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USL League One, NISA & MLS Next Pro previews, June 1-2

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After another round of USL Jägermeister Cup matches, it's back to USL League One in the third tier this weekend, with five matches across Saturday and Sunday, starting with the visit of Lexington SC to the unbeaten Forward Madison on Saturday at 11pm (all times BST). The home side were 3-0 winners at Spokane Velocity in their last league match and won 1-0 over One Knoxville in the Jägermeister Cup last week, while the visitors haven't played in the league since April 14, when they drew 2-2 in Spokane. That's followed by two games at midnight, the first of which sees 2023 runners-up Charlotte Independence host 2022 champions South Georgia Tormenta at American Legion Memorial Stadium. Both sides lost in the Jägermeister Cup last week and both  have ten points on the board so far, but Independence will be looking to get back to the kind of form that made them so hard to beat in April. The other midnight start sees One Knoxville entertain Richmond Kickers at the Reg...

USL Championship & CPL previews, June 1-2

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The USL Championship weekend gets underway with a quartet of midnight kick-offs on Saturday night (all times BST) , the pick of which seems to be Indy Eleven 's visit to Highmark Stadium, home of a misfiring Pittsburgh Riverhounds . Riverhounds won the USL Championship Shield last year for the best overall record in regular season play, but then lost five of their starting eleven over the winter and have never really recovered. Indy, meanwhile, are on a run of seven consecutive victories and, such are the changed fortunes of the teams this year, it wouldn't be surprise to see them make it eight. Indy sit third in the Eastern Conference, one place behind Louisville City , who follow up their midweek demolition of Detroit City with a visit to struggling The Miami FC . With goals coming from just about everywhere, but especially from Wilson Harris, Los Morados should have no trouble carving through a vulnerable Miami defence and win will take them top. Loudoun United have enjoyed ...

MLS & CONCACAF Champions Cup previews, May 31-June 2

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The MLS weekend gets off to a rare early start on Friday night at half-past-midnight (all times BST) as New York City FC  look to extend a great string of results when Western Conference basement dwellers San Jose Earthquakes come to Yankee Stadium. The Pigeons have won their last four - and seven of their last eight - to climb up to third in the Eastern Conference as Nick Cushing's side play with increasing swagger. Quakes, meanwhile, have slumped right back to a run of winless games after a brief respite saw them win two in a row a few weeks back. Saturday's games start with four 0.30am kick-offs, the pick of which looks to be the visit of St Louis CITY to Fort Lauderdale, where an Inter Miami side stung by their midweek home defeat to Atlanta United await. CITY really haven't got going this season after a cracking debut campaign but they have inspiration and finishing in Indy Vassilev and Joao Klauss, as well as a strong backline. Whether that will be enough to keep Lion...

MLS, USL Championship, Canadian Championship & USL Jägermeister Cup round-ups, May 29

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An almost full programme of MLS matches last night began with CF Montréal breaking their run of nine games without a win when they beat DC United 4-2 at Stade Saputo. Ariel Lassiter put the home side in front after just six minutes, but they found themselves pegged back just before the half-hour when - who else? - Christian Benteke scored his twelfth of the season for United. The parity lasted for just five minutes before Sunusi Ibrahim - on as an early substitute for the injured Jules-Anthony Vilsaint - headed home from close range, with Mathieu Choinière extending their lead four minutes after that with a smart shot from outside the box. Benteke popped up again to reduce the deficit three minutes before half-time, taking advantage of some confusion in the Montréal box, but there was still time, though, for Matti Peltola to receive his second yellow card in first-half stoppage time, sending the visitors down to ten men for the entirety of the second-half. Seeking to ta...

MLS, USL Championship, Canadian Championship & USL Jägermeister Cup previews, May 29

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The introduction of the pointless Leagues Cup into the MLS schedule has meant more midweek games this season and last, and there's an almost full programme of matches tonight, beginning with five 0.30am (all times BST) kick-offs. To say  CF Montréal  are in poor form is an understatement, with no wins in nine games including a two-legged Canadian Championship defeat to Canadian Premier League outfit Forge FC and just one win at Stade Saputo all season. They go into tonight's game with  DC United  with a Schroedinger's Cat level of pressure on them as they simultaneously desperately need a win but are not expected to get one against a United side who have travelled well this season and who have Christian Benteke in good goalscoring form.  FC Cincinnati  welcome  Nashville SC  to TQL Stadium on the back of a seven-win streak and you'd not bet against them extending that run, especially as the Coyotes are steadying their ship in the wake of Gary Smit...

USL Jägermeister Cup, NISA & MLS Next Pro round-ups, May 23-26

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The third round of matches in the inaugural USL Jägermeister Cup took place on Saturday, or at least 5/6 of them, with Union Omaha versus Central Valley Fuego held off until Wednesday. Lexington SC made the relatively short journey to  Chattanooga Red Wolves and came away with the points after a seven-goal thriller in front of 2,308 at CHI Memorial Stadium. Mayele Malango had point Red Wolves ahead in the eighth minute, but the visitors drew level in the 35th minute, Ates Diouf scoring his second goal of the competition. That lasted for all of three minutes before Chevone Marsh put Chattanooga back in front, and they held their 2-1 lead through half-time. Ten minutes into the second-half, though, Alexis Cerritos pulled Lexington level again, although it was another short-term arrangement as Malango got his second to restore Red Wolves' lead two minutes later. The game turned in the 75th minute when Omar Hernandez was red carded for a foul on Cameron Lancaster and with the home side...

USL Championship & CPL round-ups, May 24-26

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The USL Championship weekend got off to a shocking start when  Charleston Battery  surrendered their unbeaten league record at home to basement dwellers El Paso Locomotive on Friday night. Locomotive under new boss Wilmer Cabrera were always going to be a different prospect to their lacklustre early season selves but the turning point in the game came when the home side lost Chris Allan to two yellow cards in three minutes at the end of the first-half, leaving them facing a game Texan side with just ten men for the entirety of the second-half. The visitors took advantage of the numbers with a nice goal from Amando Moreno in the 69th minute but failed to make further in-roads as the clock ticked down, allowing Jackson Conway to equalise for Battery with three minutes left of standard time. Just when they thought they'd rescued a point, though, Moreno grabbed his second two minutes into stoppage time to quiet the 3,257 home fans and end Charleston's eleven-match unbeaten run, Al...