CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Charlotte Independence and Miami FC will meet for the third time this season on Saturday night with the Independence playing host at American Legion Memorial Stadium looking to turn the tables on their USL Championship Atlantic Division rivals and get their playoff drive back in gear. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

The @Independence (8-8-3, 27pts) dropped below the playoff line in the Atlantic last Saturday night as they were unable to find a way past the Tampa Bay Rowdies in a 2-0 defeat at Al Lang Stadium. The Independence had the better of the game for about an hour without success in front of goal before conceding twice in the final 20 minutes to bring an end to their five-game undefeated streak. Charlotte is undefeated in its last four games at Memorial Stadium, however, having taken victories against the Rowdies and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC during that span, and the side will be looking to continue that form against a Miami side it has fallen to twice previously this season, both in South Florida prior to the club’s new mid-season arrivals of defender Christian Fuchs and midfielders Sylvain Marveaux and Gabriel Obertan.

@TheMiamiFC (11-6-4, 37pts) heads to Charlotte undefeated in its last six outings after taking a 3-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls II last Sunday night at FIU Stadium. The hosts struck early through Billy Forbes for his third goal in the past two games before second-half substitute Lamar Walker scored twice to put the game away for the side. Walker will be unavailable on Saturday, however, as one of four Miami players called up for international duty this week. Walker and midfielder Speedy Williams are with Jamaica while recent signing Josh Perez is with El Salvador and goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre with Haiti. After going undefeated through August, Miami will be hoping to continue its success as it tries to chase down Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay for first place in the Atlantic Division, sitting six points behind first-placed Riverhounds SC with two games in hand going into this weekend’s action.

FiveThirtyEight.com Match Predictor: Charlotte Independence 44%, Miami FC 30%, Draw 26%

Most Recent Lineups

Charlotte Independence (3-4-3): Austin Pack; Kevin Riascos, Hugh Roberts, Christian Fuchs; Joel Johnson, Brandt Bronico, Marcelo Palomino, Jake Areman; Sylvain Marveaux, Irvin Parra, Enzo Martinez

Miami FC (4-3-3): Connor Sparrow; Junior Palacios, Callum Chapman-Page, Paco Craig, Robert Kcira; Speedy Williams, Bolu Akinyode, Othello Bah; Christiano Francois, Adonijah Reid, Billy Forbes

Discipline

Charlotte Independence – None

Miami FC – None