**Charleston's home fortress is ready to shut the door on Hartford** — the Battery sit pretty with a 10-4 edge in the all-time ledger and don't lose much at Patriots Point. 🏠

Battery are humming with **2W 2D in their last five**, mixing clean sheets with attacking thrust. Hartford have kept things interesting with back-to-back wins, but sandwiched a **2-3 loss to Brooklyn** between them — inconsistency is the enemy here.

Key storylines:

- **Charleston's defensive spine** anchored by Messer and Akpunonu has looked sharp; keeping Hartford's dual strikers (Anaku and Obalola) quiet is the mission.
- **Hartford's pace up top** with Adedokun and Anaku can hurt on the counter, but they've shipped goals at an awkward rate on the road.
- **Home advantage is real in this rivalry** — Battery have dominated the fixture and rarely slip up in front of their crowd.

Expected lineups:

- **Charleston Battery**: Zamudio, Messer, Akpunonu, Smith, Blackstock, Kelly, Ycaza, Martínez, Kissiedou, Foster, Berry
- **Hartford Athletic**: Ngnepi, Samadiya, Pe, Fischer, Anderson, Makangila, Moreira, Hadjipaschalis, Adedokun, Anaku, Obalola

Prediction:

**Charleston 2–1 Hartford** — Battery edge the momentum battle and their home record speaks volumes. 📍