Gotham FC vs Kansas City Current preview: Do or die in Kansas City | OneFootball

For the third year in a row and the fourth time in five years, NJ/NY Gotham FC have made the playoffs. And for the second time in three years, they come in as the bottom seed, with this year's first opponent being the record-breaking Kansas City Current. It certainly will not be an easy task for the Bats to come into CPKC Stadium and win this game. Not only has Kansas City lost only once in 31 matches in all competitions since the stadium opened at the beginning of 2024, but Gotham has also not won in 11 previous meetings with the Current, with six of those matches resulting in losses.

Obviously, Gotham FC has had an up-and-down season. Mixed results to begin the year were followed by a fantastic middle that saw them climb as high as third in the table, before a poor run of results at the end saw them drop into the eighth and final playoff spot. Apart from last week's loss, and in particular, the first 30 minutes against the North Carolina Courage, the team's general play as of late has been very good, generating plenty of xG and doing pretty well defensively.

The results, though, haven't matched the process, and bucking that trend against the Current will be an incredibly tough task. Plus, Kansas City enters the playoffs as not just the heavy favorite in this game, but many view anything less than them hoisting the trophy on November 22 as a failure. In addition, the team has remained threatening, despite key players like Temwa Chawinga, Bia Zaneratto, Michelle Cooper, Debinha, and Hailie Mace missing time at different points throughout the season.

Many Gotham fans know that the last time the team went into the playoffs as the last seed, it culminated in winning the Championship back in 2023. The two big differences from that year to this are that there are two more teams than in 2023, and the general level of the top teams in this year's playoff field is higher than two years ago. Here is a preview of Sunday's playoff quarterfinal matchup.

Gotham FC vs Kansas City Current preview

Date

The game will be played on Sunday, November 9.

Time

The match is scheduled to begin at 12:30 PM EST.

How to watch

The fixture will be broadcast on ABC and streamed on ESPN+. For YouTube TV customers, here are some alternative services that provide ABC.

Location

The game will be played at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Weather

This will be one of, if not the coldest game that Gotham FC will have ever taken part in, with the temperature at kickoff being 33 degrees before just marginally rising to 35 as the game reaches its end. Winds will be close to 20 mph, with gusts reaching 30 mph. This will bring the wind chill down to the low 20s and potentially lower, thanks to the stadium's proximity to the Missouri River. It will be sunny with a 0% chance of precipitation throughout the course of the match.

Injury report

Gotham FC enters the playoffs a little healthier. Tierna Davidson (SEI – knee), Geyse (knee), Taryn Torres (SEI – knee) will be out for the quarterfinal match.

Players to watch

For Gotham, Emily Sonnett is someone to watch, and she will be crucial to keeping this potent Current attack as quiet as possible. While both Chawinga and Zaneratto enter the playoffs at potentially less than 100% if even available to start at all, KC still has plenty of attacking weapons that can put multiple goals past even the best defenses. Sonnett, as well as the entire backline, will need to be at their best to get past this Kansas City side.

Gotham fans should also watch the Current's Debinha. The Brazilian has been a major contributor to their NWSL Shield season. She has eight goals and one assist. Moreover, she is smart with the shots she takes, for over half are on target. The Bats must be smart when defending the veteran.

Prediction

While Gotham did in plenty of ways hold their own in their recent 2-0 loss to Kansas City a few weeks ago, they were still evidently second best. Even if they were to iron out some of the issues from that match as well as from last week against North Carolina, they might still come out second best in this one. Hence, the prediction is a 2-1 loss for the Bats. Goals will come from Chawinga and Debinha for Kansas City, while Midge Purce will score Gotham's only goal of the afternoon.

In order to beat Kansas City, the NJ/NY side will need to be inch-perfect in every aspect of the game, and that might just be too big of an ask. Between the injuries, being away from home, as well as certain players not quite being at their best, that unfortunately does not look like a possibility this weekend for Gotham FC.