Chattanooga FC looks to remain unbeaten against Southeast Division rivals Huntsville City FC when it travels to Wicks Family Field on Saturday evening.
Chattanooga Football Club has taken five of a possible six points off Huntsville City FC in the club's inaugural season in MLS NEXT Pro.
Memorably, the two teams met on opening day on March 16th when CFC won the shootout for the extra point after a thrilling 2-2 draw at Finley Stadium.
In the second encounter of the 2024 season, on April 20th, CFC took all three points back to Chattanooga in what was the club's first-ever away victory in the league.
CFC has taken five points from its last two home matches Finley before this latest test in Huntsville, most recently winning a shootout against Toronto FC II. Huntsville City is coming off a draw and shootout loss at Crown Legacy FC.
Coach's Corner
Sporting Director and Head Coach Rod Underwood previewed the third and final meeting of the regular season with Huntsville.
"Their record does not indicate the talent that they have," said Underwood. "If you look at some of the data, it points to that, too. Things just haven't gone their way. It will be a tough match. There's not much we can take from those first two matches. It's been awhile since our last game against them. They've made a lot of adjustments. They have a new coach coming and this will be his first game, so you would imagine they will be energetic and excited. I'm sure he will probably have tried to put in a few wrinkles in that we won't know about. But we have an idea of what they've done in the past and how they want to try to play, so we're just trying to prepare the best that we can."
Know the Opponent
Huntsville City announced its new head coach at the beginning of the week. Former Inter Miami CF U-17 Coach Chris O'Neal was appointed as the second-ever head coach in the club's history and will be in the dugout for the first time for Rocket City on Saturday night.
Forster Ajago leads Huntsville in goals scored this season (6), while captain Jonathan Bolanos has recorded the most assists for the team (5). Bolanos also leads the team in shots on target (16), key passes (43) and minutes played (1,669).
Away Support
The match in Huntsville represents one of the best opportunities of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season for CFC fans to travel and support the team on the road all in one day. We can't wait to hear you at Wicks Family Field!
Official Watch Party
Can't make it to Huntsville on Saturday? Not to worry! The official watch party will be hosted by Cheers Collective member Shady's Corner.
Head-to-head, 2024 season (CFC/HNT)
Goals scored: 31/24
Goals from counter-attacks: 2/6
Goals conceded: 27/38
Shots conceded: 258/282
Shots on target: 99/96
Clear-cut chances: 18/18
Corner kicks: 72/94
Cross from open play: 105/161
Goals from outside penalty area: 4/2
Headed goals: 6/3
Penalty kicks: 3/3
Converted penalty kicks: 2/3
Shots off the goal frame: 6/6
Goals by substitutes: 5/8
Passes from open play: 9,250/6,836
Successful long passes from open play: 266/291
Match info
Venue: Wicks Family Field | Huntsville, Alabama
Kick-off: 8:00 p.m. ET, Saturday August 10
Broadcast: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Audio stream: CFC on Mixlr
Referees:
Johnathan Luk
Head Referee
Tiffini Turpin
Assistant Referee 1
Mateusz Dulski
Assistant Referee 2
Aleksandar Zhelyazkov
4th Official
