FC Cincinnati look to head into the Leagues Cup break on a high note with an Eastern Conference battle at TQL Stadium between The Orange and Blue and Nashville SC.
Coming off a win in midweek over New York Red Bulls, FC Cincinnati stand top of the table with 48 points and an eight-point lead over second-place New England Revolution. With a month-long break looming as the club prepares for the inaugural Leagues Cup with Liga MX, head coach Pat Noonan wants to ensure the team feels confident and strong.
“There is going to be an opportunity with Nashville,” Noonan said after training Thursday, “very competitive games and good intensity… we’re at home against a good team and in a key matchup, so regardless of who they have on the field, I like to think our guys are gonna be up for this game.”
Nashville SC will be playing shorthanded due to two red cards shown to their starting defenders in Wednesday night’s match with Philadelphia Union. The change to the lineup is one that Noonan is accounting for but feels confident in his player’s ability to capitalize on.
“We’ll anticipate what we think could be their replacements, maybe a different look in the formation, just so we’re prepared for different things.” Noonan said of how the suspensions impact the match, “But the reality is, those are the guys that have been starting every game, and now it’s going to be two different players either out of position or maybe not in their most natural position…or maybe a different look in terms of the system. So… we’ll look at that and try to best prepare our group.
“How we prepare the guys to understand that, maybe the space is gonna be different in how we attack is important.”
Noonan will return to the bench after missing Wednesday’s match due to personal reasons but praised the performance of his team and the coaching staff in getting the win Wednesday evening.
“It was a very big win for our group,” Noonan said, “To find a goal in extra time was icing on the cake… It was a really important three points and I’m really pleased for the staff and the players for the job they did.”
FC CINCINNATI v.s. Nashville SC – Saturday, July, 15, 2023 – 7:30 p.m. ET – TQL Stadium
Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
TV Talent (English): Max Bretos (PxP), Brian Dunseth (Analyst)
TV Talent (Spanish): Bruno Vain (PxP), Andres Agulla (Analyst)
Radio: ESPN 1530
Radio Talent: Tom Gelehrter (play-by-play), Kevin McCloskey (Analyst)
ALL-TIME SERIES
FC Cincinnati earned their first-ever win over Nashville SC on matchday five of the 2023 season, going into GEODIS Park on March 25 and winning 1-0 on a Brandon Vazquez goal.
The matchup will be the sixth game between Nashville SC and FC Cincinnati. Nashville owns the series between the two with a 2-1-2 record and a 1-0-1 record at TQL Stadium.
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
MVP Resume: With 11 goals and seven assists this season, Luciano Acosta is putting together an MVP resume. Since May, Acosta is tied for the lead in goals in league play and second in goals created. The Argentine midfielder also has a goal or an assist in five of his last six matches.
With Nashville coming to town, Acosta will have the opportunity to prove his case against the 2022 MLS MVP and MLS Golden Boot winner Hany Mukhtar.
Comeback Kids – In each of The Orange and Blue’s last three fixtures, FC Cincinnati has come from behind in the second half to avoid taking a loss and secure points. In their win over New York Red Bulls, FCC won after trailing at halftime for the first time in club history.
One is enough – With their win on Wednesday, FC Cincinnati won their eleventh game of the season by a single goal, the most in franchise history. Across all competitions this season, FCC has 13 one-goal victories and four multi-goal victories.
Sold Out – On Tuesday, the club announced that Saturday night’s matchup was a sellout, the 10th time this season in 12 home games TQL Stadium will be at capacity. FC Cincinnati has had the fifth-highest average attendance in MLS this season, with 25,287 fans per match.
Coming Home: With the USMNT loss in PK’s Wednesday to Panama, striker Brandon Vazquez and defender Matt Miazga have returned to the club and are eligible to be selected for the matchday roster. Both players have appeared in 17 games this season but have not been available to FCC since June 10 at Vancouver Whitecaps FC due to international duty. The Orange and Blue went 2-1-2 in their absence.
SCOUTING NASHVILLE (11-7-5, 38 PTS., 3rd EASTERN CONFERENCE)
Nashville SC is anchored by its prolific offensive star, 2022 MLS MVP attacking midfielder Hany Mukhtar. All things run through the German attacker, and he leads MLS in goals and goals+assists with 21 this season, three more than the next highest player (Luciano Acosta, Dániel Gazbag, Christian Espinoza).
The play in net has also been quality for Nashville SC, with goalkeeper Joe Willis being a staple in the lineup, starting every MLS match this season for the club. With 69 saves, Willis is fifth in that category and first in goals-against averages with only 0.83 games allowed per game.
However, NSC will be significantly shorthanded, going without three regulars due to suspensions and international duty. Panamanian midfielder Aníbal Godoy will remain away from the club with Panama as they look to win the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup over Mexico. Nashville SC will also be without both starting full-backs, Shaquell Moore and Daniel Lovitz, who received red cards in their most recent match with Philadelphia Union, where Nashville lost 2-0.
English football star Gary Smith leads Nashville SC, the first and only manager in the club's history dating back to the two seasons Nashville SC played in USL. In three MLS seasons, Smith has led The Boys in Gold to a 44-37-28 record and appearances in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in each season.
