Runaway MLS leaders FC Cincinnati seek a 14th win from 19 games in the 2023 campaign when they venture to Audi Field for a date with DC United on Saturday.
The visitors returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion last time out with a 3-0 beating of Toronto, while Wayne Rooney's men were put to the sword 2-1 by Real Salt Lake.
Match preview
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Losing captain Steve Birnbaum to a 26th-minute red card meant that DC United were always going to be fighting a losing battle to keep Salt Lake at bay last weekend, and Pablo Mastroeni's men appropriately rubbed salt into the wounds against their 10-man hosts.
Strikes from Pablo Ruiz and Danny Musovski either side of the half-time whistle gave Real Salt Lake a healthy two-goal cushion against their 10-man hosts, who did cut the deficit in half through Chris Durkin just two minutes after Musovski's effort, but it was a fruitless endeavour.
Rooney could have had few complaints about Ruiz's outrageous goal from inside his own half, but the Manchester United icon was less than impressed at the decision to deny his side a potentially priceless penalty later in the game, sparking a scathing post-match rant from the DC boss about the standard of MLS refereeing.
A calm head would not go amiss in DC right now, though, as Rooney's men enter the weekend languishing in eighth in the Eastern Conference standings having won just one of their last five matches in MLS, suffering back-to-back losses to Atlanta United and now Real Salt Lake.
A six-game scoring streak does offer a sliver of hope for the Black-and-Red, but the hosts have also failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last five affairs and have only won a third of their games at Audi Field so far - frailties that Cincinnati should need no second invitation to capitalise on.
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Similarly to their upcoming opponents, Cincinnati have also been finding the back of the net for fun in recent times, but Pat Noonan's men have coupled their prolific tendencies with defensive resilience at the other end of the field to maintain their unassailable lead at the summit.
Vancouver Whitecaps denied Cincinnati a 10th successive win in all competitions two weekends ago, but the Orange and Blue reverted to type on Wednesday with a 3-0 trouncing of lowly Toronto courtesy of goals from Santiago Arias, Luciano Acosta and Dominique Badji.
Holding an eight-point lead over closest challengers Nashville in the Eastern Conference standings and the Supporters' Shield rankings, Cincinnati are still fighting for success on three fronts this term, with an Open Cup semi-final against Inter Miami and Leagues Cup group phase also on the agenda for Noonan and co.
So far, though, Cincinnati have shown no signs of waning when forced to juggle league and cup commitments, stringing together an outstanding 14-game unbeaten run in all tournaments - winning 12 of them - and not since the second week of the season against Orlando City have they failed to make the net bulge.
Then again, just three of Cincinnati's 13 wins this season have come on rival territory, but they boast back-to-back triumphs over DC United from their last two meetings, marching to a 2-1 victory last month after a 5-2 drubbing at Audi Field just eight months ago.
Team News
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Birnbaum's early sending-off last weekend means that the DC skipper - who was also fined for failing to leave the field in a timely manner -will have to watch Saturday's showdown from the naughty step, so Donovan Pines ought to fill the hole in the backline.
Striker Nigel Robertha and playmaker Theodore Ku-DiPietro are both on the mend from ankle problems and will remain sidelined for the time being, while Mohanad Jeahze (calf) and Martin Rodriguez (knee) also take up spots in the hosts' infirmary.
Right-back Andy Najar was recently involved in a nonsensical incident with Honduras as one of several players to boycott a friendly with Barbados due to a perceived unplayable pitch; the right-back went so far as to claim he was injured before coming off the bench against Real Salt Lake.
As for Cincinnati, Noonan has no fresh fitness concerns to take into account from midweek, but Brenner (ankle), Sergio Santos (hamstring) and Nick Hagglund (hamstring) remain out of contention.
Matt Miazga and Brandon Vazquez are also on Gold Cup duty with the United States, so Badji and Yuya Kubo should continue to spearhead the visitors' depleted attack.
Meanwhile, Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Yerson Mosquera will soon return from international duty with Colombia, but it remains to be seen if the centre-back will be given the green light to play here.
DC United possible starting lineup:
Miller; Williams, Pines, Hines-Ike; Durkin, O'Brien, Klich, Samake; Dajome, Benteke, Hurtado
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Celentano; Powell, Murphy, Mosquera; Arias, Nwobodo, Angulo, Barreal; Acosta; Badji, Kubo
We say: DC United 1-2 FC Cincinnati
DC United need no lessons in making their attacking phases count, but it is a different story for Rooney's charges at the other end of the field, and a third successive loss is surely on the cards.
Cincinnati are missing several members of their forward line for various reasons, but the league leaders should still march on with a win here - even if their inconsistent away form and midweek fatigue means it is not as emphatic as first hoped.
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