Home - North Carolina Courage
- Courage have won two of their last five (W2, L3) with no draws.
- Courage are clearly the more direct side under Mak Lind, who took charge on 24 January 2026 and has tried to make his team quicker through the thirds and more effective at pressing high up the field.
Away - San Diego Wave
- Wave have won four of their last five matches, drawing none and losing one (W4, L1).
- Wave are the possession-based team who will always look to control the territory and dictate the flow of the game.
Head-to-Head
- North Carolina Courage (W) and San Diego Wave (W) will meet for the fourth time in NWSL 2026 at SAS Soccer Park on Saturday, with the visitors in much better form than their hosts after a run of four consecutive wins.
- The most recent reverse fixture finished 2-1 to Wave, who now occupy second spot in the table with 51 points from 27 games, 9 points above Courage who are eighth with 42 points from the same number of matches.
- It is difficult to say which team has the upper hand in this fixture as Wave have a 2-1 head-to-head advantage.
- Wave have failed to win either of their two away games to Courage.
Key Players
- Wave can play a sophisticated passing style and have some exciting players to make things happen, but they are also a team that can nick a game if things go against them.
- Courage are the bigger threat from open play as Ashley Sanchez is a prolific striker with five goals in her last five appearances.
- In that same period, Courage have managed to score ten goals.
- San Diego's current purple patch is fuelled by Gia Corley, who has three of Wave's seven goals in the last five.
Betting Insights
- They have had success against Courage in recent times and will have a go here, which is why we think both teams to score at 1.47 fits the matchup very well.
- And the Over 2.5 goals line at 1.56 looks the best bet in the total goals market because Courage have scored 2.00 and conceded 1.62 goals per game at home in NWSL 2026.
- The odds reflect the fact that the home team are slight favourites for this game at around 2.35, with Wave at 2.44 and the draw at 3.48.
Prediction
- We think Courage will win this because they are at home, but Wave are in great form so we're backing the visitors to get a result.
- Wave have been on a run of four consecutive wins and should be confident heading into this fixture, while Courage have strengths from open play centred on Ashley Sanchez.
- Expect an open game with chances at both ends and a high likelihood of both teams scoring given Wave's attacking confidence and Courage's home scoring numbers.