The top two teams in NWSL clash in a Friday night showdown as the Portland Thorns host the Washington Spirit at Providence Park.
Both teams are coming off of 3-2 victories with Portland winning on the road at Chicago while Washington rallied from a two-goal deficit at Kansas City.
The Spirit are top of the table with 23 points with the Thorns in second, a single point behind but Portland is undefeated in 12 all-time matches against Washington at home.
That record is the most home games without a loss in a single fixture in NWSL history.
Team news
Janine Beckie is out with a season-ending knee injury. Rocky Rodriguez (knee) and Becky Sauerbrun (heel) remain sidelined with Sauberbrun unable to participate in the upcoming World Cup.
Anna Heilferty (knee) and Tori Huster (lower leg) are out for the season while Bayley Feist has a lower leg issue that will keep her sidelined.
Predicted lineups
Portland Thorns: Bixby; Klingenberg, Menges, Hubly, Kuikka; Sinclair, Coffey, Dunn; Weaver, Smith, Sugita
Washington Spirit: Bledsoe; Carle, Staab, McKeown, Bailey; Metayer, Sullivan, Jaurena; Sanchez; Hatch, Rodman
Ones to watch
Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns)
Named to the United States' World Cup squad on Wednesday, the forward has scored in three consecutive matches, the third different streak of that length since the start of last season.
The reigning NWSL MVP leads the league with 12 goal-scoring contributions (7 goals, 5 assists).
With no other NWSL player having more than one such streak in that time, Smith might be the most dangerous scorer in the league at the present time.
Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit)
Just behind Smith in goal contributions is Hatch, who has six goals and two assists and combined with Maria Sanchez, they form one of the most lethal duos in the NWSL.
Previous meetings
In this fixture last season, the two sides drew 1-1 as Smith opened the scoring in the 57th minute before Hatch levelled six minutes later.
Washington outpossessed Portland 53-47% and had more shots on target (7-3).
How to watch
The match will be streamed nationally on Paramount + as well as www.nwslsoccer.com
Kickoff is set for 10:30pm Eastern time.