Unbeaten Orlando Pride faces Kansas City Current in a high-stakes NWSL showdown

The Kansas City Current find themselves at a critical moment in the NWSL season, and Friday's match, September 13th, against undefeated Orlando Pride is all set to be an embattled one. Kansas is on a good run, having beaten the Utah Royals 1-0 in their last outing, but now they face league leaders who have managed to seal their playoff spot. However, to Current, this is much more than a regular-season game; it's about reaffirming their position amongst the best teams in the league.

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The victory over Utah just re-highlighted that the strength for Kansas City is in defense, where keeper Almuth Schult is outstanding, and the backline, marshaled by Alana Cook and Kayla Sharples, rises. As if to seal matters, forward Temwa Chawinga continued her status as the team's front-line dynamo, scoring the winner and padding her lead atop the NWSL Golden Boot race.

But Pride is going to be an even bigger challenge. Orlando hasn't lost any single game this season, on a 20-game unbeaten streak-an impressive run showing the consistency of the team. With star players like Marta and Barbra Banda, Pride is a winning machine; they can keep control of the game both in the back and up front.

The battle between Chawinga and Banda

One of the central moments of this match will be the head-to-head competition between Temwa Chawinga of Kansas City and Orlando Pride's Barbra Banda. Between them are two of the hottest forwards of the season in both goals and assists. Chawinga, with 15 goals, is a few steps from beating the NWSL single-season scoring record, while the tally of Banda is not very far away, with 12 goals, which makes this duel more interesting.

According to him, Chawinga has been able to prove herself as an absolute player because she creates and finishes plays with ease. Her offensive power, together with her intelligence in positioning, makes her a constant threat to any defense. On the other side, Banda is an incisive and fast forward who has already shown she could turn games around because of her clutch goals.

This, without doubt, is going to be one of the mouth-watering individual battles of the match, and both sets of fans will be hopeful that their stars can turn up when it matters most.

Tactical impact

While Kansas City Current can boast of Chawinga's brilliant form, there has also been the defensive transformation in the team. The inclusions of Cook and Sharples have transformed Current's leaky defense from earlier in the season. Additionally, goalkeeper Almuth Schult was instrumental in the last game, making vital saves that helped her team clinch all three points.

On the Orlando side, although the team has a nice backline, the balance between the attack and defense has been the hallmarks of the match. Marta, 37 years old, still gets a lot of time in the middle and controls the tempo of the game, setting up some dangerous plays. Pride's setup seems active on both sides of the ball-a scenario Kansas City must be prepared to neutralize if they are to emerge victorious.

Rivalry and history

Friday's contest also constitutes a rematch for the sides following an exciting July affair that saw Orlando Pride edge Kansas City 2-1. There were 29 fouls and seven yellow cards in that one with Orlando playing a portion of it a player down but still emerging with the win thanks to a Marta penalty conversion.

With Kansas City now reinforced and more cohesive, another tough match is expected. Kansas needs the win to keep themselves in the playoff race, while Orlando wants to keep its unbeaten streak and ensure their position as the league leader.