Gotham FC vs Orlando Pride preview: The Champs come to New Jersey for the home opener | OneFootball

Following their season-opening 1-1 draw away to Seattle Reign FC last Saturday night, NJ/NY Gotham FC will welcome the defending Shield and Championship Double winners Orlando Pride in the New Jersey side's 2025 home opener. This is also the first game for Gotham in the newly renamed Sports Illustrated Stadium. The stadium was previously called Red Bull Arena since its inception in 2010 before being renamed in December 2024.

For Orlando, the defending double winners continue to go from strength to strength. While they did fall to the Washington Spirit on penalties in the Challenge Cup, they won their regular season opener 6-0 over Chicago Stars FC. They now travel to the site of their most recent NWSL regular season loss at the hands of Gotham FC. This was one of only two losses The Pride suffered in the entirety of the 2024 regular season and the only one where they fielded close to a full-strength Starting XI. That was the last stumbling block for Orlando in their record-breaking 2024 season.

For Gotham, it's pretty clear they are going through a bit of a reset to begin this campaign. While still a very good team, there are some growing pains with many new players on the roster including plenty of young players. Two of the new signings were the standout performers last week in Seattle with Gabi Portilho scoring the team's one and only goal and rookie Sarah Schupansky earning Player of the Match honors where she created the most chances and was the most fouled player in the game.

The Bats likely head into this match as slight underdogs despite being at home. They will also be without defender Mandy Freeman who misses this match after receiving a red card against Seattle. Head Coach Juan Carlos Amorós confirmed in his pregame media availability on Friday that during the week the team elected not to appeal her red card suspension. Here is a preview of this weekend's home opener for Gotham FC.

Gotham FC vs Orlando Pride preview

Date

Gotham FC will host the Orlando Pride on Sunday, March 23.

Time

The game is scheduled to kickoff at 5:00 PM ET.

How to watch

The match will be broadcast on ESPN 2 and streamed on ESPN+.

Location

The match will be played at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey.

Weather

It looks to be a typically cool March day with a forecasted temperature of 48 degrees at kickoff and 5-10 mph winds throughout the fixture. The temperature should be consistent throughout with only a one-degree drop by the end of the match. There is also a 0% chance of rain.

Injury report

Sofia Cook (thigh), Freeman (red card suspension), Rose Lavelle (ankle), Midge Purce (knee), and Jéssica Silva (eye) are all out for the home opener.

Players to watch

For Gotham, defense will be the name of the game as they try to slow this incredible Orlando attack. The expected center-back partnership of Emily Sonnett and Tierna Davidson will need to be on their A-game to keep the likes of Barbra Banda, Marta, and Ally Watt off of the scoresheet.

For Orlando, the aforementioned Banda will again be the main key to their offensive success. She finished second in last season's Golden Boot race with 17 goals. This is particularly impressive considering she only scored once in the 10 games after the Olympic break. She started this season quickly as well with two goals and an assist in week 1 against Chicago.

This should be a very close, hard-fought match between two teams who should find themselves right near the top of the standings at the end of the season. A 1-1 result sounds fair and reasonable given the context of this game and where the two teams are. Expect goals from Banda for Orlando and for Esther González to open her 2025 account for Gotham FC.