Gotham FC vs Orlando Pride preview: Another trip to the semifinals | OneFootball

After pulling off what many thought to be impossible last week against the Kansas City Current, NJ/NY Gotham FC will make their third successive trip to the NWSL semifinals. This time, they take a trip down to the Sunshine State to take on the Orlando Pride. These two have had an even split of their recent matchups, each taking two apiece in their last four meetings. This season, Gotham FC opened their home slate of games with a 2-0 loss before flipping the script in Orlando and getting a 2-0 win of their own.

While the overriding public opinion is that the Bats were not expected to be here, internally, the feelings are different. This was made evident by Jaedyn Shaw's "underdog my ass" comment immediately following last week's win. Still, the team for pretty much the entirety of the season has exuded a quiet confidence even during rocky patches. Last week's win over the Current will only help build that level of confidence heading into their semifinal matchup with the Pride.

For Orlando, despite looking like a team that could miss the playoffs after losing leading goal-scorer Barbra Banda to injury, the Pride found their form once again at the end of the season. After a rough midseason patch that saw them go nine straight without a win, they ended the season going five straight without a loss.

Both of these teams enter the match full of confidence and belief that a Championship game appearance is theirs for the taking. Despite the large disparity in seeding between these two teams, Orlando at 4 and Gotham at 8, these two ended the regular season separated by just four points. This, combined with the even split in recent matchups between the two sides, should mean that a closely fought semifinal is on the cards. Here is a preview of Sunday's playoff game.

Gotham FC vs Orlando Pride preview

Date

The game will be played on Sunday, November 16.

Time

The match is scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM EST.

How to watch

The fixture will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN Deportes, and streamed on ESPN+.

Location

The game will be played at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

Weather

The weather forecast is a complete 180 from what happened last week. In stark contrast to the freezing temperatures in Kansas City, the temperature at kickoff is forecast to be 77 degrees before falling to 74 by the end of the match. Winds will be around 10+ mph with gusts reaching 20 mph. Humidity will hover around 50% with a 0% chance of rain. Sunset is expected to occur at around 5:30 PM, so unless the game also goes to extra time, expect it to finish prior to darkness falls.

Injury report

Tierna Davidson (SEI – knee), Geyse (knee), and Taryn Torres (SEI – knee) remain out for the Bats. In addition, Esther González (hip) continues to be questionable.

Players to watch

Gotham FC fans should watch Jaelin Howell, who played a huge role in last week's win over Kansas City. She has been a huge cog in the Gotham machine all season. After battling a few injuries over recent seasons, Howell has already had her healthiest season, playing 29 games and not once appearing on the injured list. In addition to her lack of time on the treatment table, she has re-established herself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the league. She is also becoming a goal threat, scoring four times this season alone after scoring just once in the last three seasons combined.

For Orlando, with Banda out due to injury, midseason signing Jacquie Ovalle is one to watch. She has been key to the Pride's late-season jump in form. While the goal contributions may not be on the level of Banda, she has consistently been one of this team's best players despite being held off the scoresheet. She's mainly done this by being the primary creator for Orlando, which has seen an uptick in offense since Ovalle joined the team.

Now that Gotham has gotten past arguably the largest hurdle in this year's playoffs, things are now pretty wide open when it comes to what's possible moving forward. These two teams ended the season pretty close on points, which means that a blowout one way or another is pretty unlikely. A 1-0 win for Gotham FC is the prediction, with the only goal coming from last week's most dangerous attacker, Shaw.