Match Preview: Charlotte FC vs Nashville SC

May 10, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS)
Charlotte FC News Release

Charlotte FC has begun a critical month of May ahead that features a distinct advantage: four of their six matches at home. The team triumphed in the first of those four Saturday home matches against the Portland Timbers last weekend.

With the matches coming thick and fast, Head Coach Dean Smith and his players will look at this Saturday’s match against Nashville as a double opportunity: revenge for an away loss earlier this season and the start of a new home unbeaten streak.

Match: Charlotte FC vs Nashville SC

When: Saturday, May 11

Where: Bank of America Stadium

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET

Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV – How to Watch & Listen

Listen: WFNZ 92.7 FM (English) & WOLS 106.1 FM (Spanish)

For all other radio station affiliates in the Carolinas, click here.

Know Before You Go: For information on tickets, stadium entry, and more, click here.

Previous Matches:

Charlotte FC 2 – 0 Portland Timbers (Major League Soccer | May 4)

Nashville SC 4 – 1 CF Montreal (Major League Soccer | May 4)

Eastern Conference Table: For the full live table, click here.

Columbus Crew – 15 points, 10 GP

Charlotte FC – 14 points, 11 GP

NYCFC – 14 points, 11 GP

Philadelphia Union – 14 points, 10 GP

D.C. United – 14 points, 11 GP

———- Playoff Line ———-

Atlanta United – 12 points, 10 GP

CF Montreal – 12 points, 10 GP

Nashville SC – 11 points, 10 GP

Defensive Foundations

Last time out against Portland, Charlotte FC secured their first shutout since a 2-0 home win over the Columbus Crew on March 23, with five matches in between shutouts (and bottles of wine for the defenders and keeper, as promised by Head Coach Dean Smith).

“It was pleasing to get one,” Smith said at Thursday’s press conference. “The players know how hard we have to work to keep clean sheets… But last week, I thought we restricted Portland to very few chances and got back to what we were about.”

We talked extensively throughout preseason and the early stages of the season about Smith molding this team with defense first. Shutouts and reduced chances are the evidence of that defensive solidity returning to this team during a critical month of May.

As that evidence returns, it’s a good time for a reminder that CLTFC still impressively sits in 4th place in the Eastern Conference in Expected Goals Against (xGA), according to FBref.

A big piece of that successful defensive identity is the team’s counter-pressing, in Smith’s eyes. He felt they had…