- Washington Spirit have won four of their last five games and have won their last two matches.
- San Diego Wave have won two, tied one, and lost two of their last five matches.
- San Diego Wave are averaging 1.75 goals scored and 1.25 goals conceded per game in NWSL 2026 away fixtures.
Wave are the travelling team
In their two most recent games in the NWSL 2026 season, San Diego Wave have put in strong performances and got the result in a 2-1 away win at Boston Legacy FC and a 1-0 win at home against Denver Summit FC. That is two wins in a row for the 4th-place Wave (29 points from 17 games) who are looking to pressure the top of the NWSL 2026 standings.
This preview highlights a meeting between two sides who arrive in decent shape, even if their recent form has taken different paths.
Jonas Eidevall has gotten his San Diego Wave side to play in a compact, structure-driven style. They are a pressing side, and they've been very successful at winning the ball back in the top third of the field and hitting teams quickly on the counter attack.
Their previous three results were disappointing. They suffered a 0-2 home defeat against Angel City FC, drew 2-2 away at the Kansas City Current and were beaten 0-2 at home by Seattle Reign FC, so it's definitely been a bit of a mixed bag of a season to date.
Washington are the hosts
First-time NWSL 2026 head coach Adrián González has brought a bit of a different culture to Washington Spirit. They are a more possession-based side who are very comfortable winning the ball in the opposing half, building through the center of the park and taking their time to break teams down.
Our Washington Spirit (W) vs San Diego Wave (W) prediction is that Washington Spirit are the team in better form and are 1st in the NWSL 2026 (33 points from 16 games). They've won four of their last five overall. They've scored 11 goals in seven home games, winning five, drawing one and losing one and that makes them the slight favorites at 2.07.
A clash of styles
Trinity Rodman has been the livewire for the Spirit and has scored four of the Spirit's seven goals in the last five matchups, while San Diego Wave have Trinity Byars as their sharpest edge, scoring four goals in the same amount of games. In total, the Spirit have scored seven goals across the last five, the Wave six.
The game will probably turn on the battle in midfield. If Washington control it, they will siege the Wave for large periods and if San Diego get on top, they'll nick goals and make it a game.
The betting tips suggest a tight contest, with both teams capable of finding key moments in a game that could swing either way.
The head-to-head is tough to read in the NWSL 2026 era as there have been one win for each team and three ties across the previous five games. San Diego Wave beat Washington Spirit 2-1 in the most recent game but have failed to win on their two previous trips here. This prediction leans towards a Washington Spirit win and a tight scoreline, but it could go either way.
Both teams to score looks to be priced close to even money and the over 2.5 goals in the game is coming in close, just a shade over even money at 1.87.
