Birmingham Legion will take a break from league play this weekend.

Instead, the Three Sparks will face a short trip North to take on the Chattanooga Red Wolves in the second round of the USL Prinx Tires Cup.

Following a penalty-loss to San Antonio FC in their cup opener, the Black and Gold are on the back foot. But thanks to the FC Tulsa – One Knox game also going to penalties, Group 3 remains incredibly contested. Corpus Christie, the group’s presumed weakest link before a ball was kicked, defeated the Red Wolves to take a likely short-lived lead at the top of the standings.

San Antonio is the only USL Championship team on two points, with FC Tulsa ahead of Legion only on goals scored. Everything is therefore still there to play for for the Three Sparks, but a win in Tennessee looks crucial. All three Group 3 USL Championship teams face a USL League One underdog this weekend, so getting the job done in East Ridge is a must.

“This game will determine whether we have a real chance to get out of our group,” Jay Heaps said. “If we want to win our group, we probably have to take care of the next two matches [the second being a home game vs Corpus Christie].”

With only one wildcard team advancing this year — Legion were one of two to do so in 2025 — winning the group is paramount. Anything other than the full three points will be deemed a failure.

Thankfully, with no fixture congestion at this point in the season, Heaps is free to line up his preferred team. Despite still missing a few players to injury, the lineup is looking increasingly settled by the week. Ramiz Hamouda is a doubt after exiting the Miami game with an injury, but the rest of that game’s starting XI are raring to go.

Samuel Shashoua, absent with a knee injury since early April, has also started stepping up his recovery, though the Chattanooga game might come just too soon for him.

“We’re trying to make sure we’re healthy, getting guys back and fully fit,” Heaps said. “It’s been a good week of training because we had a full week this week. [After playing Thursday] we gave them the weekend off, and we really got after them Monday through [Wednesday].

Despite facing a USL League One side, Birmingham will take on a familiar foe in Tennessee. The Red Wolves have been a regular preseason opponent for the Three Sparks — including a 1-0 win this year — while also often featuring as a cup adversary.

Legion have faced the Red Wolves three times in competitive games, winning all three to date. The latest was in last season’s USL Cup, a 3-1 victory during Eric Avila’s brief interim spell.

“We know the team, we know how physical it is,” Sebastian Tregarthen, who played an hour in last year’s encounter, said. “Every time we play them, even if it’s preseason or the cup like last year, we know that it’s a very physical team.

“We know the players, so it makes it very entertaining to see what are they going to put on the field and force us as a challenge,” he continued.

Birmingham’s strength so far this season has been its backline, with Jassem Koleilat conceding just one goal per game since taking on the gloves. The Red Wolves, for their part, have struggled to score much until their latest outing, a 4-1 win over Sarasota Paradise.

The game will probably be decided in Legion’s attacking third, as the Three Sparks have struggled to create meaningful chances and put games away when dominating. With a well-drilled and physical Chattanooga defense to contend with, taking advantage of every opportunity could be crucial.

But despite the growing pains as the team adapts to a new style of play under Heaps, the players feel the confidence growing in the locker room. New-signing Seth Antwi, who’s been everpresent in the lineup since moving to the Magic City, said they know they have the tools to get the job done.

“There’s no pressure,” Antwi said. “We know we need to get results, but that doesn’t mean we put pressure on ourselves. We know what we’re capable of and we know the result is going to come.”

He did however add that the team has been working a lot on penalties following their shootout with San Antonio, where only Tyler Pasher scored among the Legion’s four takers.

Birmingham Legion face the Chattanooga Red Wolves at 6 p.m. Saturday at CHI Memorial Stadium. The game will be shown live on ESPN+ and My68 WABM, while the club has also chartered a bus for supporters to travel to East Ridge and support the team in-person for just $15.

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