North Texas SC makes its long-awaited debut in USL League One this Saturday, taking on another brand new team, Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. It's the first competitive game for a brand new team in a brand new league, and there's a lot to be excited about. Here's everything you need to know ahead of Saturday's match.

THE TEAM

North Texas SC is the professional second team for FC Dallas, playing in the new 3rd-division USL League One. The purpose of the team is to offer meaningful minutes to the academy and SuperDraft signings who aren't quite ready for MLS, test out top academy prospects at a professional level, and to allow players recovering from injuries to ease back into playing again. An added benefit is the chance to prevent another top prospect from signing in Europe for free, like what happened with Weston McKennie.

The team can have up to 30 players on its roster, with no limits on movement in or out until the roster freeze date on September 6. There's a limit of 7 "international" players, which means anyone who isn't a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, at any given moment. There's also an allowance for up to 5 players on academy contracts, who don't count against the size or international limits, and who maintain their NCAA eligibility.

The vast majority of the players on the roster have come from the FC Dallas Academy, with only a handful of signings who have never previously played within the organization. Several of these players left the academy for professional opportunities outside MLS, and with North Texas SC, FC Dallas has the chance to ease them back into the organization and either call them up to MLS or sell them on for a transfer fee.

With the free movement of players between MLS and USL1, the roster can change radically from week to week, and will likely look different depending on whether or not both both teams are playing at home. With the "home" roster, expect to see first-team players who haven't quite made it onto the bench, while on the "road" roster, more of the full-time NTSC players will be out there. Aside from a core of maybe 4 or 5 players, it's unlikely that anyone plays close to the full season.

North Texas SC is coached by former Dallas Burn midfielder Eric Quill, joined by assistants Alex Aldaz, formerly of SMU, and Michel, former FC Dallas defender. For 2019, the club will play its home games at FC Dallas's Toyota Stadium, although they have discussed the possibility of playing in other venues around the Metroplex in the future.

THE LEAGUE

USL League One is brand new for 2019, bringing division-three professional soccer back to the USL organization for the first time since 2016. The previous D3 league gained division two sanctioning for the 2017, and has since rebranded as USL Championship.

There will be 10 teams in total competing this season, comprising two former PDL sides, FC Tucson and Tormenta FC; two other MLS reserve sides, Toronto FC II and Orlando City B; the self-relegated Richmond Kickers formerly of the USL Championship, and four brand new teams in Chattanooga, Madison, Greenville, and Lansing.

While this is a professional team in a professional league, salaries are likely close to the bottom-end of the MLS roster, and the top paid players in the league can expect to make about the same as the average player in the second division USL Championship, somewhere around $50 thousand a year.

The season runs from this weekend through October 5, playing 28 games, with the top 4 teams in the league making the playoffs. The non-MLS-owned teams qualify for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

THE OPPOSITION

North Texas SC will be taking on Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, not to be confused with Chattanooga FC in the NPSL. The Red Wolves are another brand new team, run by Chattanooga FC's former general manager Sean McDaniel and coached by Tim Hankinson.

Chattanooga actually has two North Texas locals on their roster. Josue Soto, a former SMU player and Houston Dynamo homegrown, is from Fort Worth, while Conor Doyle is the son of Dallas Sidekicks legend David Doyle and a former member of the Dallas Texans.

PREDICTED LINEUP

Based on what we've seen in preseason, Eric Quill is using a very similar 4-3-3 setup to what Luchi Gonzalez has implemented in MLS. This is entirely by design, as it makes perfect sense to train players to fit into the first team's tactical plan.

Up top, Ricardo Pepi is the first choice forward and the only thing preventing him from starting every game is a potential debut in MLS. On the wings, expect to see Oscar Romero out right and either Dante Sealy or Ronaldo Damus out left.

In midfield, Arturo Rodriguez has played as the primary playmaker, the hybrid 8 and 10 midfielder in the same vein as Paxton Pomykal. He'll likely be joined by his younger brother David in the role of a more traditional 8. Behind them, Alfusainey Jatta is likely the go-to holding midfielder at the moment, although I expect to see either Brandon Servania or Edwin Cerrillo getting playing time on loan from the first team this season.

In the back line, Brecc Evans is a near-guaranteed full season starter, and will likely be joined by Callum Montgomery on loan from the first team. When Montgomery isn't around, Hector Montalvo and Cesar Murillo will fill in. Murillo will likely also play a good chunk of the season as the primary left back, and I expect that either John Nelson or Bryan Reynolds will be loaned down to play right back.

In goal, Carlos Avilez has the job locked down, and will be the primary goalkeeper for much of the season.

WHAT TO EXPECT

With any new team, it's hard to predict just what sort of results are possible, but given that many of these players have experience working together already, my hypothetical money is on the home team. Quill's team has looked solid despite a lot of roster experimentation, compared to a Chattanooga team that went winless through preseason.

Keep an eye on Ricardo Pepi, who scored 6 goals in 4 preseason games and is one of the hottest prospects in the entire FC Dallas organization. Even if he doesn't end up on the box score, he's still likely to do something amazing.

Kickoff is at 6 p.m. on Saturday, and will be followed by a watch party in-stadium for FC Dallas's game that night against Real Salt Lake.