Match Preview: Chattanooga FC vs. Crown Legacy FC
Winless Crown Legacy face daunting visit to the Scenic City on Saturday evening
Game details
Match: Atlanta United 2 v Chattanooga FC v Crown Legacy FC
Date: Saturday, April 19th, 2025. 19:00 (Eastern)
Venue: Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN. Capacity: 20,412
How to watch: Apple TV MLS Season Pass
Tickets: Chattanooga FC website
Top of the table and unbeaten in 2025 (in all competitions and friendlies), Chattanooga Football Club welcomes Crown Legacy to Finley Stadium this Saturday evening (KO 7pm ET). For the home side (P:5 W:4 D:1 L:0), it’s an opportunity to tighten its 3-point grip atop the league and to continue momentum amid dominant form, in spite of some key injuries.
For the visitors (P:4 W:0 D:2 L:2), this is a tough assignment. Winless thus far and harboring a negative goal difference, its relatively strong defense (compared to the clubs around it) will need to be air-tight when it visits Finley Stadium. However, this team does enjoy the superior record between the two, and history may be on its side.
The History
These sides first met in May 2024 when Crown Legacy whipped Chattanooga 4-1 at the Matthews Sportsplex, through goals from Ben Bender (x2), Dylan Sing, and Nick Scardina. CFC’s only goal that day was from Jalen James, who is currently injured.
Crown Legacy again got the better of Chattanooga when they met in Tennessee in July, coming away with an impressive 2-1 win as CFC’s season had started to wilt. Jahlane Forbes and Aron John scored either side of a Mehdi Ouamri penalty for Chattanooga. Ouamri is now with Union Omaha in USL League One.
Their final meeting came in August, resulting in a 1-1 tie through goals from Tyger Smalls and Ouamri. Chattanooga won the penalty shootout 3-2, but Crown Legacy would end the season with a 2-1-0 record over it. Of the Crown Legacy players who scored against Chattanooga last season; Bender, Scardina, Forbes, and Smalls are all now with the Charlotte FC senior side.
Report cards and lineups
Chattanooga
CFC continued its unbeaten start to the season with a 4-1 win over Carolina Core last Sunday, solidifying its place at the top of the Eastern Conference. The five-game unbeaten stretch (not including two unbeaten US Open Cup ties) is the club’s best start to a season in its professional era. CFC was recently ranked first overall in MLS NEXT Pro's power rankings.
Head Coach Chris Nugent is very purposeful with his squad selections. When I speak to him, he often talks about picking the right set of players for each particular game. Nonetheless, he knows he has a squad that all want to play and need minutes. Having started the season with a 4-1-4-1 outlay, he’s switched seemingly to a 3-4-3 in recent games, especially now that the club is without captain Alex McGrath.
The back-three seems fairly consistent, with Logan Brown and Ethan Dudley tagging in and out. Dudley started last time out, so I expect to see Brown on the field, come kick-off against Crown Legacy. The midfield and wings pick themselves but up front is where rotation is most likely. Keegan Ancelin has been lethal since signing for the club, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nugent give Danish hitman Peter Plougmand his first start, after his goalscoring sub appearance last Sunday. Either side of him, there’s room for any two of Daniel Mangarov, Kwak Minjae, and Jesus Ibarra to provide wide attacking options. If he starts, Mangarov is the player to watch. The 23-year-old has 3 goals and 2 assists to his name already this season.
Crown Legacy
CLFC has yet to win this season, however three draws, one shootout win, and a narrow loss indicate they can be competitive. Its only conceded 5 goals in 4 games, which may not sound like much, but is the second best of any other club in the MLS Next Pro Eastern Conference in which it sits 13th (out of 15 teams).
Crown Legacy’s coach, Gary Dicker, only recently joined the club after serving as assistant coach for Brighton & Hove Albion's U-21 squad in the Premier League 2. The Irishman brings big experience as a Premier League player and coach but has yet to find his first win as a Head Coach.
Dicker began the season with a flat 3-4-3 but switched to a 4-4-1-1 in their last outing when they played well against Huntsville. I’d expect him to perhaps stick with this as it may finally provide a winning formula, and an even firmer defense. Isaac Walker lost his place between the sticks to George Marks, and I’d anticipate Dicker rewarding the 25-year-old for his clean sheet by starting him again.
The club’s four goals this season have come from different players, with Jamie Smith, Rocket Ritaria, Brian Romero, and Dylan Sing all netting across its three goalscoring games. Homegrown duo Jack Neeley and Aron John are key leaders for the side with the former, the captain, marshalling that strong defense and the latter a strong leader in midfield. The player to watch is Ferna Ferreira, on loan from Rio Ave in the Portuguese Primeira Liga who has a creative spark about him.
Analysis and Predictions
Although Crown Legacy got the better of CFC across three meetings in 2024, I expect matters to look a little different this year. Chattanooga looks unstoppable at the moment, finding ways to win from vastly different types of games, knocking in expected goals, and exceptionally tight at the back. If Crown Legacy is to get anything from this game, it’ll likely come from set pieces, but I expect the home side to be too much for it, given the current form of both.
Prediction: Chattanooga FC 2-0 Crown Legacy FC