USL Jägermeister Cup, NISA & MLS Next Pro previews, May 10-12

For the first time this season, all USL League One clubs are in action on the same weekend as round two of the USL Jägermeister Cup takes place on Saturday. First up is the visit of Forward Madison to Charlotte Independence at 6pm (all times BST and all USL games available to watch live on the USL YouTube channel), a clash of two genuine title contenders in this year's USL-1 competition. Independence were eliminated by Atlanta United in the US Open Cup in midweek, only their second defeat of the season, and they won their first Jägermeister Cup tie with South georgia Tormenta, albeit with only a two-point haul from a shootout victory. Madison beat table-toppers Greenville Triumph last week in a five-goal thriller and will not fear the trip to North Carolina for this cross-conference game. Three matches follow at midnight, with an eye-catching East Group tie between Greenville Triumph and 2022 USL-1 champions South Georgia Tormenta. Triumph have started in fatnastic form this season and lead the USL league table, but lost their Jägermeister Cup opener on spot-kicks to Richmond Kickers two weeks ago. Tormenta's Open Cup run came to an end in Charleston in midweek, no disgrace to lose to the Battery in the form they're in, and have looked by turns competitive and uninterested this season. Which version turns up at Paladin Stadium on Saturday is anyone's guess.

Lexington SC - still playing a town over in Georgetown, Kentucky - have just one league win on the season so far, a 1-0 win over Chattanooga Red Wolves, but won their Jägermeister Cup opener over Forward Madison two weeks ago, a rare defeat for the Wisconsin outfit. They host Central Valley Fuego on Saturday, a team who also have just the one win so far. It's early days for new head coach Jermaine Jones, who is in his first job at this level, but they're missing the kind of influence he himself used to provide in his playing days. Can he find a new him? The final midnight kick-off comes from Tennessee, where One Knoxville hope that the inclement weather that postponed their midweek game with Forward Madison has long passed and that they can add to their four wins at this level this season. Northern Colorado Hailstorm are the visitors on Saturday and they find themselves bottom of the USL-1 table with just two draws from four games so far. More encouragingly, they also drew their Jägermeister Cup opener at Union Omaha, probably this season's best side, although they did lose the shootout. 

A hundred miles southwest, and half an hour later, Chattanooga Red Wolves welcome Richmond Kickers to CHI memorial Stadium with both sides kicking around the lower reaches of the table yet capable of winning games against the best on their day. Red Wolves lost at home to Knoxville in round one of Jägermeister Cup games, while Kickers managed to win the shootout away at Greenville in a game they were unlucky not to win in ninety minutes. These cup games should at least give both coaches room to experiment and find exactly what's missing so far. The final game is a 2am kick-off from eastern Washington state as Union Omaha make their first ever visit to One Spokane Stadium, home of expansion side Spokane Velocity. Omaha's extra-time defeat to MLS side Sporting Kansas City in midweek was their first of a season which has seen them play with confidence and swagger so far, but Velocity have shown that they need fear no-one in their debut season, having already secured wins over Richmond and Northern Colorado, as well as breezing through the opening rounds of the Open Cup before falling to Las Vegas Lights.

Week six in the NISA league brings three games, with the first up matching Georgia FC with the mighty Michigan Stars at Silverbacks Park in Atlanta at 7pm on Saturday. After a turmultuous winter, Georgia have settled down somewhat, although they did lose at home to the veterans of Club de Lyon last week, but they face a Stars side that have won four out of four so far, even if they did exit the US Open Cup to Detroit City in disappointing  fashion. That's followed on Sunday at midnight by Club de Lyon versus Maryland Bobcats from Showalter Field in Winter Park, Florida, and you'd expect Bobcats to have the measure of their hosts, despite a 2-0 loss at Michigan Stars last week. The final game is a 1.05am kick-off from Surprise, Arizona, where Arizona Monsoon play Western Conference leaders Los Angeles Force at Willow Canyon Stadium. Expansion club Monsoon have just a point from their three games so far, and just one goal while conceding nine, four of them to Force in the reverse fixture a month ago. With a side made up mostly of local youngsters, it would be a shock to see anything but an away win in Surprise.

Only one of the two independent clubs in the MLS Next Pro league is in action this weekend, with Chattanooga FC travelling to Inter Miami II tonight. The Boys in Blue sit top of the Eastern Conference having lost just once in regular time this season and will be confident of a result against a Miami side that lost at home to New York Red Bulls II last week. Elsewhere, there's a Cascadia Cup clash between Portland Timbers 2 and Tacoma Defiance tonight, while The Town FC host North Texas SC in a match of two reserve sides masquerading as unique clubs on Sunday.