Two sides who are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs go head to head in the Eastern Conference as FC Cincinnati play host to Orlando City at the TQL Stadium on Saturday.
The goal for both sides, who head into the weekend in contrasting form, will now be to close out the regular season on a high and gather momentum ahead of their quest for the MLS Cup.
Match preview
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FC Cincinnati were left empty handed yet again in the season run-in as they suffered a 3-2 defeat against New York City FC when the two teams squared off on Wednesday night.
In a thrilling contest at the Red Bull Arena, Mitja Ilenic, Alonso Martinez and Santiago Rodriguez all hit the target to hand the Pigeons a narrow victory, with Luciano Acosta and Corey Baird getting on the scoresheet for the visitors.
Cincinnati have now failed to win eight of their most recent 10 MLS matches — losing six and claiming two draws — having picked up 12 wins from the 14 games preceding the run.
This poor late-season form has been owing to their recent defensive vulnerability as Pat Noonan's men have managed just one clean sheet while conceding 18 goals in the 10 league outings since picking up three consecutive victories over Dallas, DC United and Inter Miami between June and July.
Next up for Cincinnati is the challenge of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in nine of the last 12 meetings between the sides, claiming four wins and five draws since May 2019.
Orlando City, on the other hand, continued their strong end to the regular season as they picked up a 2-1 victory over Philadelphia Union when the sides met at the Exploria Stadium in midweek.
Following a relatively uneventful first half, Facundo Torres and Duncan Maguire found the back of the net to put the hosts two goals up before Quinn Sullivan halved the deficit for Philadelphia with a 72nd-minute strike.
Oscar Pareja's men have now picked up fine wins from their most recent six matches — with a narrow 4-3 loss against Columbus Crew on September 22 being the exception — and are unbeaten in 10 of their last 12 MLS outings since the start of June.
This fine run of results have seen Orlando City book their place in the playoff as they currently sit fourth in the Western Conference table with 49 points from 32 games, two places and seven points behind Saturday's hosts.
Team News
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Cincinnati will have to cope without the services of Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy, who is currently suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against New York City last time out.
On the injury front, Noonan will be unable to call upon several players down the spine of the team as Nick Hagglund (leg), Isaiah Foster (knee) and Alec Kann (hip) continue their spells on the sidelines.
Chidozie Awazien missed the game against New York City after coming off with a first-half injury against Los Angeles FC on September 29 while first-choice defender Matthew Miazga has been out of action since suffering a knee injury against San Jose Earthquakes in June.
As for Orlando City, Pareja will be unable to call upon the services of Slovenian defender David Brekalo, who missed the last five games since sustaining a thigh injury while on international duty in September.
He is joined on the club's injury table by 26-year-old goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar, who has been sidelined since coming off injured New York City FC in June while Dagur Dan Thorhallsson has been ruled out with a leg injury.
Uruguayan midfielder Cesar Araujo will also play no part in Saturday's game as he is currently suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Philadelphia on Thursday.
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Celentano; Powell, Robinson, Hadebe; Yedlin, Nwobodo, Bucha, Orellano; Acosta, Bakrar; Kubo
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Smith, Schlegel, Jansson, Santos; Araujo, Cartagena; Torres, Ojeda, Angulo; Enrique
We say: FC Cincinnati 2-2 Orlando City
While Cincinnati have suffered a drop-off in form in the season run-in, Orlando have picked up five wins from their last six matches and will head into the weekend with sky-high confidence. However, Cincinnati's home advantage gives them a slight upper hand and we predict that they will frustrate the visitors to a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
