BRADENTON, Fla. (February 21, 2018) – On the road for the first time in 2018, Nashville SC again faces tough competition in the build up to its inaugural United Soccer League (USL) season.  Wednesday will see the club take on another Major League Soccer opponent in Chicago Fire while Nashville SC will play fellow USL member Ottawa Fury less than 48 hours later on Friday.

Since the inaugural home friendly on February 10, Nashville SC has had almost two more weeks of training to prepare for this twin set of matches. In total, the club has been together for a month and will surely look more polished in “The Sunshine State” than it did 11 days ago in waterlogged First Tennessee Park.

With two games in a 47-hour window, Wednesday at 3pm CT and Friday at 2pm CT, Nashville SC and head coach Gary Smith will have the opportunity to experiment with personnel and formations. Both games will bring unique tests to the table for Nashville SC.

STORYLINES FOR NASHVILLE SC

Personnel – After Smith went with experience in friendly number one against Atlanta United, it will be intriguing to see who gets the nod against Chicago and Ottawa this week. Common sense would conclude that a more experienced lineup might start against the Fire while reserves could see more minutes against the Fury.  Don’t forget that six points will be on the line against Ottawa over the course of the season, and a February friendly would not be the time to reveal too much to the USL foe.

Goal Scorers – Forward Ropapa Mensah etched his name into Nashville SC lore by scoring the club’s first-ever goal against Atlanta United. Who will be next? The depth at forward is strong for Nashville SC, and who emerges as a scoring threat is a storyline to follow throughout the preseason. Both Michael Cox and Robin Shroot, the starters at forward against Atlanta United, looked more than capable in the opening friendly.

Weather – To say the weather will be different from the Atlanta United friendly to the two matches this coming week might be the understatement of the year. While there is always a chance for rain in Florida, the forecast calls for a minimal chance of precipitation and mid-80 degree temperatures, a welcome sight for Nashville SC.

Defense – Chicago Fire bring a formidable offense to the table. The Fire finished third in the MLS in scoring in 2017 and were led by the league’s top scorer Nemanja Nikolic who 24 goals. Coming off a game where Nashville SC saw MLS’s second-highest scoring offense, the backline will face another tough test. The starting quintet of Nashville defenders passed with flying colors against Atlanta’s starters, keeping a clean sheet in 45 minutes of play.

HOW TO WATCH

Both matches will be streamed at nashvillesc.com. Click here to watch Nashville SC take on the Chicago Fire and Ottawa Fury.