USL Championship & CPL previews, May 17-20

There are just nine matches in the USL Championship this weekend, beginning with a pair of matches on Friday night from out West, both 2am kick-offs (all times BSt and all USL matches shown for free on the USL YouTube channel). El Paso Locomotive return home for the first time in three weeks having enjoyed a win on the road at Loudoun United last week. They face a Memphis 901 side who grabbed a 2-2 draw at Monterey Bay last week and who have double the Locos points tally so far this season. The other Friday match comes from Weidner Field, home of Colorado Springs Switchbacks, were 2024 expansion club Rhode Island FC will visit for the first time. Switchbacks started the season in terrible form, losing their first five matches, but have rallied of late, winning their last two in the league. The visitors will have been counting on the firepower of Albert Dikwa, a factor that hasn't yet come into play, but it's surely only a matter of time before he clicks with former Pittsburgh teammate Marc Ybarra and the goals flow.

Saturday's fixtures begin with a clutch of midnight kick-offs, the most interesting of which probably sees Pittsburgh Riverhounds host North Carolina FC at Highmark Stadium, which this week was announced to have secured permission for substantial improvements. Riverhounds were clearly the best side in the regular season last year but have been all over the place this season and, after a win over Loudoun in midweek, the visitors will sense a chance of an away win. Indy Eleven are on a good run that has lifted them up to fourth in the Eastern Conference, although they're still some way off the top three there. They welcome Hartford Athletic to Michael A Carroll Stadium on Saturday, probably confident of extending a run that has seen them win their last four league matches. Athletic, on the other hand, have stumbled after a promising start and have lost four in a row. Still, soccer's a funny old game and you can never quite predict how things will turn out. The final midnight start comes from Leesburg, Virginia, where Loudoun United host Monterey Bay FC at Segra Field. The youngsters of Loudoun are capable of some really good soccer at times but they're missing a talismanic figure to guide them from the centre of the park. That's not saying the visitors have one, either, although Tristan Trager is in good goalscoring form this season.

At half-past-midnight, Tampa Bay Rowdies and FC Tulsa meet at Al Lang Stadium in St Petersburg, Florida, with both sides scoring plenty of goals this season in both league and cup. Rowdies followed a 6-4 extra-time US Open Cup win over Birmingham Legion with a 1-0 home defeat to the same opposition last week, while Tulsa managed to avoid that trap and earn a draw at home to Pittsburgh after winning away there in the cup. Over on the West Coast, Oakland Roots continue their tenure under interim head coach Gavin Glinton with a California derby match against Orange County at 3am. Roots lost 2-1 in Albuquerque last week and look in need of a steady hand on the tiller but have picked a good time to face OC, who come to Hayward on the back of three defeats in their last four.

The weekend's final fixtures are 3.30am kick-offs from Arizona and Nevada, both cases of successful, established clubs taking on teams very much in transition. 2023 champions Phoenix Rising grabbed a 1-1 draw in the televised match at Detroit City last week but are yet to show their championship credentials since losing star player Danny Trejo and head coach Juan Guerra over the winter. They face The Miami FC, whose rebuilding job is not going exactly to plan, having completely shifted the 2023 squad in favour of one built by new head coach Antonio Nocerino. They sit bottom of the Eastern Conference with just two wins from ten matches and it's hard to see them adding to that tally here. Las Vegas Lights at least seem to be heading in the right direction off the field, even if results on it haven't been amazing so far. They did manage a 1-1 draw in San Antonio last week, though, and that will give them confidence ahead of the visit of Louisville City on Saturday, even if that confidence might soon disappear under a formidable City attack that has scored 26 goals in just eight games.

Week six in the Canadian Premier League begins on Friday night on Vancouver Island, where Pacific FC meet Atletico Ottawa in a 3am kick-off. The teams lie joint top of the CPL table with three wins and two draws each and while it's early to talk about title deciders, tonight's result will certainly go a long way towards play-off ramifications come the end of the season. The first of Saturday's two games sees third-place Forge FC welcome Vancouver FC to Tim Horton's Field in Hamilton for a 9pm kick-off that, should you find a place that's showing the game, will be a decent test of Forge's credentials. The league's newest side, Vancouver have struggled away from home so far but coach Afshin Ghotbi has built a handy little side in Langley. Following that at midnight from ATCO Field in Calgary is Cavalry FC versus York United, two dies that are usually there or thereabouts come the end of the season without pulling up too many trees along the way. With just one so far this season, the Cavs are the league's draw specialists, which would suit the visitors down to the ground and possibly enable a move into fourth. The weekend's final game is a Monday afternoon affair, an 8pm kick-off from Halifax, Nova Scotia, between HFX Wanderers and Valour FC. Neither side has a win yet this season, with Valour registering five straight defeats. The game is a 3pm start local time and comes on Victoria Day, a holiday that is apparently not observed on the island. Can anyone tell me what's going on there?