WEEK AHEAD PREVIEW
Week of Sat 7/27 - Fri 8/2 all times Central
Birmingham Legion
Saturday July 27 vs Orange County SC 6:30
Orange County makes the trip to Bham for this year's only meeting between the two clubs. The teams have very similar records and goal differential on the season, with Birmingham maybe being in slightly better form recently, while OC was slightly better early in the season. Legion will be hoping to see Tyler Pasher back in the lineup after missing a few games with an injury. He was shown at practice, but it's unclear if he's ready. Like all Western teams, OC will have to contend with the summer heat and humidity, even if there's rain earlier in the day. Weather will be a factor for what should be a close game.
Huntsville City FC
Saturday July 27 vs Atlanta United 2 7:00
Atlanta won the first meeting between these two teams 3-2. These are the bottom two teams in the Eastern Conference for NextPro, and they both give up a lot of goals. There are also no obvious advantages in home or away records. This should be a very close game between two evenly matched teams.
GCPL Championship
Alabama FC South
Saturday July 27 vs Gaffa FC 7:15
The Storm have had a tremendous first season, and will be hosting Gaffa FC. Gaffa have been in the GCPL since 2017, and have won the league championship twice, most recently in 2022. Gaffa had a very inconsistent regular season with 4W, 4L, and 2D, and then promptly upset Sowegans in the first round on the road. All of the GCPL playoff games have been close, and Gaffa and ALFCS both went into overtime to get wins in the semi-finals. If you're looking for an edge, the Storm have won all six home games this year. So, look for another tight game, and for ALFCS to get the win.
The Adjacency
Image credit: NPSL Twitter
Columbus United has made it to the national semi-finals in their inaugural NPSL season. Additionally, their win over West Texas means that they've officially qualified for the 2025 Open Cup. They have climbed out of the NPSL bracket, where they started the playoffs as the 45th ranked team in the league. They'll be on the road to New Jersey to take on FC Motown, who started the playoffs ranked 2nd in the league. The team from Morristown is undefeated on the season and has a +9 goal differential in the playoffs. They score a lot of goals, and will be a hugr test for Columbus Saturday July 27 at 6:00.