FC Cincinnati will look to further strengthen their position at the summit of the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference table on Wednesday, when they travel to take on New York Red Bulls.
The visitors currently sit seven points clear of second place after 21 league outings, while their visitors will bid to break into the top nine following an important win over New England Revolution last time out.
Match preview
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After finishing fourth in last season's MLS Eastern Conference, before their campaign ended in playoff defeat to Wednesday's opponents, New York Red Bulls have certainly had a tougher time this time around, as they currently sit 10th after 21 matches with just 26 points on the board.
That is largely down to their slow start under the management of Gerhard Struber, as they managed just one victory and nine points from their opening 11 outings, triggering the departure of the Austrian in early May.
Troy Lesesne stepped into the hot seat following Struber's exit, and he has quickly been able to inspire an improvement at the Red Bull Arena, beginning with a 2-1 victory over rivals New York City FC, before following that up with a draw against Toronto and a hard-fought 1-0 triumph away at Inter Miami.
After picking up four points from the following four games under their new boss, the Red Bulls now head into Wednesday's game having won two of their last three MLS outings, firstly thrashing Atlanta United 4-0, as Daniel Edelman and Cristian Casseres found the net and Frankie Amaya netted a late brace, before they suffered a 2-1 defeat in a tough trip to Columbus Crew, despite Elias Manoel initially drawing them level at a goal apiece in the first half.
Hoping to rebound from that setback and improve their top-nine hopes, Lesesne's men most recently faced another tough test at home to high-flying New England Revolution at the weekend, and after going ahead through Amaya and being pegged back by a Brandon Bye equaliser, New York Red Bulls would take all three points thanks to Wikelman Carmona's decisive goal five minutes from time.
Now bound to have some confidence in the camp, having taken six points from three games against top-five opposition in the Eastern Conference, the Red Bulls only trail ninth-placed CF Montreal on goal difference and eighth-placed DC United by four points with two games in hand, and with another difficult test looming against the league leaders, the Red Bulls will hope to again pull off an impressive result with the chance to break into the wildcard places.
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That will be no easy task, though, with the visitors having suffered just two defeats in 21 MLS outings so far this season.
After an initial seven-match unbeaten run at the start of the campaign was halted by a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of St Louis City in mid-April, FC Cincinnati would establish themselves at the top of the Eastern Conference with a run of six straight victories, falling in the middle of another 10-game unbeaten streak lasting until late June.
In those six games, the Orange and Blue scored 13 goals while only conceding four at the other end, and after a draw away at Vancouver Whitecaps, the run culminated in a 3-0 triumph at home to Toronto, as Santiago Arias, Luciano Acosta and Dominique Badji got on the scoresheet, but for the first time this term, Pat Noonan's side now head into Wednesday's game hoping to arrest a run of three matches without a victory.
The unbeaten streak was brought to an abrupt end by a shock 3-0 beating away at DC United, and after playing out a 2-2 draw at home to New England Revolution, in which Badji earned them a share of the spoils with a brace, the Orange and Blue most recently travelled to take on Charlotte FC and came from 2-0 down to draw by the same scoreline, as Acosta pulled one back early in the second half and Alvaro Barreal levelled the scores soon after the hour mark.
Despite seeing a slight drop in their form in recent weeks, FC Cincinnati do still boast a commanding lead at the top of the Eastern Conference, with second-placed Nashville SC seven points behind having played a game more, and they will know hope to build on that comeback at the weekend and make a return to winning ways to further cement their position on top of the table.
Team News
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Troy Lesesne may opt to deploy an unchanged starting XI from their win over New England Revolution last time out, although Wikelman Carmona does have a claim to come in from the outset after netting the winner off the bench in that game.
Goals have been spread throughout the squad so far this season, and Frankie Amaya has played a key role, top scoring with three in his 13 appearances from midfield, while Dante Vanzeir and Tom Barlow could again partner up in attack.
Sean Nealis and Andres Reyes have been mainstays in defence this season and will continue their partnership at the heart of a back four, while Daniel Edelman should feature alongside Amaya in the engine room.
FC Cincinnati will remain without key defender Matt Miazga, who is away on international duty with the USA, while Ian Murphy, who has stepped in in his absence recently, will miss out through suspension after being sent off last time out.
With Walker unavailable, Ray Gaddis should again come in to join mainstays Nick Hagglund and Yerson Mosquera at the back, while Obinna Nwobodo, Junior Moreno and Marco Angulo will likely battle for two spots at the base of midfield.
Attacker Brandon Vazquez is also away with the American national team, while Dominique Badji missed out last time out after his brace against New England Revolution, meaning Yuya Kubo and Sergio Santos should again start up front with support from star man and captain Luciano Acosta, who has contributed a team-high tally of 10 goals alongside five assists in 20 MLS appearances so far this season.
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Carlos; Harper, Reyes, Nealis, Duncan; Edelman, Amaya; Mosso, Luquinhas; Vanzeir, Barlow
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Celentano; Hagglund, Mosquera, Gaddis; Arias, Nwobodo, Moreno, Barreal; Acosta; Kubo, Santos
We say: New York Red Bulls 1-1 FC Cincinnati
FC Cincinnati's momentum has slowed slightly, and they are missing several key players, while the hosts are gaining in confidence, and we fancy the Red Bulls to get a positive result on home turf.
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Sam Varley
