by JAKE NUTTING

Gameday Information

Saturday, April 30, 7 p.m. ET



TV/Streaming: ONE World Sports, oneworldsports.com



Referee:Younes Marrakchi



Fort Lauderdale’s record: 0W-1L-2D, 2 pts



2015 Series: 1W-2L-0D

The Tampa Bay Rowdies will be making their second trip of the season to South Florida this week, but this time they won’t be facing off against a NASL newcomer. Saturday night is all about taking down their historic rivals, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

A positive result over the Strikers would help wipe away much of the consternation from last week’s disappointing loss to the Carolina RailHawks and the team’s struggle for offensive production over the first month of the season. With the Strikers winning four of the last five matches between the two, Rowdies supporters are undoubtedly hungry for a win over their original Florida adversary.

After massive turnover on the roster and with the technical staff during the offseason yet again, the Strikers are off to a rocky start in the Spring. They enter the weekend second from the bottom of the NASL table, but only three points separate them from the Rowdies in the young season.

Scouting the Strikers

Only five players remain from the Fort Lauderdale squad that nixed the Rowdies’ playoff hopes on the final day of the season last year. Of those five, only PC and Jose Angulo were regular contributors the Strikers.

The lack of continuity appears to have severely hamstrung the Strikers through their first three matches. Without the support of standouts Stefano Pinho and Marlon Freitas, PC has looked pedestrian in trying to lead the attack through the midfield. So far, the young Brazilian has only managed to create two scoring chances for his side.

Fort Lauderdale’s defense will also to need to adjust to the loss of defensive midfielder and captain Jean-Marc Alexander due to suspension. Defenders Dalton and Julius James, as well as attacking midfielder Kleberson will be available for selection again, though it’s not clear how much of an impact any of them can make. Kleberson has missed so much action over the past year with injuries in Indy and he could be moving down the depth chart after the signing of former FC Dallas attacker Ramon Nunez last week.

Similar Struggles: The Rowdies and Strikers are fierce rivals, but they’ve shared a common trait so far this year, as Fort Lauderdale is one of the few teams actually producing less in the attack than the Rowdies. Through three matches, the Strikers have six total shots on goal and only one goal from open play. Interestingly, the Strikers have relied on the scoring touch of ex-Rowdies forward Maicon Santos for both goals.

More Red Than Gold: Formulating an accurate assessment of the Strikers at this point is difficult when all three of their matches have seen a player sent off. Fort Lauderdale were on the advantageous side of that in week one against Miami, but they failed to exploit the situation and were only let off the hook with a late penalty. The last two matches have seen Strikers hit the showers early. Geison Moura’s controversial red card in Minnesota put the Strikers on the back foot for the bulk of that bout, but the team performed at a higher level last week after going down a man while trailing Jacksonville 1-0. The truth is no one has really seen what Fort Lauderdale can do with a full strength squad for the full 90 minutes.

Please, oh please, oh please put shots on goal: We said it last week, but we mean it even more this week — test the keeper. The Rowdies let Carolina’s keeper slip by with only two shots on net. That’s never a recipe for success. This week’s opposing keeper Bruno Cardosco cannot be given a free pass wither. He’s shown some serious vulnerabilities handling shots or even the tamest of balls into the box. Test this man.

What to Watch For

Possible Changes: The sense of disappointment in head coach Stuart Campbell’s post-match comments last week was strong. He freely admitted that changes to this lineup could be in store given the inability to score consistently. What kind of changes he has in mind is anyone’s guess. He could mean a formation shake up to give Tommy Heinemann more support up top, or he could be leaning toward plugging some new blood into the same 4-2-3-1. Midfielders Walter Ramirez and Darwin Espinal have yet to start a match, and Freddy Adu has yet to make the bench so far.

S.O.S for Heinemann: A possible cause of the lack of offensive productivity is the lack of support Tommy Heinemann appears to be getting inside the penalty area. Too often it looks as is Heinemann is the only one making moves into the box, allowing defenders to marginalize him through double or triple team him. He needs support from Georgi Hristov or any of the other attacking midfielders crashing the box to occupy those defenders.

Can We Get a Counter?: The Rowdies need to start utilizing the counter attack more. Heinemann had a great conversion rate on counters last year in Ottawa but the Rowdies have yet to attempt many so far. The quick pace that the Strikers like to play with could offer the Rowdies ample opportunities to run the counter attack.

Win Your Battles: Fort Lauderdale relies on their technical skill and individual flair on the ball to open up the game. If the Rowdies can avoid losing out on individual battles, they could limit the Strikers to little on Saturday.