FC Cincinnati set out looking to pick up an eighth consecutive victory when they go head to head with Nashville SC at the TQL Stadium on Wednesday.
Having failed to win their opening five league games away from home this season, the Boys in Gold will head into the midweek clash in search of their first MLS away win since last September's 3-0 victory at Sporting Kansas City.
Match preview
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High-flying Cincinnati continued their surge to the top of the MLS standings as they secured a thrilling 4-3 victory over Toronto FC at the BMO Field Stadium on Sunday.
With the game tied heading into the closing minutes, Brazilian striker Sergio Santos grabbed the headlines as he netted the all-important goal in the third minute of the game to hand the Reds their seventh league defeat.
With that result, Pat Noonan's men have won each of their last seven matches, scoring 15 goals and conceding seven since losing back-to-back games against New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal back in April.
Cincinnati have now picked up 10 wins and three draws in their 15 MLS matches so far to collect 33 points and sit second in the Eastern Conference standings, one point behind first-placed Inter Miami, albeit with one game in hand.
Nashville, on the other hand, continue to struggle for consistency as they played out a goalless draw with Montreal when the sides squared off at the Saputo Stadium on Sunday.
Both teams were guilty of a wasteful display at the attacking end of the pitch as they squandered several goalscoring opportunities to snatch the game and a draw was certainly a fair result upon reflection.
The Boys in Gold have now won just three of their 14 MLS matches so far while losing four and claiming seven draws to collect 16 points and sit 11th in the East, level on points with 10th-placed Orlando City.
Nashville's slow start to the campaign has been owing to their struggles on their travels as they have failed to win any of their last five away matches across all competitions, claiming two draws and losing four, including a 3-1 defeat at Inter Miami in the CONCACAF Champions Cup round-of-16 on March 13.
However, they will be backing themselves to end this poor run on Wednesday as they take on an opposing side who have failed to win 10 of their last 13 encounters, losing five and claiming five draws since July 2018.
Team News
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Cincinnati will take to the pitch without the attacking duo of Yuya Kubo and 28-year-old Corey Baird, who are currently recuperating from leg and hip injuries respectively.
Gabon international Aaron Boupendza has missed each of the last five matches since suffering a damaged jaw in April and the 27-year-old will sit out Wednesday's game.
Alvas Powell was forced off with a hamstring injury in the 2-1 victory over Columbus Crew on May 12 and the Jamaican defender is also out of contention for the home side.
Meanwhile, Nashville will be without the services of Canadian defender Lukas MacNaughton, who has been sidelined since coming off with an ankle injury in April.
He is joined on the Boys in Gold's injury table by Costa Rican midfielder Randall Leal, who is set to sit out his seventh consecutive game since picking up a hip injury against Inter Miami on April 21.
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Celentano; Robinson, Miazga, Murphy; Halsey, Nwobodo, Bucha, Orellano; Acosta, Valenzuela, Kelsy
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Moore, Zimmerman, Maher, Lovitz; Boyd, Godoy, Davis, Shaffelburg; Mukhtar, Surridge
We say: FC Cincinnati 2-1 Nashville SC
Looking at past meetings between Cincinnati and Nashville, we anticipate another action-packed contest with plenty of goalmouth action. Noonan's men are currently firing on all cylinders and we predict that they will continue their blistering run by claiming all three points once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
