USL Championship & USL League One preview, March 23 & 24

Week three of the USL Championship starts early, with a 6pm (GMT) kick-off in Connecticut as Hartford Athletic face Birmingham Legion. Legion won away in week one and sat out last week, so will be looking to continue that form, but Hartford are a different side this year under Brendan Burke this year and it should be an open game. There's a pair of games two hours later when the exciting youngsters of Loudoun United travel to Detroit City, and perennial heavyweights Lousville City open their home season against Eastern Conference rivals Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Having lost key players in the winter - one of whom, Tola Showumni, is now at Louisville - the Riverhounds looks lacklustre so far but you can never count a Bob Lilley side out. There are also two games at 11pm, with Indy Eleven opening their home season against the powerhouses of Sacramento Republic, and Tampa Bay Rowdies visiting North Carolina FC for the first time in some years after the Wings' promotion in the off-season. Half an hour after those games start, unbeaten Charleston Battery kick off against a New Mexico United team that have looked good value so far this year, which might be a game for the neutrals if you can't stand the huge jaguar occupying the Indianapolis centre circle.


The stroke of midnight finds Las Vegas Lights - still looking for their first points under new owner Jose Bautista - hosting El Paso Locomotive (who have just one point from three home games so far this season), with 2022 champions San Antonio at home to Colorado Springs Switchbacks at half-past. Saturday's prenultimate game comes at 2am when Orange County SC welcome The Miami FC to Irvine, with champions Phoenix Rising against Oakland Roots following at 3am. There's just the one game on Sunday across the professional leagues this week and it comes from northern California, where Monterey Bay face expansion side Rhode Island FC, a 10pm kick-off.


After almost perfectly negotiating the first round of the US Open Cup in midweek, eight USL League One clubs are in action this weekend, with Richmond Kickers versus 2022 champions South Georgia Tormenta kicking things off at 10pm on Saturday, while Lexington SC - the only USL-1 club to be knocked out by lower division opposition this week - travel to One Knoxville for a 10.30pm start. Greenville Triumph's horrible gridiron markings welcome Forward Madison at 11pm, with expansion side Spokane Velocity playing their second home game on the trot, hosting Northern Colorado Hailstorm and hoping for another big crowd and another good win.

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