Racing Louisville vs. Utah Royals live stream, schedule, preview: Watch NWSL online

Off the back of consecutive one-goal defeats, Utah Royals FC set their sights on rebounding in the Southeast United States, meeting unbeaten Racing Louisville FC on Saturday evening. Three of Racing's former players including the Royals' new captain Paige Monaghan return to the city just in time for the nation's largest annual fireworks event, "Thunder over Louisville."

The match is set to kick off at 5 p.m. EST, but the gates of Lynn Family Stadium will open at 11 a.m. EST for an all-day experience at the ground. More information on the day in Louisville can be found here.

Bev Yanez's team became the first side in NWSL history to open the season with four straight draws. Even without a win, it is still an improved first four weeks compared to 2023. If Racing manages to protect home soil, they'll move to seven points, tying their second-best start to a regular season in the club's short history.

The focus for Racing is about piecing together a complete 90 minutes of football. We've seen it in bunches. Now, it's time against a quite vulnerable defense to show what they are capable of from the opening whistle on. In the meeting last week with San Diego, the story was the second half. Anchored by two physical tone setters in the defensive double pivot in Taylor Flint and Jaelin Howell, Louisville played with much more purpose in the final third. Flint had a header chalked off for a rightly called offside on Kayla Fischer for obstructing Kailen Sheridan's ability to come up with a save.

From the Utah side, we all still have a lot of questions. We know Ally Sentnor is going to be something special with her bravery in attack, but other than that, the Royals haven't made many heads turn at the beginning of their second stint as a club. The true identity of this club is something we still don't know yet. Firstly, the defense needs to improve in order for Utah to even begin to find answers. Mandy Haught is not always going to be there to bail the team out with a penalty save.

We're here to talk about some positives though. Kate Del Fava, the former KC Current full-back has transitioned to the center of defense rather seamlessly. Her distribution has been off the charts good. She is currently one of just two players in the entire league with at least a 90 percent accuracy on over 200 passing attempts. The other: NC Courage's Malia Berkely.

Amy Rodriguez did dip into the transfer market this week, adding New Zealand midfielder Macey Leigh Fraser from Wellington Phoenix FC of the Australian A-League. The attacking-minded midfielder will likely be deployed behind Hannah Betfort in the 10, or out wide to the right, opposite Sentnor.

Fraser had the second most goal contributions on Paul Temple's team with eight in the 2023/24 campaign, behind only ex-Washington Spirit player Mariana Speckmaier. Due to her pending visa, she has yet to arrive in Sandy.

How to watch Racing Louisville vs. Utah Royals in the NWSL regular season

• Date: Saturday, April 20
• Start Time: 5:00 p.m. ET
• Location: Lynn Family Stadium (Louisville, Kentucky)
• TV info/Live Stream: NWSL+

Prediction: Racing Louisville 3-1 Utah Royals