Match Preview: Huntsville City FC vs Chattanooga FC
First versus second in the East. First versus second in the latest MLS Next Pro Power Rankings. First versus second in the Southeast Division. It doesn’t get any bigger in MLS Next Pro than the heavyweight clash on tap Saturday evening in the Rocket City between Huntsville City FC and Chattanooga FC.
These two sides met earlier this season in what was CFC's home opener when an early Daniel Mangarov goal was all that separated them. The head-to-head record currently stands in Chattanooga’s favor, but its tight (2W-1L-1D, 1SOW). After Saturday’s match, they will meet once again when CFC hosts Huntsville on August 23rd at Finley Stadium.
Match Details
Date: Saturday May 17th, 2025
Time: 7PM CST (local), 8PM EST (Chattanooga)
Location: Wicks Family Field at Joe Davis Stadium, Huntsville, Alabama
Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+
Head Coaches: Chris O’Neal (HNT), Chris Nugent (CFC)
Huntsville Lineup Prediction
A suspension to Christian Koffi and a minor hamstring injury to Gunnar Studenhofft force a couple of changes out of Chris O’Neal, but other than that I’m expecting few surprises.
Erik Lauta gets the predicted start in goal, though Xavier Valdez could play as well. In front of him we have Jordan Knight, Zach Barrett, Kevin Carmichael and Blake Bowen.
The midfield pairing of Ethan O’Brien and Pep Casas stays the same, and it’s the front four where we have changes. Real Gill slides in on the left in place of Koffi, and Adem Sipic gets the nod in place of Studenhofft. Joining them are regulars Alan Carleton and Damien Barker John.
Chattanooga Lineup Prediction
Head Coach Chris Nugent’s penchant for rotation in some areas makes predicting lineups difficult. Certainties though, are likely to be in defense, in goal and in central midfield. At the back, Logan Brown started in Toronto, so I anticipate him rotating out for Ethan Dudley to start. Milo Garvanian appears to be back in full fitness and will surely take his place on the wing opposite Tate Robertson (3 assists, all competitions). Further afield, I’m uncertain about the fitness of Jesus Ibarra, so would pip for the in-form Daniel Mangarov (3 goals) and Kwak Minjae (who scored in Canada) to start. Finally, Peter Plougmand (3 goals) has impressed lately, but I expect Nugent to give a start to the equally impressive Keegan Ancelin (3 goals). I’ll make Ancelin the player-to-watch this weekend. The young striker has been excellent since signing and will be aware of the recent strong form of Plougmand. Expect him to give everything to keep himself in contention to start up front.
Analysis & Predictions
Ronan Briscoe: This is a tough game to predict. Chattanooga likes to play bunker-and-counter ball, and they’ve already proven they can do it extremely effectively against Huntsville once. However, in the, what, 80 some odd minutes after the Chattanooga goal in that game, Huntsville was breaking Chattanooga down, just not creating clear enough chances to convert. The Rocket Men’s form has dipped a bit as of late, picking up successive draws after a trio of impressive wins, so I’ll pick a draw, say, 2-2 with goals from Carleton and O’Brien for the hosts. Flip a coin on the shootout.
Philip Farrell: It’s a given to say that Chattanooga has been impressive so far in 2025. They’ve only lost once all year (including in the league, Cup, and friendlies) and, although their only loss was a heavy 3-0 away defeat at Columbus Crew 2, they’ve shown resilience to rebound from it since, tying at home to Philadelphia and winning away in Toronto. On Saturday, though they’re up against a side very similar to themselves. Huntsville has also only lost once and had been relatively strong at home. A glance at stats for players and clubs in the league reveals that neither side top the bill in any particular area, but through solid coaching and collective team action, they’re the top 2 sides in the league. Given that the last meeting between them was so close, I’m going for a tie, 1-1.