WEEK AHEAD PREVIEW
Saturday Sept 14 thru Friday Sept 20
Birmingham Legion
Saturday Sept 14 at Loudon United 6:00
Legion travels to Loudon with the chance to win the season series. This is a huge game in the standings for both teams. Loudon is just barely on the outside looking in for the playoff picture in a very crowded field. Birmingham is trying to stay up and work into position for a home playoff position. Loudon is a team that struggled in past seasons, but has made significant improvements this year. Legion will need to be on top of their game to get the three points, in what should be a close, low-scoring game.
Huntsville City
Sunday Sept 15 at Atlanta United 2 at 2:00
ATL2 is another lower division team in MLS NextPro, and a built-in rival for Huntsville. The previous three meetings between these teams have all been decided by one point, with Atlanta winning all three. They're closely matched teams overall, and this is a very winnable game for Huntsville. I look for the new coach to be the difference, and HV pulling out a win
UPSL
FC Birmingham Sun Sept 15 at UMA FC 4:00
UMA is coming off of a close loss vs Fountain City last week, and will be facing a FCB team that managed a 3-3 draw last week against N Georgia United. As an early read on the Fall, FCB has faced slightly better opponents than UMA, and both teams are sitting on one loss and one draw. Both teams are sitting on a -1 GD as well. This should be a close game, and UMA probably has a slight advantage as the home team.
FCB2
See below, at Columbus Knight Eagles
The Adjacency
Fountain City is on the road again to take on Dalton United Sat Sept 14 at 5:00. This looks like a tough outing, as Dalton has scored 7 goals in two games, and has only allowed 1. A win by Fountain on the road will definitely be an upset.
FC Columbus Elite will be on the road to open the Fall UPSL 1 campaign against North Georgia United II. With the shifting at this level in a club like NGU2, it's hard to predict an outcome. They're a more established club, with multiple competitive levels, at home, so I would tend to give them the advantage. What gives me pause is that Elite finished the Spring in the playoffs, knocking off a previously undefeated Fountain City. Should be an interesting match.
Image credit: UPSL 1
Columbus Knight Eagles will host the first Lower Alabama crossover game in their opener vs FC Birmingham 2. That game will be Sun Sept 15 at 3:00. FCB2 is effectively a new team this season, where the Knight Eagles have a couple of seasons under their belt in a local league. This should be another great test to level-set for both teams. I lean towards a Knight Eagle win at home.