The 2025 USL Jägermeister Cup kicks off this weekend with a slate of 18 games between Friday and Sunday night as clubs from the USL Championship and League One begin their road to a Shot at Glory.

We’ve picked out a game from each group to watch from Saturday night’s slate, with each one featuring an interleague clash with a compelling pregame storyline. Find out why you should tune into each game throughout the night and then make your picks for the correct result in each game.

Hartford Athletic vs. Portland Hearts of Pine, 4 p.m. ET

It didn’t take long for the Hartford Athletic and Portland Hearts of Pine to develop a mutual distaste for each other. When the sides met in the U.S. Open Cup earlier this month in Lewiston, Maine, it produced a helter-skelter contest that saw the sides combine for 34 shots across 120 minutes in a great exhibition of attacking soccer. Portland’s equalizer by Jake Keegan in the 116th minute despite the hosts being a player down was one of the goals of the tournament so far and was topped by Hearts of Pine winning in a penalty shootout for the biggest result in its short history. As the sides reconvene at Hartford’s Trinity Health Stadium, expect some of the tensions that appeared then to resurface before what should be a cracking atmosphere.

FC Naples vs. Charleston Battery, 7 p.m. ET

It’s a small disappointment that FC Naples’ undefeated start to the season came to an end last weekend, but what the first-year club has put together in USL League One – including going toe-to-toe with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the U.S. Open Cup – has been mightily impressive. That mettle will be tested by a Charleston Battery side that’s looking like one of the top teams in the Championship once again, but it should produce a fascinating first meeting between these sides at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex, where the crowds have been consistent strong this season.

One Knoxville SC vs. FC Tulsa, 7 p.m. ET

With four wins in its first six games of the campaign, FC Tulsa has become one of the USL Championship’s most intriguing stories over the first two months of the season under new Head Coach Luke Spencer. They’ll take that form to Tennessee, where One Knoxville is the last undefeated team standing in USL League One under its own new boss in Ian Fuller. Knoxville took Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC to extra time in the Open Cup earlier this month and could welcome the highest attendance at a USL League One venue as it plays its inaugural game at Covenant Health Park, which could set up One Knox for success.

Louisville City vs. Richmond Kickers, 7:30 p.m. ET

There are some good rivalries in Group 5, but don’t sleep on the battles Louisville City FC and the Richmond Kickers had when they were both part of the USL Championship for four seasons prior to the Kickers’ move to League One for its launch in 2019. LouCity maintained the upper hand over their nine meetings – including a postseason matchup in 2016 that saw the Kickers take the game to extra time before falling 2-0 – and over the years grabbed talent from Richmond like George Davis IV and Brian Ownby, the latter of whom is still active for the Boys in Purple. As these teams meet for the first time in seven years, it could be an intriguing renewal of their rivalry.

New Mexico United vs. Union Omaha, 9 p.m. ET

Look closely and you can see the similarities between New Mexico United and Union Omaha. Stellar records in the U.S. Open Cup? Check. Finished top of their respective divisions a season ago? Check. Two clubs with great off-field cultures? Check. Maybe the only surprise for this contest is it will mark the first time New Mexico faces a club from USL League One, while Union Omaha has built part of its trophy-hunting reputation on its success against teams from the USL Championship teams, against which it is 2-0-1 in prior Open Cup meetings. For two talented squads and two outstanding up-and-coming managers in New Mexico’s Dennis Sanchez and Omaha’s Dominic Casciato, this has the potential to be a fascinating contest for fans of all stripes.

Sacramento Republic FC vs. AV ALTA FC, 10 p.m. ET

You can look at this as one of the Championship’s bluebloods against one of League One’s bright upstarts. Republic FC is among the winningest clubs in the USL Championship’s history, with the atmosphere at Heart Health Park having pushed the club to some of its greatest success over a decade-plus. In AV ALTA FC, however, we’ve seen a team that’s fomented a similar spirit in its early games at Lancaster Municipal Stadium, nicknamed the Hangar. AV ALTA has already knocked off Orange County SC in a penalty shootout in the Open Cup this season and will be hoping to claim another notable result as it heads up to Northern California.