If familiarity breeds contempt, Saturday’s game at Lynn Family Stadium should be plenty contemptuous.
Louisville City FC welcomes Detroit City FC to Butchertown for an 8 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.
It will already be the third meeting of the season between the two sides, with one more remaining on the schedule — the regular season finale on Oct. 24.
The two previous matchups have gone either way: Detroit topped LouCity in a league game on May 2, 2-1, while LouCity won a 4-3 penalty shootout to earn an extra point following a 0-0 draw in the Prinx Tires USL Cup group stage on June 20.
Both of those games were on Detroit’s turf at Keyworth Stadium, while both Saturday’s game and the season-ending meeting will be at Lynn Family Stadium.
“It’s going to be a battle. It always is against them,” said LouCity defender Sean Totsch, a veteran of 11 previous meetings between the clubs. “It’s a game we look forward to. We take a lot of pride in how that game goes.”
Saturday’s game could prove pivotal in the Eastern Conference standings. LouCity (9-8-4, 31 points) has work to do if it hopes to host a playoff game come November — LouCity is fifth in the standings, two points behind Pittsburgh for fourth and a home playoff game — but a win over Detroit would certainly help.
That is because Detroit City (10-5-5, 35 points) is third in the conference, squarely in the middle of the race for the top four. Detroit might have the upper hand on the rest of the contenders, though — the club has at least one game in hand on each of the other members of the conference’s top five teams.
Not only is the game of significance on the field, but it expects to be action-packed off it as well.
The game is Keep Louisville Weird Night, a celebration of local businesses that make Louisville unique, in partnership with the Louisville Independent Business Alliance.
LouCity players will wear commemorative warmup tops, fans can take part in a buy-local fair, pick up a keychain giveaway, and more. For tickets and more information, visit LouCity.com/weird.
Follow Along
• The game will air locally on WBKI/The CW, with local radio coverage of the game airing on ESPN Louisville’s 680 AM and 105.7 FM.
• To watch streaming coverage of the game, log on to ESPN+.
• For starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter. Also, find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram and Louisville City FC on Facebook.
Storylines…
Home sweet home: Saturday will be LouCity’s first home game in 21 days, since Aug. 8. That is the third three-week period without a home game this season.
Strength on strength: LouCity has scored 37 goals this season in league play, third-most in the USL Championship. Detroit City has conceded just 17 goals in league play, the best defensive record in the league. Detroit has posted nine shutouts, second most in the league. LouCity has not been shut out for 10 league games, since a 2-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies on May 30.
Dynamic Davila: With an assist in last week’s 2-1 loss at Indy Eleven, LouCity’s Taylor Davila is now tied for the league lead with seven assists. He ranks second in the league with 52 chances created. Davila had a career-high nine assists last season, when he was named USL Championship Player of the Year.
Golden boot contender: Detroit’s Darren Smith is tied for the scoring lead in the USL Championship with 12 goals. He has scored six goals in his last 10 league games, with five of them coming in the same game, a 6-2 win against Sporting JAX on June 13. His only goal since then came on Aug. 8, a 1-0 win against FC Tulsa. All 12 of his goals have come from the run of play. Ihsan Sacko of Phoenix Rising FC is tied with Smith for the league lead.
Golden glove contender: Detroit’s Carlos Herrera is putting together a Goalkeeper of the Year-worthy campaign. The 28-year-old leads the USL Championship with nine clean sheets. He ranks second in the league in goals allowed per 90 minutes (0.72) and seventh in save percentage (74.5%).
