CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Charlotte Independence open their final three games at the Sportsplex at Matthews on Saturday night before the opening of the club’s new downtown home at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night as the Tampa Bay Rowdies arrive for the second meeting of the season between the clubs. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

The @Independence (2-2-0, 6pts) return home looking to rebound from a 2-1 defeat to Miami FC last Saturday night that saw Jake Areman find the net for the visitors with a beautiful free kick but chances overall be few and far between. Charlotte will be looking for more attacking punch against the Rowdies and could see Dane Kelly make a return to the starting lineup after his appearance as a substitute against Miami. The Independence will be looking for their first home victory against Tampa Bay in their history, however, with the Rowdies having gone 1-0-2 on the road in Charlotte in their previous trips to the Queen City.

The @TampaBayRowdies (5-0-0, 15pts) have already claimed victory against the Independence this season, winning 3-0 on May 1 in the opening game of the season for both sides. That win began a streak of five consecutive victories for Tampa Bay to start this season that continued on Wednesday night in a 1-0 win against the New York Red Bulls II that saw Jordan Adebayo-Smith score the only goal as goalkeeper Evan Louro recorded his third shutout of the season. The result moved the Rowdies one victory away from matching the best start to a season in the Championship’s history, currently held by both the Richmond Kickers (2011) and Rochester Rhinos (2012) who each won six consecutive games to start those respective campaigns. Having already built a six-point lead at the top of the Atlantic Division standings, the Rowdies have a chance to create further separation from their challengers on Saturday night.

FiveThirtyEight.com Match Predictor: Charlotte Independence 31%, Tampa Bay Rowdies 41%, Draw 28%

Most Recent Lineups

Charlotte Independence (3-4-3): Brandon Miller; Kevin Riascos, Hugh Roberts, Thomas de Villardi; Clay Dimick, Brandt Bronico, Junior Etou, Jake Areman; Enzo Martinez, Irvin Parra, Marcelo Palomino

Tampa Bay Rowdies (3-4-1-2): Evan Louro; Jordan Scarlett, Forrest Lasso, Aaron Guillen; Conner Antley, Lewis Hilton, Jordan Doherty, Leo Fernandes; Zach Steinberger; Jordan Adebayo-Smith, Sebastian Guenzatti

Discipline

Charlotte Independence – None

Tampa Bay Rowdies - None