Sound Defense

Two games into the May road trip, and Charlotte is 1-1. Coming off an Open Cup win on Tuesday, The Crown will be looking to carry some of that scoring momentum into the weekend. They'll need it against a Nashville SC side that proved they have no issues putting up goals on the scoresheet after beating the Chicago Fire 7-2.

Charlotte FC will see Pep Biel return this week after he missed the last two matches with a hamstring issue. He will be a much-welcome injection back into the side. Pep was named to Sacha Kljestan's MVP Power Rankings at #3.

Here are the Ingredients of the Match for Charlotte FC to grab three points in Music City:

How can The Crown stop the music in Music City? Sound defense. (Ba dum tss)

Nashville SC have been playing great attacking soccer. Each week, they seem to progress in their attacking abilities so much that they put seven past Greg Berhalter's side two weeks ago.

Where things get interesting... consistently hitting the back of the net is challenging. They are 2-1-2 in their last five matches. The first of those five was a loss in the Queen City. They are tied for first in goals in the East with 20, but seven came from one match. They are a high-pressure, attacking side with numbers. We saw that in early April. But if you play strong in the back, weather a bit of the storm they bring, you can find ways to beat them in the counter and on the scoresheet.

Like the San Jose match and the first Nashville match this season, Charlotte are fully built to work this problem. Stay sound in the back. Don't panic. Keep your shape. It will frustrate Nashville into errant shots and chances. That's when Charlotte can enforce their will the other way.

Pep Returns

Without your MVP-caliber attacking midfielder, things will be more challenging.

We saw that in Columbus. It affected the attack's ability to hold up play, create, and keep the ball in the opposition's third of the pitch. This led to Columbus controlling the match and finding space to exploit.

Pep's return to the side will change the dynamic with which Charlotte can pressure Nashville. He will draw the most attention in the middle of the pitch, allowing space for Zaha and Abada to get up and down the wings. As Nashville pushes numbers high, Pep will have to play fast to find those spaces in behind and send the boys running. Play through the playmaker and good things will happen.

Smash Nash

Preseason was chippy. Match one was chippy. Match two is going to be chippy.

Charlotte FC knows what teams are trying to do to them. It's on the stat sheets. Zaha and Agyemang are two of the most fouled players in the league this season. Zaha even more so since he missed a match earlier in the year. Those consistent fouls force Charlotte, mostly Ashley Westwood, to defend their teammates. Whether to the referee or the opposing players. That leads to chippiness. That leads to, shall we say, heated discussions.

So, what's the answer for teams that want to play Charlotte aggressively? Take a little bite back. It worked against Nashville at home, so be ready to take it to them in their house and Smash Nash.