FC Cincinnati will head to North Carolina to take on Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium on March 31 in gameweek six of the MLS regular season.
The hosts are currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with seven points to date, while the visitors are leading the Conference standings with 11 points after five games.
Match preview
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Charlotte bagged their second win of the season last week, beating defending champions Columbus Crew 2-0, in a match that has raised questions about the quality of referees in the MLS at the moment amid ongoing labour disputes.
The first half alone saw numerous injuries, three player substitutions, a player sent off, two VAR reviews, contentious decisions - among which was a call resulting in a missed penalty for Charlotte - and two goals that were controversially disallowed.
After a 62-minute first period, the chaos persisted in the second half, with a total of 10 cards shown to players by the end of the match.
Nevertheless, the final result was a much-needed one for the Crown, as it saw them avoid a third consecutive defeat following a 1-0 loss to Toronto and a 2-1 loss to Nashville SC in their two preceding matches.
Former Aston Villa boss Dean Smith will be keen to maintain his 100% record at home for his new side but will have his work cut out here as Charlotte have failed to beat this opponent in their last three attempts, including a 3-0 defeat to them in their last encounter back in September last year.
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While Cincinnati bowed out of the CONCACAF Champions League in the round of 16 to Mexican outfit Monterrey a couple of weeks ago, they have been very good in the league and are one of only two sides that are still unbeaten after the first five matches.
They accumulated a total of eight points from their first four games of the season (W2 D2 L0) and picked up their first home win of the 2024 campaign last week when they overcame New York City 1-0.
Luciano Acosta scored what turned out to be the winner just before the hour mark, and with that result, the Orange and Blue took pole position in the league standings, overtaking Inter Miami, who suffered a hefty 4-0 defeat at the hands of the New York Red Bulls.
With 80 career assists already under his belt, Acosta achieved a significant milestone by becoming the seventh player in league history to amass 60 goals and 80 assists. In addition, he accomplished the feat in just 224 matches, making him the fourth-quickest player to reach this career landmark.
Pat Noonan's side have a perfect record on the road so far this season, with 2-1 wins over Chicago Fire and New England in gameweeks two and four, but are somewhat surprisingly showing up as big outsiders according to the bookmakers.
Team News
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For the hosts, Ben Bender (knee), Brandon Cambridge (ankle) and Tyger Smalls (leg) will play no part in this weekend's match, with all three players ruled out through injury.
Jere Uronen picked up a knock on international duty for Finland but has not been ruled out of contention just yet. In addition, Enzo Copetti, Brandt Bronico and Kerwin Vargas are all flagged as doubts owing to injuries.
Cincinnati will be able to welcome back Miles Robinson, who was part of the USA side that claimed the CONCACAF Nations League title, and he should slot straight back into the defence for this match.
Alec Kann (hand) and Obinna Nwobodo (leg) are ruled out due to injury, while Yamil Asad will be hoping to make his debut, having arrived at the club from Atlanta United earlier this week.
Charlotte FC possible starting lineup:
Kahlina; Byrne, Malanda, Privett, Diani; Urso, Westwood, Tavares; Dejaegere, Vargas; Agyemang
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Celentano; Robinson, Miazga, Murphy; Powell, Yedlin, Bucha, Orellano; Acosta, Baird, Santos
We say: Charlotte FC 1-2 FC Cincinnati
While Charlotte claimed an important win last week, it was a far from convincing performance. Cincinnati have picked up from where they left off last season, and we feel they will maintain their 100% away record with another win in this match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
