
MATCH INFO:
Birmingham Legion FC vs. Louisville City FC
Saturday, April 2
6:30pm CT Kickoff
Protective Stadium – Birmingham, AL
Watch – My68 & ESPN+
Birmingham Legion FC lost at home by a score-line of 2-0 against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks in their last outing on March 26. With the teams practically even in possession, Colorado dominated the attack with 18 shots to Birmingham’s seven. The loss to the Switchbacks sees Birmingham last in the Eastern Conference standings at 14. Early struggles will see the Black and Gold look to bring energy to the club and restore confidence with the fans by beating Eastern Conference rivals and current conference leader Louisville City FC at Protective Stadium.
Legion’s first win in club history was against Louisville in 2019, a game with similar context in which the Three Sparks had a lackluster start to the year leading up to the contest. Since 2019, Legion FC has played against Lou City 11 times — more than any other club in the USL Championship. With Head Coach Tommy Soehn and Co. looking to turn things around, an intense rivalry match up will serve as a good test for what Birmingham is capable of this year.
The home side will need to improve their attack if they are to beat Louisville, relying on the likes of Prosper Kasim (1 goal, 1 assist), Marlon Santos (1 goal), and other key attacking pieces to capitalize on any chances created. At the back, Alex Crognale returns from his one game suspension and will bolster Legion’s backline against a versatile Louisville offensive.
Louisville City FC enters the match off a draw against local rival Indy Eleven. Despite having led the match in possession (60%), shots (14), shots on target (7), and passing accuracy (77%), Lou City was forced to come from a goal down after falling behind in the first half. Louisville will look to bounce back after their draw at home against 13th placed Indy by beating Birmingham on the road. The boys in purple lead the Eastern Conference standings with three wins, and will hope to extend their two point gap from second place in order to solidify their place up top early on. Head Coach Danny Cruz’s side has scored six goals in their last four matches, all by five different goal scorers. With depth up top, they will have a number of options to test the Birmingham backline.
Following its match against Louisville City FC, Birmingham travels to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Thursday, April 7, to take on NPSL club Southern States in the U.S. Open Cup at 7:00 pm. It will be the Legion’s first appearance in the tournament since its debut season in 2019. Tickets for the Open Cup tie will be available this week. After the club’s trip to Tuscaloosa, they will return home to Protective Stadium to host Hartford Athletic on Sunday, April 10, at 4:00 PM.