MATCH DETAILS

Phoenix Rising FC (7-3-3, 24 pts., 2nd in West) at Sacramento Republic FC (7-3-3, 24 pts., 3rd in West)

8 p.m. Saturday, Papa Murphy’s Park, Sacramento, Calif.

TV: Cox 4 (SD) and 1004 (HD) in Phoenix, Cox 7 (SD) and 1007 (HD) in Tucson

Live Stream: ESPN+ (subscription required)

Radio: Fox Sports 910 AM (English), El Patron 97.3 FM (Spanish)

MatchCenter: SACvPHX

Phoenix Rising FC completes a three-match road trip with a pivotal game against rival Sacramento Republic FC where the winner will take the second place position in the Western Conference standings.

PHOENIX RISING LAST MATCH: Playing its second match in four days, Phoenix  Rising came out on the front foot against St. Louis FC, with Chris Cortez scoring just six minutes into the match with a SportsCenter Top 10 worthy strike to give the visitors the early 1-0 lead. Second half goals from Solomon Asante and Jason Johnson gave Phoenix Rising a 3-1 victory over St. Louis, ending its two-match USL losing streak and its three-match losing streak in all competitions. Carl Woszczynski made five saves, including a pair late in the second half that kept the match at 3-1.

ASANTE EARNS LEAGUE HONORS: With his goal and assist on Wednesday, Asante was named to the USL Team of the Week for the second time this season, and with his three honorable mentions, means he has found his way to league honors five times this season. Only three weeks this season (Weeks 4, 11 and 12) has a Phoenix Rising player not make Team of the Week or Honorable Mention honors this season.

SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC REPORT: Sacramento comes in off the heels of a tough fourth round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match at home against MLS side Seattle Sounders FC. Sacramento’s Jure Matjasic tapped a rebound past Seattle goalkeeper Bryan Meredith in the 115th minute to give Sacramento the 2-1 win in added extra time to advance to the fifth round to face Los Angeles FC. Cameron Iwasa got the home side on the board first in the 60th minute, only to have Harry Shipp pull Seattle level right before second half injury time and extend the match. Sacramento defeated Orange County SC 1-0 on June 2 in its last USL match, with Jeremy Hall scoring on a second half penalty to give the home side the victory. Iwasa leads the team in scoring with five goals on the season, with Christian Eissele and Villyan Bijev each having two goals on the season. Former Phoenix Rising goalkeeper Josh Cohen leads Sacramento between the sticks, making 40 saves in the 13 matches played this season.

LAST MATCH BETWEEN THE TEAMS: The teams just met three weeks ago at the Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex. Early first half goals from Iwasa and Bijev gave Sacramento the early 2-0 lead. Chris Cortez pulled Phoenix Rising back to 2-1 with a goal in the 62nd minute, only to have Wilson Kneeshaw put the match out of reach with a goal in the 88th minute for the 3-1 victory.

CAREER VS. SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC: Phoenix Rising FC/Arizona United SC is 2-6-3 overall against Sacramento with their wins coming in 2014 and 2017.

RECENT FORM (Last five league matches):

Phoenix Rising FC: W-W-L-L-W

Sacramento Republic FC: W-L-W-L-W

POSSIBLE STARTING XI (4-4-2): GK- Carl Woszczynski; D- Amadou Dia (L), Mike da Fonte (C), Doueuegi Mala (C), Devonte Dubose (R); MF- Alessandro Riggi (L), Kevon Lambert (C), James Musa (C), Gladson Awako (R); F- Chris Cortez (L), Solomon Asante (R).

POSSIBLE SUBSTITUTES: GK- Zac Lubin; D- Victor Vasquez, Kody Wakasa; MF- Devin Vega, Colin Fernandez; F- Jason Johnson, Kevaughn Frater.