Fresh off a thumping win in Canada on Saturday, FC Cincinnati get their first dose of midweek action in 2018 as they make a second stop in Indianapolis on Wednesday at 7pm to face Indy Eleven in USL regular season action.
The match will be the club's second and final regular-season trip to Lucas Oil Stadium this campaign and will come just 32 days after a sizable chunk of the Queen City last invaded Indiana's capital. And though a slightly smaller contingent is expected to make the midweek trip this week -- Molly Malone's is running a bus to the match with tickets included -- we know most will look to catch the action by other means.
Luckily, this week's match will once again be shown live on Star64 (WSTR) on local television, while the stream will migrate this week to Watch ESPN/ESPN 3 as it's one of the slated USL Games of the Week.
And with the Orange & Blue carrying a single point lead over the Eleven in the Eastern Conference standings, the match is shaping up to be another "can't miss" affair.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
With just a few weeks transpiring since we last made the trip over to face Indy, there's a lot that's changed -- and quite a bit that's still the same -- since we last met.
At the end of April, we entered the fixture a place behind the Eleven in the table. Now, we find ourselves two places ahead of them in 5th. But as mentioned above, the lead we maintain is a slim one point and +1 in goal difference. They're riding a 3-match unbeaten run into the match (2-1-0), and so are we (1-2-0). So how much there really is between the two sides, at least as current form goes, things look pretty even steven.
If that gives you pause heading into tomorrow's match, take comfort in knowing that FCC has yet to lose on the road this season winning and drawing two a piece -- including the 1-0 win in our first ever visit to Lucas Oil Stadium at the end of March. And we've still never lost to an Indy side, in any competition or friendly. So if nothing else, we've got history on our side a bit.
WHAT TO EXPECT
While the Eleven have lots of arrows in their attacking quiver -- highlighted by former MLS'ers Jack McInerney (#99) and Soony Saad (#14) -- they've not exactly struck the target as frequently as you might expect so far this season having just found the net four times in five matches. However, I wouldn't bet on that streak to extend much further than it already has given the pedigree at their disposal.
With McInerney returning from his retroactive one-match suspension following his vicious hit on Kenney Walker in our last meeting, you can expect the Eleven to align in some semblance of a 4-4-2. McInerney will play as a 9, with Saad as the other forward in a more withdrawn role.
That said, Indy aren't a side that a particularly fond of playing through the middle. Like, at all. Since we played them in March, an average of 72% of their attacks came down their wings -- including a slight preference to their right, where Saad tends to dip back furthest.
Instead, the Eleven are fond of working the pockets of space in between the opposing sides lines. When building from the back, their duo of holding mids -- normally Nico Matern (#6) and captain Matthew Watson (#8) -- coming wide to show for the ball in between the forward and midfield lines, then looking for diagonals to their wingers or shorter vertical outlets to Saad and McInerney checking back into the wide gaps in front of the backline. When those two find the ball, they'll typically look to lay off to a winger or back and then make a penetrating run to get on the end of an ensuing cross or ball through.
Staying the course with their tactics has produced dividends for the Eleven though, as they've not lost since we last met posting a 2-1-0 record.
Meanwhile, FCC has undergone a slight transformation since the last meeting. Their 4-2-3-1 has morphed into a more offensively oriented 4-3-3, with Emmanuel Ledesma moving from wide right into a more forward role and playing the foil to Danni König up top. Just behind them, Nazmi Albadawi's move into the starting XI has helped to spawn a noticeably increased number of chances each match as well.
The gradual changes have seen the Orange & Blue find the back of the net five times in their last two matches, two more than they managed in their opening four fixtures of the season.
The question is then, which of the two sides be able to continue the momentum they've built since their last meeting? We'll Wednesday at 7pm.
