Seattle Reign is back home Friday night hosting Angel City FC at Lumen Field. The game begins at 7:00 p.m. PT and will air on Prime Video for fans in the U.S. and on NWSL+ for international viewers.

After two disappointing 1-0 losses to Houston and Bay FC, the Reign still have a fighting chance of making the playoffs – but they desperately need a few goals and a win tonight to advance.

Angel City now has a better record than the Reign, but is now one point below them in the league table. Earlier this week, the NWSL imposed a 3-point deduction on Angel City due to a salary cap violation. After this decision in the league, they will probably be particularly motivated to get a result away from home.

New Reign striker Ana-Maria Crnogorčević knows they will have another tough game against Angel City after playing them on the road just four weeks ago.

“That was a tough game. That was an exciting game. I think (this) duel will be about the same. We just played a few weeks ago. We know how to beat them. We know what we have to do. “I think it will be a similar game and we need points, they need points. Yes, it’s a big game for both teams.

The Reign will be without two key midfielders tonight with Jess Fishlock and Quinn unavailable due to injury.

Current results

Last Sunday, The Reign lost 1-0 to Bay FC. Angel City also lost 2-1 at home to the Washington Spirit.

Head to head

This will be the second meeting between the two teams in 2024.

• The Reign came from behind to beat Angel City 3-2 on the road in September.
• Seattle is 8-1-1 all-time against Angel City and 4-0-1 at home.

Quick statistics

• Angel City (6-12-4, 19 points) scored 26 goals and conceded 37.
• Seattle (5-12-5, 20 points) scored 23 goals and conceded 36 goals.
• The Reign are 3-4-4 at home this season. Angel City is 3-5-2.
• The Reign used a different lineup in all 22 regular season games.
• Claire Emslie scored seven goals for Angel City; Alyssa Thompson has five goals and six assists.

What you should see

Does Angel City play more directly?

When the Reign played Angel City on the road, the Reign dominated for about 70 minutes of that game. However, after Seattle took a 3-1 lead, Angel City became much more direct and pumped the balls into the penalty area. The Reign hunted and fought. In those final 20 minutes, Angel City scored and pushed hard for more.

While Angel City is a team that likes to have the ball and move it up together, Reign head coach Laura Harvey expects them to progress more quickly against the Reign.

“It felt like 20 minutes, they really started to come into their own and kind of lost their identity in terms of the game and pushed them faster than they normally would and put a lot more crosses into the box than “I think we have to be prepared for them to be a little more direct against us, a little less careful about their style of play and a little more ruthless to get the ball towards the goal a little quicker.”

The Reign have struggled to keep pace and handle the transition game this season. This is partly due to the rotation Harvey had to employ due to the delay in the sale, which limited the club’s off-season moves, some mid-season trades and overall performance. But she also said after the game against Angel City that she wanted her team to put more pressure on Angel City higher up the pitch to prevent long balls from getting forward. Can you do that tonight?

Stopping Alyssa Thompson

Thompson has five goals and one assist in her last six games. At the end of the season she found her form again: she got behind the defense and found opportunities to both shoot and get a pass to her teammate.

Sofia Huerta had a dominant defensive performance in the Reign’s last game against Angel City on the road, keeping Thompson from creating too much danger. As a result, Thompson moved to the right wing in the second half to track Shae Holmes. The Reign will be without Huerta, so who will step on the wing to slow Angel City moving forward?

Can The Reign succeed from set pieces?

The Reign desperately need to find an offensive rhythm after creating few chances and zero goals in three straight games. If they continue to struggle in open play, a set-piece goal would certainly be nice. Angel City is tied with Reign in goals conceded (8) from set pieces. The Reign have been getting the ball to the end line lately, averaging nearly 7 corners per game over the last three games, but they have failed to connect. Can that change tonight?

On the other hand, Angel City created their best chances from set pieces, direct free kick attempts and corners. Despite only scoring five goals this way, they lead the league in expected goals from set pieces and corners (7.27 xG, according to American Soccer Analysis). The Reign defense must stand firm when Angel City receives a set piece.

officer

Lineups

Highlights

33′ – MA Vignola gives Angel City the lead

Injury/Availability Report

Seattle Reign FC

Missing: Ryanne Brown (SEI – knee), Jess Fishlock (leg), Quinn (head), Olivia Van der Jagt (excused absence)

Angel City FC

Missing: Jun Endo (SEI – knee), Merritt Mathias (knee), Katie Johnson (excused absence), Ali Riley (SEI – thigh)

Here’s how to watch

Date/Time: Friday, October 4, 7:00 p.m. PT

Location: Lumen Field, Seattle

Streaming: Prime Video (US), NWSL+ (International)

Join the discussion

This is your Seattle Reign vs. Angel City preview and game thread. Join the discussion in the comments or on Discord if you’re a paying subscriber. Get real-time highlights from @RoValks on Twitter.