After a prolonged absence from match play, FC Cincinnati will return to action Saturday night in a cross-country visit with the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park. Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m. ET. Fans can watch the game on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and listen locally on ESPN 1530.
With The Orange and Blue California Dreamin', let's break down this matchup with some key numbers to consider, presented by CTI.
39
San Jose Earthquakes have struggled mightily on defense this season, conceding a league-low 39 goals in 16 matches with a tied-for-last goal differential of -15. Part of that issue has been defending set pieces, of which they have conceded a league-high 14 goals, and shots from distance, of which they've conceded eight from outside the box.
0
FC Cincinnati is the best team in MLS when it comes to defending transition attacks from opponents. In 16 games this season, FCC has conceded zero goals from counterattacks (a league low) and has only conceded 15 total shots when defending a counter.
59
Luciano Acosta's 59-shot setups lead all players in this match and all players in MLS this season. A shot setup is any action (pass, dribble, cross, free kick or corner kick) directly resulting in a shot on target. Luca Orellano is second on FC Cincinnati with 23, creating a dynamic Argentine duo on the attack that has contributed to a combined 20 goal contributions between the two of them.
6.71
Marathon Man Pavel Bucha leads FC Cincinnati players in distance covered this season, tracking over 175.95 miles or 6.71 marathons in his team-high 1414 minutes played.
If, instead of being an outstanding midfielder, Bucha was a competitive runner, the Czech star would come just shy of qualifying for the Boston Marathon with an average marathon time of three hours 24 minutes based on his distance covered in match play this season. No reporting currently exists on whether Sisay Lemma (2024 Men's Boston Marathon Champion, 2:06:17) has nearly the ball skills Bucha has.
33
Opposing defenses have been going after Luciano Acosta, who enters the match with the most fouls committed against any individual player in this match with 33. Despite starting just 15 games compared to some other leaders who have made 16 or 17 appearances, Acosta's 33 fouls suffered are the eighth most in the league and is on pace to well surpass his 2023 mark and perhaps reach his career-high figure of 79 fouls suffered in 2021.
