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And another weekend of WPS action is back. The Boston Breakers will try to extend their lead at the top of the table, but must contend with a Marta-less WNY Flash. The Atlanta Beat look one-up a slew of former Beat players who are now in Sky Blue FC’s ranks when stylish SBFC visit a fresh-faced Beat side. And Philadelphia Independence begin their home stay at Widener University when they host the team theoretically known as magicJack.

Check back in around 7pm E.T. to mark the triumphant return of Chris’ live blog. We’re also working on bringing exclusive coverage of the Philly/mJ match. Hopefully Lauren Barker’s elusive press pass has arrived in today’s mail.

How will more Beat youngsters fare against SBFC?

It seems that a bruising 4-1 defeat last week against the Breakers did little to deter Beat head coach James Galanis from his baptism by fire philosophy. Galanis told the MDJ that he will continue to put faith in rookies, and hope they find their footing quickly. New faces Kylie Wright and Vendula Strnadova could earn their first pro appearances tonight. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Cat Whitehill, Lori Chalupny, and Carli Lloyd return to make up the spine of the team, but the rest is anyone’s guess. Hopefully it won’t be as miserable as last week.

Can SBFC continue to play the prettiest football in all the land?

Jim Gabarra’s side certainly doesn’t look like the team who went 624 minutes without a run-of-play home goal last season. Sure, they chucked it away in the second half when the Philadelphia Independence threw numbers forward and pinned back full-backs Kendall Fletcher and Brittany Taylor, but still. Sky Blue put forth some wonderful passing sequences and dictated the tempo of the first half. And that was without attacking outside mid’s Heather O’Reilly and Tobin Heath. It sounds wild, but if Gabarra can sustain this, SBFC could be the leading advocates of stylish, attacking soccer this year. And that’s even without the team’s World Cup players.

Will attendances meet the 3,500 mark?

WPS reportedly expects crowds of 3,500 this weekend. Last weekend, Sky Blue attracted just 2,910 folks to the team’s home opener, but that number must be qualified by the less-than-ideal weather. The Atlanta Beat drew an impressive 4,002 last Saturday, which is one of the more sizeable numbers recorded at KSU Stadium for a league game. It will be interesting to see if the Beat can draw a similar number, particularly after such a disappointing team performance last weekend. The Independence will settle in to their new digs at Widener University. The club rarely cracked the 3,500 threshold at John A. Farrell Stadium. Hopefully a cozier setting, a championship appearance last season, and the return of many old faces will help boost attendance. The Breakers also play host to the much-anticipated debut of the WNY Flash. Boston attracted the best attendance figures last season, and there’s little reason to doubt the Breakers faithful will come out in droves for this one.

Who will step up in Jordan Angeli’s absence?

Keelin Winters wasted little time getting her Rookie of the Year campaign up and running. The Portland midfielder recorded her first professional goal against the Beat last weekend. The Breakers’ prospects are lifted by the probable appearances of the team’s first choice (and first class) back four, as well as Kelly Smith and Lauren Cheney. The question may not be answered this weekend, but Tony DiCicco must be looking to promote someone from squad player to starter in light of Jordan Angeli’s season-ending ACL injury last season. Who has the inside track?

How will the WNY Flash attack look without Marta?

The WNY Flash officially announced that Marta is not expected to arrive at the Buffalo Niagra International Airport until 1 p.m. on Monday (and fans are asked to come and help welcome the Brazilian star). That might take the sheen off of the Flash’s golden trinity of attackers, but the presence of Christine Sinclair and Alex Morgan must count for something. How prepared will both players be? Ali Riley mentioned that Sinclair had been nursing some kind of knock in preseason and Morgan returned from USWNT training no more than 10 days ago. This match could prove to be the advance screening of the feature length film, but it’s hotly anticipated nonetheless.

magicJack? magicJack!

Dan Borislow’s engimatic team will be making their long-awaited in-person debut today away to the Philadelphia Independence. Hope Solo, Nikki Marshall, Sophie Schmidt, Johanna Rasmussen, among a load of draftees won’t be in attendance, but in spite of that, mJ could field the most formidable starting XI of all six teams this weekend. Of the 14 Americans listed on magicJack’s traveling roster, 12 have earned a senior USWNT cap. So how will the team do? No earthly idea. No P.R. representative, no working website, and no Twitter account meant no status updates this preseason. Many questions will be answered tonight, including whether or not this team is actually real. (There’s surely a preponderance of evidence that suggests the team doesn’t even really exist, right?)

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