Gotham FC vs Denver Summit FC preview: Part 2 of the three-day game week | OneFootball

NJ/NY Gotham FC will play the middle part of their first three-game week of the 2026 season against Denver Summit FC on Wednesday, welcoming the expansion side to New Jersey for the first time. Both teams are coming off draws over the weekend, with the Bats playing out a 0-0 result in their home opener against the North Carolina Courage while Denver drew 1-1 away to the Orlando Pride.

A lot of the demons from last year regarding the team's difficulty in scoring goals reared their ugly heads again on Saturday with Gotham not just failing to score but also registering just one big chance and one shot on goal. There were positives with Jordynn Dudley looking strong in her first start, while Esther González returned to the Starting XI after not starting last week. They have the attacking talent to score multiple goals a game, even when the likes of Midge Purce and Jaedyn Shaw are unavailable, as they were on Saturday. However, results need to start matching the talent, and it needs to happen soon.

Meanwhile, Denver will play their third consecutive road game to start their inaugural season. And while the results haven't been stellar so far, they have not looked too bad despite only playing two competitive games together. The backline looks solid, and forward Melissa Kössler has two goals in two games. They do, however, have a pretty big game on Saturday when they host the Washington Spirit in their home opener with an expected crowd of over 50,000 fans.

The opening two weeks of NWSL play have seen some crazy results, with both Washington and the Kansas City Current looking vulnerable, and unexpected table-topping teams in Angel City FC and the Houston Dash. This might be a result of the talent gap between teams being as small as it has been in a few years, which has made how teams matchup against each other have an even bigger impact on game results. This means that Denver, despite being an expansion team, might cause Gotham FC some problems, given their strong backline. Here is a preview of Wednesday's match.

Gotham FC vs Denver Summit preview

Date

The game will be played on Wednesday, March 25.

Time

The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM ET.

Location

The game will be played at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey.

How to watch

The fixture will be streamed on Victory+.

Weather

Temperatures will be in the high-40s throughout the 90 minutes with winds around 10 mph and gusts reaching as high as 18 mph. Humidity will hover around 45% with a less than 5% chance of rain. Sunset is set for 7:14 PM, which will be around the same time that the game will officially kick off.

Injury report

Bruninha (hamstring), Mandy Freeman (lower leg), Jaedyn Shaw (hamstring), and Taryn Torres (SEI- knee) are all unavailable for Wednesday's fixture.

Players to watch

One player for Gotham who could step up in a big way for them is Sarah Schupansky. With her having played 45 minutes in the season opener and then being fully rested on Saturday, expect the second-year player to not only start on Wednesday but also be potentially the most lively player on the field. She will be animated, given her general lack of playing time so far this season. While she had some ups and downs in her rookie year, her ups showcased her as being as good as just about any attacking midfielder in NWSL.

For Denver, the player to watch has to be Kössler. While new acquisitions and former Gotham players Yazmeen Ryan and Delanie Sheehan should make an immediate impact with the club, Kössler so far has both of the club's goals and should further solidify herself as the team's main attacking outlet moving forward.

With Denver on the road and potentially having one eye on their home opener on Saturday, the NJ/NY side should have a relatively straightforward pathway to a victory. A 2-0 win is the prediction with goals coming from Schupansky and González. Despite Denver's strong backline on paper and so far in games as well, Gotham FC should have the upper hand, all things considered.