FC Tulsa will look to get its drive for the playoffs back on track as the USL Championship’s weekend action gets underway on Friday night with the Tampa Bay Rowdies heading to ONEOK Field looking to complete a season sweep and close the gap to Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

Here's a look ahead at the action.

FC Tulsa vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies

Venue: ONEOK Field
Kickoff: 9 p.m. ET
Broadcast: ESPN+ / SiriusXM FC

The Lowdown: FC Tulsa and the Tampa Bay Rowdies will square off for the second time this season as the hosts try to turn the tables on the third-placed Rowdies and end a recent winless run in the series between the clubs. Tulsa (7-9-8, 29pts) claimed a 1-1 draw in its most recent outing against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at the USL Summer Showcase presented by Hisense on August 9, but is still looking for its first win this month as it enters on a three-game winless streak. The downturn in form after a five-game winning streak has pushed Tulsa into eighth place in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of Miami FC with 10 games to go in the regular season. Tulsa is also winless in its last four games against Tampa Bay, which took a 3-0 victory when the teams met at Al Lang Stadium in late July. That victory for the Rowdies (12-6-5, 41pts) was part of a current seven-game home winning streak for the side, but Tampa Bay’s away form hasn’t been at its best of late with the side winless in its last three road games while being held scoreless in all three contests. With three games in hand on Pittsburgh and a six-point gap to make up in pursuit of top spot, a victory would put the Rowdies within range of claiming top spot in the East for the second time in the past three seasons.

Spotlight Players
FC Tulsa – Phillip Goodrum: The tenacious forward leads Tulsa with seven goals this season after his mid-year arrival but has been held scoreless in the past three outings, a trend he’ll be looking to change this time out.

Tampa Bay Rowdies – JJ Williams: The powerful center forward scored against his former club in the Rowdies’ victory last month and he’ll be aiming to move into double-digit goals for a second consecutive season.