How to Watch Angel City FC vs. Portland Thorns

Angel City FC got a week off to refresh, and on Friday, they’ll be back in action as they host the Portland Thorns at The Banc for the first time.

Angel City most recently played to a 1-0 loss at OL Reign on June 18. It was a loss, obviously, but in spite of that Angel City seem to match up pretty well against their Seattle foes, they just need a push over the top to deliver tangible results. They may have gotten that with the addition of Sydney Leroux this week, but it sounds like she will have an outside chance of being available for this match, so we may have to wait a little longer to see her in an ACFC kit on the field.

The Thorns are coming off one of the biggest wins in league history, a 6-0 home rout over the Orlando Pride on June 19. They have had a really good June and are just behind San Diego, who are at the top of the standings, with a game in hand. Needless to say, they’re likely to stay thereabouts for the rest of the season.

Except...the biggest hope is that the Thorns are going to be missing honest to goodness half of their starting XI on international duty for the next month. Angel City are only missing one starter for the same reason, Vanessa Gilles, although her absence is nothing to sneeze at for the expansion side. But while I won’t be as bold as to think Angel City ought to demand a win in these circumstances, with Portland developing their squad depth pretty well over the past year, it’s still a good opportunity for the Angels to get a result. Here’s hoping they can pick up points here off a good performance.

Injuries/absences:

Angel City:

• Sarah Gorden (knee) — OUT
• Simone Charley (achilles) — OUT
• Madison Hammond (Covid Protocol) — OUT
• Cari Rocarro (Covid Protocol) — OUT
• Christen Press (ACL) — OUT
• M.A. Vignola (hip) — OUT
• Jasmyne Spencer (knee) — OUT
• Vanessa Gilles (international duty) — OUT
• Allyson Swaby (international duty) — OUT

Thorns:

• Crystal Dunn (maternity leave) — OUT
• Bella Bixby (Covid protocol) — OUT
• Abby Smith (Covid Protocol) — OUT
• Christine Sinclair (international duty) — OUT
• Becky Sauerbrunn (international duty) — OUT
• Sophia Smith (international duty) — OUT
• Janine Beckie (international duty) — OUT
• Rocky Rodriguez (international duty) — OUT
• Natalia Kuikka (international duty) — OUT
• Emily Menges (foot) — QUESTIONABLE
• Meaghan Nally (hip) — QUESTIONABLE

How to Watch:

Friday’s match between Angel City FC and the Portland Thorns will be streamed on Paramount+ in the United States and Twitch in the rest of the world. The broadcast is scheduled to start at 7:30 pm PT with kickoff to come minutes later.

Come chat about the game with us in the comment section below!