FC Cincinnati will be looking to widen the gap between themselves and the chasing pack in the MLS Eastern Conference when they take on third-placed Nashville SC at TQL Stadium on Sunday.
The hosts head into this crucial encounter off the back of a much-needed 2-1 win away to the New York Red Bulls in midweek, while the visitors were beaten 2-0 by Philadelphia Union in one of the most eventful matches of the season.
Match preview
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After going a goal down inside the first half hour against the Red Bulls on Thursday, Pat Noonan's side looked set to be heading for their fourth consecutive match without a win following a 3-0 loss to DC United and consecutive 2-2 draws against New England Revolution and Charlotte FC earlier this month.
However, Luciano Acosta stepped up to slot away his 11th goal of the season when Cincinnati were awarded a penalty late on, and Obinna Nwobodo got them over the line with a 92nd-minute winner to snap up their three-match winless run and maintain an eight-point advantage over New England in second place.
While that run of three games was the longest that Noonan's side have gone without a win this season, their record still looks very good, with 14 wins, six draws and just two losses to date, but more impressively, they are already just a single point behind the 49-point tally that they recorded last season when they finished fifth.
The hosts have been incredible at home this season, taking 31 of a possible 33 points at TQL Stadium, scoring 21 and conceding just seven in that time, and they are one of only two sides in the league, along with the Revolution, that are still unbeaten on home soil.
Cincinnati have gone on a couple of excellent runs in this campaign, including a seven-match unbeaten streak at the very beginning of the season, and after an unexpected 5-1 thrashing by St Louis City in mid-May, they went 10 games without a loss up to the end of June.
Having now got the monkey off their back, albeit with a bit of fortune in the last match, the league leaders will face a stern test here against the side in third place, but they will fancy their chances at home, especially with their opponents stumbling at the moment.
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Nashville's wretched run of form in MLS continued in their last match, as their 2-0 loss saw them give up second place to New England, and they are now at risk of falling all the way to fifth in the table if they lose this encounter and Philadelphia and Columbus win their matches over the weekend.
As if heading to the TQL Stadium this season was not a daunting enough thought already for Gary Smith, he will now need to do so with two notable absentees in Daniel Lovitz and Shaquell Moore after the pair were shown red in a match that went off the rails in the closing stages at Geodis Park in midweek.
Nashville were on a four-match unbeaten run at the start of last month, but after beating St Louis City in mid-June, they have won just one and lost four of their last five matches leading up to this one.
Despite their lofty league position, Nashville's away record this season has been average at best, with just 12 points secured in 11 matches on the road, and they are now on a three-match losing streak, failing to score a single goal in that time.
Perhaps the only positive that the visitors can look to right now is that they still possess the best defensive stats in the league this season, having only conceded 19 in their 22 matches to date, though it is worth pointing out that six of those came in the last five matches alone and that they have not kept a clean sheet in their last eight matches on the road.
Team News
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Noonan will have two absentees heading into Sunday's fixture, with Dominique Badji and Gerardo Valenzuela both ruled out with leg injuries, though Yuya Kubo could make a comeback here after missing last week's match with a knock.
Ian Murphy has served his suspension and will be in line for selection, while the USA's semi-final exit against Panama in the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Thursday means that Matt Miazga and Brandon Vazquez can rejoin the side and could feature at some point.
Lovitz and Moore will both be ineligible for selection after their red cards in midweek, which could mean that Alex Muyl will play in defence from the start here after coming off the bench against Philadelphia.
Nick DePuy is the only long-term injury absentee for Smith, and he is expected to remain sidelined for most of the season with a serious injury to his Achilles tendon.
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Celentano; Hagglund, Mosquera, Powell; Nwobodo, Barreal, Arias, Angulo, Acosta; Ordonez, Kubo
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; MacNaughton, Zimmerman, Maher, Muyl; McCarty, Davis, Leal, Picault; Mukhtar, Bunbury
We say: FC Cincinnati 2-0 Nashville SC
With 10 straight home wins and a draw, it is difficult to go against the hosts in this one, especially against a Nashville side that are riding a three-match away losing run and are winless in their last four in all competitions. We only see one result here, and that is for Cincinnati to win by at least two goals.
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Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
