**Washington Spirit are rolling hot, and Utah Royals are just hoping to catch a breather.** This is the kind of matchup where form tells the whole story — Spirit have won four of their last five, while Utah are treading water with just one win in that stretch. 🔥

Spirit's attacking swagger (that 4-1 demolition of Portland says it all) meets a Utah side that's been grinding out draws and losses. The hosts should have the edge in every third of the pitch.

Key storylines:

- **Spirit's frontline** of T. Rodman and R. Kouassi have been clinical; Utah's backline of K. D. Fava and K. Riehl face a serious test
- **Utah's midfield anchor** N. Miura needs to disrupt Spirit's build-up play early, or this gets ugly fast
- **Head-to-head history** favors Washington 3-1 over the last six, and current form only widens that gap

Expected lineups:

- **Washington Spirit**: S. MacIver, K. Wiesner, E. Morgan, T. McKeown, G. Carle, H. Hershfelt, A. Sullivan, M. Bethi, R. Kouassi, S. Cantore, T. Rodman
- **Utah Royals FC**: M. McGlynn, N. Rábano, K. D. Fava, K. Riehl, M. Moriya, N. Miura, D. P. Louis, C. Lacasse, C. Kizer, B. Mozingo, K. Palacios

Prediction:

**Spirit 2–0 Utah.** Washington's momentum is too much; Utah can't find a spark on the road. ⚪