Washington Spirit vs. Gotham FC live stream, schedule, preview: Watch NWSL online

There's a reason why this one is on the big CBS. If we had to pick the matchup of the week, it'd be this one. With traffic, the homes of these two sides are less than four hours away by car. Adrián González's Washington Spirit, a club which is unbeaten across its last three fixtures meet the defending champions, NJ/NY Gotham FC at Audi Field.

Since the New Jersey-based outfit pivoted its branding in April 2021, the two sides have clashed on 11 occasions. Gotham won four. Washington took care of business in three of those games. Last year, across all competitions, the East Coast foes met four times, with Juan Carlos Amorós' team taking two of them at Red Bull Arena. In the most recent fixture in the nation's capital, Washington overcame a two-goal deficit inside the first 10 minutes to down its rival 4-2 in the group stage of the Challenge Cup. The loss would turn out to be detrimental for Gotham in its hopes of making the tournament's knockout stages.

The youth for the Spirit is thriving early on. Many thought there would be much more of an adjustment period given some of the roster turnover and the introduction of a new leader. That has not been the case. Washington has a legit MVP candidate and two bonafide Rookie of the Year contenders on its roster. Hal Hershfelt has shown she holds all the tools to be quite the impactful midfielder in this league for years to come. In addition to her two goals, Hershfelt is one of three Spirit players with at least 170 passes completed. 17 of which have been into the final third, the most on Washington.

Don't get us started on Croix Bethune. We at FanSided have been singing her praises since that week one loss in Seattle when the attack looked out of sorts. There are only three players in the entire league that have amassed more shot-creating actions than the former USC standout.

All things considered off the pitch, Gotham has managed to have a pretty solid start to its title defense. The club will of course be without 2023 NWSL Championship MVP Midge Purce for the rest of the campaign, but last week saw the return of another rockstar forward. Lynn Williams, who had been sidelined for quite some time due to a thigh injury came off the bench to play 32 minutes in the club's home opener. We're still patiently waiting for Rose Lavelle's Gotham debut.

Through three games, Gotham has only found the back of the net via the link-up play of Esther González and Yazmeen Ryan. If you include the Championship in November, the Spaniard has scored in three of her last four outings with Gotham.

Ahead of the weekend, the New Jersey/New York outfit acquired more depth to its goalkeeping department, bringing in Women's Super League veteran Ann-Katrin Berger from Chelsea Women. "The German Wall", as I call her had a storied career in West London, helping to lift four WSL titles and three FA Cups. Berger moving stateside could signal the concern the club has about Abby Smith's potential return down the road. Jenna Tonelli of The Equalizer confirmed that the Chelsea legend is traveling with the team this weekend to "The District" and will be on the roster.

With a win, Washington would move up to 12 points, just one point short of the club's best start to an NWSL regular season. Gotham, on the other hand, is unbeaten in seven out of its last eight league contests on home soil.

How to watch Washington Spirit vs. Gotham FC in the NWSL regular season

• Date: Saturday, April 20
• Start Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
• Location: Audi Field (Washington, D.C.)
• TV info/Live Stream: CBS, and Paramount+

Prediction: Washington Spirit 1-2 NJ/NY Gotham FC