Hell is Real kicks off for the first time in 2024 as FC Cincinnati goes northeast to Lower.Com Field to do battle with Columbus Crew. With kickoff set for 7:45 p.m. ET fans can watch the game on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, as well as on traditional television on FS1 and Fox Deportes, and can listen locally on ESPN 1530.
With Rivalry Week in full swing for all of MLS, let's break down this matchup with some key numbers to consider, presented by CTI.
7.77
FC Cincinnati captain and 2023 MLS MVP Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta leads MLS (entering play on Saturday) in Shot Creating Actions Per/90 with 7.77 actions per game. SCA90 (as the stat is listed) tracks occurrences of two concurrent offensive actions that directly lead to a shot on target. Lucho also leads the league in total actions with 79.
Acosta ranks fourth in the league in take-ons, third in live ball passes, and 16 in fouls drawn that result in a shot.
As a club FCC ranks seventh in the league in Shot Creating Actions with 271, and third in the Eastern Conference. Newcomer Luca Orellano ranks second on the team with 39, the most among any player listed as a defender in MLS.
95.8
Roman Celentano returned to action last weekend and earned his fourth clean sheet of the season. The goalkeeper missed four games due to an injury but made his return making two saves to earn the 1-0 win.
This season Celentano leads MLS with a save percentage of 95.8 and has conceded a league low one goal from open play. The former second overall draft pick also ranks sixth in MLS in saves above expected with +3.3 (PSxG+/-) and is third in MLS in per game saves above expected with +0.48.
36.47
Alvas Powell has registered the fastest average top sprint on the team this season, logging a 36.47 km/h flat sprint speed. As the top speed runner on the club, Powell also ranks fourth in the league in that same category behind Moïse Bombito, Jacob Shaffleburg and Alenis Vargas.
Miles Robinson ranks second on the team in sprint speed, clocking in at 35.59 km/h which places him as the 11th fastest top speed sprinter in MLS. Pavel Bucha though, while not ranking in the top 10 on FCC in dead sprint speed, ranks first on the team and second in MLS in High Intensity Runs with 660 sprints above his average speed in 2024. Bucha also ranks first in the club in distance covered with 120 km.
10
Luciano Acosta has been an offensive engine this season, bagging five goals and scoring in each of the last three games. But on top of scoring, Lucho has been excellent at pushing play forward in all phases of the game.
Acosta leads the club and ranks second in the league with 10 successful “through ball” passes this season per FBRef.com, which defines a through ball as “any completed pass through the back line of defenders into open space.” Acosta’s five assists along with his five goals gives him 10 total goal contributions on the season, fourth most in MLS this season.
As a team, FCC ranks third in the league with 20 through ball passes completed, trailing only Inter Miami CF and Minnesota United FC. Luca Orellano, Pavel Bucha and Gerardo “Dado” Valenzula have also registered multiple successful through balls.
56.83
Columbus Crew has been the most on ball team in MLS this season. In 10 games, The Crew have played with 56.83 percent possession and have only once earned less than 50 percent possession in any game and in four of the last five games Columbus has played with over 60 percent possession.
With league median ranking at 49.74 (Real Salt Lake), FCC rank just 19 in possession with 48.28 percent on average. In only three games this season though, The Orange and Blue finished a match with less than 50 percent possession and are 3-0-0 in such matches.
