meet for the first time since the Crew knocked off FC Cincinnati in the 2023 Eastern Conference final in the marquee match of MLS’s Rivalry Week.
The Crew won in Cincinnati 3-2 in the biggest meeting yet in the Hell is Real derby. It came back from 2-0 down at halftime, rallying in the last 15 minutes with two goals before winning the game in overtime.
FC Cincinnati, the 2023 Supporters’ Shield winner, comes into Saturday’s match at Lower.com Field in second place in the Eastern Conference, just three points behind Inter Miami. The Crew is in fifth place but has reached the Concacaf Champions Cup final for the first time.
• What They’re Saying: Crew forward Jacen Russell-Rowe expects a battle to control the tempo of the match.
“To be able to come back and beat them in a final in their home,” he said, “they’re going to remember that and they’re going to come out flying. We have to set the tempo because we’re playing in our home.”
Other big rivalry matches to follow this weekend:
• FC Dallas vs. Austin FC: Goalkeeper Brad Stuver has notched shutouts in each of the last three games as Austin FC has picked up seven points in its last three games to climb into sixth place in the Western Conference.
• Portland vs. Seattle: It is hard to remember both teams being so bad. Both teams are 2-5-4 with the Sounders in 11th place in the Western Conference ahead of the Timbers on goal difference.
• SA Reading: Max Bretos on avant-garde MLS broadcasting, young and global fandom, and his Cuban heritage (By John Shrader)
📺 SATURDAY Games:
APPLE TV/MLS SEASON PASS
Atlanta United vs. DC United 7:30 pm.
Charlotte FC vs. Nashville SC 7:30 pm.
*Columbus vs. FC Cincinnati 7:30 pm.
CF Montreal vs. Inter Miami 7:30 pm.
NY Red Bulls vs. New England 7:30 pm.
Philadelphia vs. Orlando City 7:30 pm.
Toronto FC vs. NYCFC 7:30 pm.
FC Dallas vs. Austin FC 8:30 pm.
Sporting Kansas City vs. Houston 8:30 pm.
St. Louis City vs. Chicago 8:30 pm.
Colorado vs. San Jose 9:30 pm.
LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake 10:30 pm.
LAFC vs. Vancouver 10:30 pm.
*Also available on FS1 and Fox Deportes.
All times ET.
📺 SUNDAY Game:
APPLE TV/MLS SEASON PASS
Portland vs. Seattle 4:45 pm.
*Also available on Fox and Fox Deportes.
ET.
National Women’s Soccer League
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There’s also a Cascadia match on the women’s side this weekend at Providence Park as the Portland Thorns host the Seattle Reign on Saturday.
The Thorns come into the match with four straight wins under interim coach Rob Gale and have moved into fourth place following a coaching change after a 0-3-1 start that left them in last place.
Seattle, the 2023 NWSL runner-up, has a win and tie in its last two games to move into 11th place after falling into the basement with five straight losses.
• Injury Report: Thorns forward Morgan Weaver (16 goals in four seasons) was placed on the 45-day injury list after she underwent arthroscopic surgery of her right knee for an injury suffered last week against Bay FC.
📺 SATURDAY Games:
ION
Orlando vs. Bay FC 7:30 pm.
Portland vs. Seattle 10 pm.
All times ET.
📺 SUNDAY Games:
ION
San Diego vs. Gotham FC 7:30 pm.
GOLAZO NETWORK
Chicago vs. Utah 5:30 pm.
NWSL+
KC Current vs. NC Courage 6 pm.
San Diego vs. Gotham FC 7:30 pm.
Angel City FC vs. Houston 7:30 pm.
All times ET.
USL Championship
Tampa Bay and Birmingham meet for the second time in four days at Al Lang Field.
On Wednesday, the Rowdies won 6-4 in the U.S. Open Cup but not before blowing a 4-0 lead in the late stages of the match.
Cal Jennings scored a hat trick for Tampa Bay to make it 4-0 in the 79th minute, but the Legion came storming back with goals in the 82nd and 89th minutes and two more in stoppage time.
“Sometimes, I think it can become a little bit too easy at times,” said Rowdies head coach Robbie Neilson. “We’re up 4-nil and we’re creating a lot of chances. We probably could have scored seven or eight, to be honest with you.”
• Youth Movement: On Friday, the Rowdies acquired 17-year-old midfielder Nathan Worth via transfer from FC Tulsa. Worth, a product of the New York Red Bull academy system, enjoyed an excellent rookie season in 2023 but only saw action in four games in 2024.
Other Open Cup followup …
In their first matches since knocking off MLS teams in the Open Cup’s round of 32, Detroit City FC (5-1-1, 3rd in the Eastern Conference) hosts Phoenix, while New Mexico United (5-2-1, 2nd in the Western Conference) is at home against Oakland.
📺 SATURDAY Games:
CBS SPORTS NETWORK
Detroit City FC vs. Phoenix 5 pm.
ESPN+
Hartford vs. Colorado Springs 7 pm,.
Louisville City vs. Orange County SC 7:30 pm.
Tampa Bay vs. Birmingham 7:30 pm.
Rhode Island FC vs. Sac Republic FC 7:30 pm.
FC Tulsa vs. Pittsburgh 8:30 pm.
New Mexico United vs. Oakland 9 pm.
Monterey Bay vs. Memphis 10 pm.
GOLAZO NETWORK
San Antonio FC vs. Las Vegas 8:30 pm.
All times ET.
📺 SUNDAY Game:
ESPN+
Miami vs. Indy 7 pm.
All times ET.
Americans Abroad
Josh Sargent’s Norwich City is three games away from returning to the Premier League.
The Canaries open the promotion playoffs on Sunday when they host Leeds United in the first leg of their semifinal series.
A top-six finish seemed out of the question last fall when Sargent was sidelined with an ankle injury. Four straight defeats dropped Norwich to 17th place in November.
Sargent scored 16 goals — 13 after his return following Christmas — for the league’s second highest scoring rate (0.78 goals per 90 minutes), behind only 37-year-old Jamie Vardy (0.92 for Leicester City).
• Adams comeback: Tyler Adams has returned to the Bournemouth squad for Saturday’s Premier League match with Brentford. A back ailment has kept him out of action for the Cherries’ last six games. His last appearance: a Man of the Match performance in a 2-1 victory over Everton on March 30, six days after he scored the winning goal for the USA in the 2-0 win over Mexico in the Concacaf League Cup final.
📺 SATURDAY Games:
Belgian Pro League (Playoff)
ESPN+
Anderlecht vs. Genk (Mark McKenzie) 2:40 pm.
English Premier League
USA NETWORK/UNIVERSO/PEACOCK
Fulham (Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson) vs. Manchester City 7:30 am.
PEACOCK
Bournemouth (Tyler Adams) vs. Brentford 10 am.
Everton vs. Sheffield United (Auston Trusty) 10 am.
Wolves vs. Crystal Palace (Chris Richards) 10 am.
German Bundesliga
ESPN+
Borussia M’Gladbach (Jordan Pefok, Joe Scally) vs. Eintracht Frankfurt (Timothy Chandler) 9:20 am.
Freiburg vs. Heidenheim (Lennard Maloney) 9:20 am.
Koln vs. Union Berlin (Brenden Aaronson) 9:20 am.
Mexican Liga MX (Playoffs)
UNIVISION/TUDN
America (Alejandro Zendejas) vs. Pachuca 8 pm.
Toluca vs. Guadalajara (Cade Cowell) 10 pm.
Scottish Premiership
CBS SPORTS NETWORK
Celtic (Cameron Carter-Vickers) vs. Rangers 7:30 am.
Spanish La Liga Hypermotion
ESPN+
Levante vs. Eibar (Konrad de la Fuente) 3 pm.
All times ET.
******************
📺 SUNDAY Games:
Dutch Eredevisie
ESPN+
Fortuna Sittard vs. PSV (Ricardo Pepi, Malik Tillman) 8:30 am.
English League Championship (Semifinals, 1st Leg)
ESPN+
Norwich City (Josh Sargent) vs. Leeds United 7 am.
German Bundesliga
ESPN+
Darmstadt vs. Hoffenheim (John Brooks) 9:20 am.
Bayern Munich vs. Wolfsburg (Kevin Paredes) 11:20 am.
Italian Serie A
GOLAZO NETWORK
Juventus (Weston McKennie, Tim Weah) vs. Salernitana Noon.
Mexican Liga MX (Playoffs)
TUDN
Monterrey (Brandon Vazquez) vs. Tigers 11:10 pm.
Spanish La Liga EA Sports
ESPN DEPORTES/ESPN+
Atletico Madrid vs. Celta de Vigo (Luca de la Torre) 10:15 am.
Real Betis (Johnny Cardoso) vs. Almeria 3 pm.
All times ET.
Saturday morning: What We’re Reading
1. Why Oakland Roots vs. San Jose was the “anti-John Fisher game” By Jeff Carlisle (ESPN)
2. Laurent Courtois embraces “beautiful challenge” at CF Montréal By Charles Boehm (MLSSoccer.com)
3. Albany eyes soccer stadium for MLS Next Pro team as part of $300 million redevelopment plan By Tom Eschen and Briana Supardi (cbs6albany.com)
Paul Kennedy is the Editor in Chief & General Manager of Soccer America. More by Paul Kennedy
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