Just four days after a crucial USL Jägermeister Cup game, Birmingham Legion face one of the toughest games of their 2025 season.

The Three Sparks host second-placed Charleston Battery at 7 pm at Protective Stadium.

“Obviously Charleston are one of the better teams in the league,” AJ Paterson said. “They’re in good form, they have great players. But I think our focus is just on us. Performing our game plan and doing what we we need to do when we get out there to get three points.”

So far this season, Charleston have amassed 31 points from 14 games, only three less than table-topping Louisville City, with a game less. The Battery are also the USL Championship’s highest scoring team, averaging over two per game with 32.

Star forward Cal Jennings accounts for over a third of those conversions, leading the golden boot race on 11.

While the challenge may seem daunting, the Legion can take heart in knowing that many of their best performances so far have come against their toughest opponents.

In a challenging season, Birmingham put up one of their best performances against Indy Eleven last Saturday. If the Three Sparks can repeat those levels, the Legion faithful should be in for an entertaining game.

“It’s the mental preparation,” Mark Briggs said. “It’s the understanding that we performed at the level we need to perform at, but we still didn’t win. So we’ve got to take that quality that we showed, that confidence that we showed, that freedom that we showed, and do it again here in this stadium.”

One concern the team will need to address if they are to get anything against the Battery is their finishing. Despite dominating Indy at the weekend, the Black and Gold needed 93 minutes to score their only goal of the game.

This has been a trend throughout the year. Legion are not just one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league, they have been underperforming their expected goals tally by a significant margin all season.

With only one practice between the Indy and Charleston games, Birmingham have had limited time to work on their finishing since Saturday. They did however end Tuesday’s practice with a shooting drill.

Briggs said the goalscoring component is often the last element to come when implementing a new system, but he hopes to see progress made soon.

“It’s just about getting the repetitions,” Briggs said. “Getting them in front of goal and making sure that the standard’s high when we’re doing it here on the training field so that when it happens in game it becomes a natural habit.”

Tonight’s game is the second of three in one week for the Three Sparks. Legion face a road trip to defending Eastern Conference champions Road Island FC this weekend to close things out.

As such, they will be desperate to keep building momentum after Saturday’s positive performance.

The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network. It will also feature a brand new kit and game day festivities in correlation with the World Police and Fire Games and 4th of July. With the added interest in the matchup, it could make it a statement game for the Legion ahead of tough consecutive road games.

“Anytime you beat Charleston, or any time you get a result against Charleston, it’s classed as a statement win,” Briggs said. “They’re one of the top teams. But for us, we’ve got to focus on every single game, one game at a time, and making sure that progress is being made.

“If we continue down the route that we’re currently going on and make sure that we continue to buy in and do what’s asked of us, results will start to turn,” he added. “I’ve no question of that.”

Birmingham Legion host Charleston Battery at 7 p.m. tonight at Protective Stadium.

Ahead of the game, Legion II will host Montgomery United for a USL League Two matchup at 4 p.m. in Protective. The night will end with a 4th of July fireworks display after the game.

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