Preview: San Diego Wave (a).
When? Saturday August 13, 730 p.m. PT, 10.30 p.m. ET and 03:30 BST.
Where? Torero Stadium, San Diego, CA.
How can I catch the action? The game is being broadcast on Paramount+ for residents of the United States and on Twitch for international supporters.
The Orlando Pride head to southern California full of confidence, even though they face a trip to one of the most daunting venues in the NWSL. Casey Stoney's Wave are flying right now, with a resurgent Alex Morgan leading the line. The second placed Wave might have lost their last game, but this will still be a huge test for Seb Hines and his team.
Alex Morgan has been absolutely on fire so far this season, scoring 11 goals across 12 appearances so far, adding 1 further assist. They seem to have gotten the talismanic USWNT striker back to her best. Morgan, for what it's worth, will be keen to get one over her former employers in this match.
San Diego's style
The Wave are a typical Casey Stoney side, in that they are very well organised defensively, so will be difficult for the Pride to breakdown. So far this season they've only conceded 0.9 goals per game (league leading) and have kept 6 clean sheets (league leading - figure 1). They're compact and don't allow a lot of space in the middle of the park.
Figure 1 shows some of San Diego's defensive statistics on the season so far.
Figure 2 shows some of San Diego's attacking statistics on the season so far.
As for their attacking outputs, they have proven they are clinical in front of goal. They don't create a ridiculous amount of chances, but they take them when they do (figure 2). This is a team that's success is built on a rock solid defence, which gives their plethora of gifted attacking players a platform to perform off of.
Team news
Jodie Taylor has really come on in her recovery, and should be available for the game according to Stoney. Other than that, San Diego have no injury worries to speak of. Abby Dahlkemper is suspended.
As for Orlando, Marta and Parker Roberts continue to be out, whilst Carrie Lawrence a s Abi Kim are under concussion protocols. Megan Montefusco is suspended.
This section will be updated as new information becomes available.
Possible starting XI
Jodie Taylor looks to have won her race to be fit for this game, but that being said I think they'll go for an unchanged line-up:
Top player
Alex Morgan
Morgan has been back to her best form so far this season, scoring 11 goals in 12 appearances, across 985 minutes. She has been absolutely clinical so far this season, with 60% of her efforts on goal being on frame.
Morgan seems to have found a new lease of life in southern California, which is a dangerous sign for the Pride.
Form
San Diego have won 3 of their last 6 games. Their form has faltered ever so slightly, but that was always going to happen after such a prolific start. They are 7-4-4 and currently sit second in the standings.
Orlando, are unbeaten in their last 5 but have 4 draws in that time. The Pride currently sit 8th on a 3-6-5 record, 6 points below the line.
*All statistics courtesy of fotmob.com.
Top player image courtesy of Ashley Instile.
Cover image courtesy of Orlando Pride.
Line-up graphic courtesy of chosen11.com.
Media availability footage courtesy of Orlando Pride.
