USL Championship & CPL previews, April 26-28

News broke ahead of the USL Championship weekend that the Mayor of Indianapolis, having previously agreed to back a publicly-funded stadium for the USL-C's Indy Eleven, met with MLS chief Don Garber and took the bait of a possible MLS expansion team for the city, unilaterally deciding that the proposed stadium will be for that hypothetical team rather than the eleven-year-old club that currently plays in the city. Needless to say, the position of this writer is always FUCK DON GARBER and now also FUCK JOE HOGSETT. Ahem. The USL Championship weekend gets off to an intriguing start tonight, with a 0.30am (all times BST) kick-off in Providence between expansion side Rhode Island FC and 2023 champions Phoenix Rising. The Seals won their first ever game away at Las Vegas Lights last week and are still yet to see the best of 2023 USl-C MVP Albert Dikwa since his move from Pittsburgh Riverhounds; will this be the week he clicks and will Phoenix, hardly pulling up tress in their defence of their title, be able to bounce back from last week's home defeat to the Riverhounds?

Saturday's games begin in South Carolina at 9pm where Charleston Battery will look to continue a run of form that has taken them top of the Eastern Conference. Their visitors are Las Vegas Lights, a club rebuilding after some lacklustre seasons but who haven't quite gotten to where they want to be yet, although the great work done on their Cashman Field stadium is proof that new owner Jose Bautista is in it for the long run. The first of three midnight games sees San Antonio FC visit The Miami FC, back at the cavernous gridiron stadium where their 1-2,000 fans make barely a rattle. It's yet another game that Miami have to get something out of, their 2024 season under new head coach Antonio Nocerino a damp squib so far, but they'll face a tough test from the 2022 USL-C champions. A vocal crowd is something I imagine will be no problem at the Michael A Carroll Stadium home of Indy Eleven, whose fans are sure to remind Mayor Hogsett who pays his wages. They welcome promoted side North Carolina FC for another midnight kick-off, the visitors probably wishing they'd picked a better week to visit a fired-up Indianapolis. The final witching hour game is Pittsburgh Riverhounds versus Detroit City, a clash of last season's Championship Shield winners against a side who have won all six league and cup games this season. Danny Dichio has got City playing with a belief that used to be a trademark of Bob Lilley's Riverhounds sides, although Pittsburgh's win in Phoenix last week might signify a corner turned.

There are also three games with a 0.30am start, the first of which sees Memphis 901 make the relatively short journey to Alabama to play a Birmingham Legion team that won in Miami last week. 901 have just one win in six games so far and it would be hard to see them returning from Birmingham with anything more than a point, especially now Stefano Pinho has found his scoring boots for the hosts after his winter move from Indianapolis. Louisville City started their season with four straight wins before a defeat in the nationally televised game against Charleston Battery, but got straight back into winning ways last weekend at Loudoun United. They're at home to another of the season's stronger starters in Hartford Athletic, although they lost at home to San Antonio last time out. Brendan Burke has reshaped the side from last year's bottom dwellers, though, and it should be a fine old game at the Lynn Family Stadium. The third 0.30am kick-off sees Tampa Bay Rowdies host New Mexico United, two sides who will comfortably make the play-offs but have yet to show championship winning form this season. In Cal Jennings and Greg Hurst, each side has a dangerous goal threat and much will rest on the respective defences at Al Lang Stadium in St Petersburg.

After gaining a point away at the Rowdies last week, El Paso Locomotive will be once again hoping they can break their poor run of form at home on Saturday when they welcome FC Tulsa to Southwest University Park at 2am. The visitors lost 4-1 at home to Charleston last week and haven't pulled up any trees so far this season, despite negotiating a tricky tie in the US Open Cup against lower league opposition in the shape of Northern Colorado Hailstorm. The final three games on Saturday are 3am kick-offs from California, with Sacramento Republic's inevitable home win over Loudoun United leading the way. The addition of Trevor Amann to an already considerable Republic side has made them almost irrestistable in front of goal this season and it will be a very tough test for United young defenders. Republic went clear at the top of the Western Conference last week when they won away at Orange County SC, the first chink in OC's armour this season. Still, Morten Karlsen has got his side playing wonderful soccer since he took over midway through last season and the visit of Frank Yallop's Monterey Bay FC - who have also lost just once this season - should be quite the contest. Finally, Oakland Roots welcome Colorado Springs Switchbacks to Hayward with the visitors having finally gained a point at the sixth time of asking last week at home to Indy Eleven. Oakland have a great crop of young players and, with Switchbacks' attacking threat and defensive frailty, this could be a game with goals in it.

Week three of the 2024 Canadian Premier League starts tonight in Toronto where pointless from two games York United host table toppers Vancouver FC. Vancouver lost in midweek in the Canadian Championship to ten-man Cavalry FC, missing out on a plum home and away tie against Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS, and so you'd expect them to be in unforgiving mood in this midnight (all times BST) kick-off. The first of Saturday's two games comes from Nova Scotia, where HFX Wanderers meet one of the league's glamour sides in Atletico Ottawa for a 6pm kick-off. Wanderers also have no points from their two games, while the visitors have a win and a draw to show for their efforts, and success for Halifax will surely rely on keeping Ollie Bassett quiet in midfield. That's followed at 9pm by Forge FC versus Valour FC, last season's champions (and with six points from six so far) against the 2023 basement side, who have lost both games this season. Forge always find a way to score goals, putting three past York United last week, and the shaky Valour defence surely can't hold them out for long. The weekend's final CPL game comes from Calgary, Alberta, where Cavalry FC play their second home game of the week against visitors from British Columbia, this time against Pacific FC. Having lost to Forge on the opening day, the home side picked up a draw in Ottawa last week, but Pacific already have six points in the bag having seen off Halifax and Valour already this season. Still, this is Pacific's first away trip of the season and Cavalry will be hoping that they don't travel well.