A pair of undefeated Eastern Conference sides square off on Sunday in MLS action as FC Cincinnati host DC United at TQL Stadium.
Last Saturday, the Orange and Blue won their first regular season fixture of the new campaign, edging the Chicago Fire 2-1, while DC scored twice in the final 18 minutes to earn a 2-2 draw with the Portland Timbers.
Match preview
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Cincinnati are in the MLS win column for the first time in the 2024 campaign, prevailing for a third successive time away from home in the regular season.
Pat Noonan's men will enter this contest winless in their last three regular season home fixtures dating back to 2023, playing to a 0-0 draw with Toronto in their domestic opener this year.
The Orange and Blue have little time to recover from their CONCACAF Champions Cup (CCC) encounter versus Monterrey on Thursday but have fared well in situations like this, going 13-2-4 on two days' rest since Noonan took charge.
On Thursday, they conceded for the first time at TQL Stadium this season, and it was a familiar face who did the damage as former striker Brandon Vazquez had the only goal to help Monterrey claim a 1-0 victory in the opening leg of their CCC tie.
In 2023, the only time Cincinnati dropped points at TQL Stadium in this competition was when they conceded in the opening half, doing so in three of their final four home fixtures.
Cincy were kept off the scoresheet only once at home during the 2023 domestic campaign, and they have never been held scoreless in consecutive league fixtures since their opening two games of 2022.
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We are only two matches into the 2024 domestic campaign, and DC United have shown tremendous quality, scoring five goals in two games thus far.
That may not be what many had anticipated under Troy Lesesne, who came over from the New York Red Bulls, a side known for their defensive prowess and hanging back.
So far, Lesesne has brought out the best in this group, who came from behind to earn a point last weekend for the first time in this competition since September 2023 (2-2 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps).
Dating back to the previous MLS campaign, the Black and Red have points in three of their last four away fixtures in this competition, winning four matches as the visitors a season ago.
DC have scored multiple times in five of their last six regular-season affairs but also conceded at least once in seven successive MLS encounters.
They have kept Cincy off the scoresheet in two of their three visits to TQL Stadium but lost their first away match against them last season, 2-1.
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Team News
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Kipp Keller will be questionable for Cincy on Sunday due to concussion protocol, Alec Kann is dealing with a sore hand and Nick Hagglund has a hamstring strain.
Earlier this week, they acquired DeAndre Yedlin in a trade with Inter Miami for General Allocation Money (GAM) and loaned Alvaro Barreal to Cruzeiro in the Brasileiro Serie A at the beginning of March.
Aaron Boupendza netted the first goal of the 2024 MLS campaign for Cincinnati last weekend, while Miles Robinson put home his first with the Orange and Blue, becoming the fifth player to score his first career goal for the club in all competitions this season, with the others being Malik Pinto, Gerardo Valenzuela, Alvas Powell and Isaiah Foster.
Garrison Tubbs and Jacob Murrell will be questionable for DC United this weekend as they are both suffering from right thigh injuries, while Tyler Miller has a sore right shoulder.
Russell Canouse will not be available to the Black and Red because of a right ankle sprain, and Steven Birnbaum is currently dealing with a left knee injury.
Mateusz Klich notched his first of the season in Portland last week, and Kristian Fletcher headed home the equaliser for his first of 2024 thanks to a pinpoint cross from Aaron Herrera, who led them with 14 recoveries in that game.
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Celentano; Robinson, Miazga, Murphy; Yedlin, Nwobodo, Pinto, Kubo; Acosta; Boupendza, Baird
DC United possible starting lineup:
Bono; Herrera, Bartlett, McVey, P. Santos; Klich, Hopkins; Stroud, Dajome, Ku-DiPietro; Benteke
We say: FC Cincinnati 2-1 DC United
While DC have shown they can create and finish chances, they have also not been particularly sharp on the back end, and against a side as creative and organised as Cincy, that could be a serious problem.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
