• Fresno FC (6W, 7D, 7L) currently sit in 9^th place in the USL Western Conference, 10 points and 6 places below Rising in 3^rd who have played 2 less games.
• This will be Rising’s first appearance at Chukchansi Park.  The two sides met once before, at the end of April in Scottsdale.  A late goal from Alessandro Riggi rescued a point for 10-man Rising, cancelling out Johnson’s 47^th minute opener, after Amadou Dia had been sent off in the first half.
• Fresno are a team that are willing to attack – so far, they have recorded the 5^th highest number of shots in the USL.
• However, with 43 yellow cards, Fresno have the second-worst disciplinary record in the USL. Only Las Vegas has picked up more cautions.
• Jemal Johnson is Fresno’s top scorer. The 33 year-old pacey forward has found the net 7 times in 17 games this season, but also collected a red card for a second bookable offence in the 1-0 defeat away to Monarchs on June 26.  A former Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers youth player, Johnson played in the English Football League for the likes of Wolves, MK Dons, Preston North End and Leeds United, and in Bulgaria for Lokomotiv Sofia.  This is Johnson’s first season in the USL.  He spent the previous 5 seasons in the NASL, at Fort Lauderdale Strikers, New York Cosmos and Jacksonville Armada, scoring 9 goals in 106 games.
• Juan Caffa is another player of note in the Fresno lineup. He picked up Team of the Week honors last week, after scoring twice in the 4-2 win away to Timbers 2. Caffa has scored 6 goals for Los Zorros this season, and also created the most chances of any player in the side (36 chances in 17 games).  The Argentinian left winger is a graduate of Club Atlético Boca Juniors youth system, and spent 4 seasons in Spain’s La Liga, scoring 12 goals in 103 appearances for Real Betis and Real Zaragoza.
• Christian Chaney is one to look out for in the Fresno forward line. While he has only scored 3 times this season, he’s also taken the second-most shots (29) of any player in the squad.
• Zach Ellis-Hayden has impressed so far, setting up 4 goals in his 8 appearances to date. The Canadian defender has previously featured for Orlando City B in 2016 and 2017 (45 appearances, 1 goal).
• 17 of Los Zorros’ 28 goals this season have been scored in the second half.

• Forward Franck Tayou is a new addition to the Fresno roster since their April encounter against Rising.  A prolific goalscorer in the Major Arena Soccer League, Tayou scored an incredible 126 goals in two seasons for Soles de Sonora.  The Cameroonian has also played in the USL for San Antonio (17 appearances, 5 goals) and Richmond Kickers (13 appearances, 1 goal), and FC Wichita in the NPSL.
• Danny Barrera is the only player to appear in all 20 USL games for Fresno this season, although he has been subbed off in 4 of those games.  The Colombian-born midfielder joined Los Zorros in the close season after 3 seasons at Sacramento (62 appearances, 6 goals).  Barrera has scored once for Fresno this season, in a 4-1 home win against Swope Park Rangers on June 17.
• Goalkeeper Kyle Reynish has kept 3 clean sheets in 15 games, and boasts a 69.8 percent save success rate.  Reynish will almost certainly start on Saturday, having extended his contract earlier this week.   The 34 year-old was signed from Atlanta United where he made 2 appearances.  Reynish’s former clubs include Real Salt Lake, New York Cosmos, Chicago Fire, and New York Red Bull.
• CJ Cochran had starred in goal for Fresno in their last 2 games, but his loan spell from Nashville SC ended in midweek.  A former OKC Energy keeper, Cochran had conceded 5 goals in 5 games for Fresno, and kept 1 clean sheet.
• 14 of the 24 goals conceded by Fresno this season have been scored in the second half, including 6 in the last 15 minutes.

• Fresno have lost only 2 games at home this season – their opening game against LV Lights 3-2, and a 1-0 June 13 defeat against Sacramento.  They come into Saturday’s game on the back of two impressive victories – 2-0 against Sacramento on June 30, and a 4-2 victory on the road at Timbers 2 last weekend.

From The Ashes Prediction: Rising to collect another point on the road.