Gotham FC vs Angel City FC preview: The first of three away games in a row | OneFootball

Coming off their first win of 2025, NJ/NY Gotham FC will travel cross-country to face Angel City FC in the first leg of a three-game week that will see Gotham play on both sides of the country. The win last weekend against the North Carolina Courage saw Gotham vault up the table from twelfth to fifth, and another win against Angel City will see the Bats tie the Los Angeles side in the standings on eight points.

So far, Angel City has been the biggest surprise of the season. In addition to the two teams at the top of the table, the Orlando Pride and Kansas City Current, who have won all four of their games, Angel City is the only other team yet to lose in 2025. They have two wins and two draws on the season. The youth are leading the charge with 20-year-old Alyssa Thompson and 22-year-old Riley Tiernan, younger sister of former Gotham player Madison Tiernan, leading the team with five goals and two assists between them.

For Gotham, they were finally rewarded with goals for their strong performances so far this season. A common refrain from both players and head coach Juan Carlos Amorós after each of the first three games that saw them score just one goal in total was that the overall performances were good and that the goals would eventually come. Despite Amorós' pristine reputation, many fans would be forgiven for being skeptical given the team's struggles to score at times last season. But the floodgates opened on Sunday in what seems to be a preview of what the best version of this Gotham team could look like.

Meanwhile, leading up to the game, Gotham FC had to make a few short-term signings due to injuries to Ryan Campbell and Shelby Hogan: Michelle Betos and Tyler McCamey. So, here is a preview of Friday's match away to Angel City.

Gotham FC vs Angel City FC preview

Date

Gotham FC will visit Angel City FC on Friday, April 18.

Time

The game is scheduled to kick off at 10:30 PM ET.

How to watch

The match will be streamed on NWSL+ and seen on TV on the MSG Network in the New York City area.

Location

The game will be played at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

Weather

The temperature will be in the high 50s throughout the match in Los Angeles, with the chance of rain being at most 5%. Humidity will be around 65%, and winds will be at five mph or below throughout the 90 minutes.

Injury report

Ryan Campbell (shoulder), Sofia Cook (thigh), Tierna Davidson (SEI - knee), Shelby Hogan (D45 - thumb), Rose Lavelle (ankle), and Ella Stevens (back) are unavailable.

Players to watch

For Angel City, Thompson is currently on pace to be a potential MVP candidate if she can keep up this current form for the rest of the season. She currently has three goals and one assist in four games and looks to be on pace to not only blitz her total of five goals and seven assists from last year, but also potentially become the first player to score 10 goals and 10 assists in one season. That is why she is a player to watch, pending she plays since she is questionable.

For Gotham, fans should pay attention to Esther González, who is expected to continue her fine goal-scoring form. Coming off of scoring two goals in two games for Spain, and then a brace against North Carolina, Esther seems to be in one of those goal-scoring moods and could be the key to the Bats' success moving forward. Not only does her being in goal-scoring form mean goals directly from her, but it also opens things up for those around her as well.

Gotham FC will get their second win in a row, this time by a score of 2-1. Goals will come from Esther and rookie Sarah Schupansky, who will get her first NWSL goal a week after fellow rookie Lilly Reale got hers.