East-leading Nashville faces early challenge from Charlotte

Less than two months into a 10-month season seems pretty early to start throwing the word "showdown" around.

However, there is no denying that Nashville SC's visit to Charlotte FC on Saturday night could shape the East table for a while.

While Nashville (4-1-1, 13 points) leads the East, even after a 1-0 loss on April 4 in Chicago, Charlotte (3-1-2, 11 points) could knock the Boys in Gold out of the top spot with a result. The Crown are unbeaten in their past four matches, including a 2-1 win on April 4 against the Philadelphia Union.

Wilfried Zaha scored the winning goal in the 80th minute for Charlotte, but he won't be around for a potential game-winner this week. Zaha must serve a one-match suspension for yellow-card accumulation.

More concerning for coach Dean Smith was his team's non-response to halftime adjustments by Philadelphia, which might give opponents a template for how to attack his squad.

"We've got to learn how to make better decisions when a team changes their game plan at halftime," he said.

Charlotte is likely to insert Liel Abada, who has yet to score a goal this year, into Zaha's spot. Rodolfo Aloko, a 19-year-old who leads MLS Next Pro with six goals in five matches, was promoted from Crown Legacy FC on Friday to join the team as a U22 Initiative.

Meanwhile, Nashville searches for the right formula in matches away from home, where it owns a 17-2 advantage in goals across six matches across all competitions.

On the road? Nashville SC's advantage is just 4-2.

"Going away is never easy," midfielder Matthew Corcoran said. "We've seen the talent, we've seen the ability to score goals at home, and I think it's only a matter of time before that translates to away games as well."

The difference in home vs. road results isn't a new thing. Last year, Nashville logged 36 points in home matches, which tied for third in MLS. But on the road, the Boys in Gold were ordinary with 18 points, good for 19th in the 30-team league.

Coach B.J. Callaghan hopes the fact that his team isn't playing after a two-week break, as it did last week, will help it become more clinical in finishing situations.

--Field Level Media