Utah Royals FC vs. Angel City FC: NWSL TV channel, live stream, lineups, preview

Ahead of a daunting three-match road trip, Utah Royals FC has the opportunity, in front of its fans, to put an end to this poor run of form against an expansion side from 2022, Angel City FC. Since that surprise victory against North Carolina Courage in late March, the outfit from the Beehive State has been outscored eight to three with its most recent result being a scoreless draw against Houston Dash.

It was a contest that saw newcomer Amandine Henry make quite an imprint, helping URFC control the middle third quite a bit more than we've seen consistently so far this season. She just looked like she fit right in. Her exquisite display of distributing the ball all over the pitch could be one of the keys to assist Utah in getting out of the league's bottom-two.

Offensively though, nothing has seemed to click for Utah. Ally Sentnor is something special on the left flank, but other than that, we haven't seen many standouts in the Royals' frontline. You're not going to win many games when your starting number nine has failed to find the back of the net from a near three xG. The club will be without first-choice center back Kaleigh Riehl for the third straight week due to a calf injury which means the ex-Florida State University defender Lauren Flynn is likely to make the start.

Becki Tweed's Angel City, winners of two of their last three encounter the outfit from Salt Lake City for the first time in club history. If you just glanced at the scoreline from the fixture at BMO Stadium last weekend, you'd assume it was just another run-of-mill KC Current triumph led by a dynamic attack. That just wasn't the case at all. Sitting in a back-three for the first time this season, KC was completely stymied in the first 45 minutes. You can only hold Vlatko Andonovski's crew for so long.

Rocky Rodríguez had her best game to date in an ACFC shirt since being dealt from Portland while Claire Emslie continued to do Claire Emslie-type things going forward. The Scot's first-half goal last week was her fourth of the 2024 season, and her third in the last two games. She needs just three more goal contributions to tie her total from the entire previous campaign.

Can ACFC build off othat that promising first half at home vs. the league leaders? Or will we finally see things come together for the expansion outfit? We'll just have to wait until tonight.

Predicted starting XIs for both outfits

Utah Royals FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Amanda Haught
Defenders: Lauren Flynn, Kate Del Fava, Madison Pogarch, Olivia Griffitts
Midfielders: Amandine Henry, Mikayla Cluff, Frankie Tagliaferri
Forwards: Hannah Betfort, Paige Monaghan (C), Ally Sentnor

Angel City FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: DiDi Haracic
Defenders: Sarah Gorden (C), Megan Reid, Madison Curry, Gisele Thompson
Midfielders: Madison Hammond, Raquel Rodríguez, Kennedy Fuller
Forwards: Claire Emslie, Alyssa Thompson, Sydney Leroux

Availability Report

Utah Royals FC:
Out: Carly Nelson (excused absence), Imani Dorsey (SEI - Achilles), Kaleigh Riehl (calf), Ifeoma Onumonu (ankle)
Questionable: Agnes Nyberg (hip)

Angel City FC:
Out: Meggie Dougherty Howard (lower leg), M.A. Vignola (knee), Jun Endo (SEI - knee), Christen Press (SEI - knee)
International: Casey Phair (South Korea)

How to watch Utah Royals FC vs. Angel City FC in the NWSL regular season

• Date: Friday, May 3
• Start Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
• Location: America First Field (Sandy, Utah)
• TV info/Live Stream: NWSL+

Prediction: Utah Royals FC 1-4 Angel City FC