Roots are on the road once more this Saturday, August 8th as Oakland gears up for a 6 PM PT league fixture in El Paso versus Locomotive FC.
After halting a five-game losing streak with their 0-0 draw at Las Vegas on Wednesday night, Roots will look to get back in the win column versus an opponent who they have historically been very successful against.
While Oakland enters the contest in 10th place on the Western Conference table, two spots below the 8th place playoff line that El Paso currently occupies, Roots have already proven they have what it takes to beat Locomotive.
Their last matchup came earlier this year at the Oakland Coliseum, a league game on May 9th that Roots won 2-1 after El Paso went down a man in the 18th minute and saw their one goal lead flip in favor of Oakland by the final whistle.
In the 10 previous editions of the matchup Roots hold a 6-2-2 (W-D-L) record over El Paso, and have had two milestone victories in the series: Oakland’s first ever USL playoff win in the 2021 Conference Quarterfinals, and Roots’ largest ever margin of victory, a 4-0 win at home in 2022.
On paper, the teams are evenly matched in nearly every major statistical category. Oakland will look to their star in Peter Wilson who despite Roots’ scoring drought in recent matches, still sits just one goal shy of the league lead. An overdue breakout game from Wilson could tip the scales in Oakland’s favor to continue their success versus Locomotive on Saturday.
Following the match, Roots return to the Oakland Coliseum for their next USL Championship action to host NorCal rivals Monterey Bay FC on Saturday, August 15th at 7 PM PT.
