For the first time in Major League Soccer history, FC Cincinnati will visit CityPark on Saturday to battle St Louis City in the eighth match for both teams this season.
Following a five-match winning run to begin the campaign, St Louis have dropped two in a row, falling 3-0 versus the Seattle Sounders on matchday seven, while Cincinnati are the only unbeaten team remaining in the Eastern Conference, having defeated the Philadelphia Union 1-0 last Saturday.
Match preview
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Weeks of head-turning performances and impressive on-field displays have stalled in St Louis, with the expansion side in a temporary slump.
We knew their magical early run could not last forever, and last weekend Bradley Carnell's men were humbled by an experienced and elite unit in Seattle, who netted three times in the second half.
That is as many goals as this team had conceded in their previous five fixtures combined, while they failed to find the back of the net for a second successive encounter after scoring 15 goals in their opening five matches of the year.
Given that they employ a high-press, Red Bull style of football, it is no surprise to learn that St Louis do not possess the ball for long stretches, but against Seattle, they left too many gaps in their penalty area while rarely creating much in transition.
Saturday will only be the second time they face an Eastern Conference opponent this season, having come from a goal down to defeat Charlotte FC 3-1 on matchday two.
Although their campaign has hit a speed bump, they are still well ahead of schedule regarding playoff positioning, currently second in the Western Conference, nine points above the postseason line.
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The good times just keep on rolling for Pat Noonan and the Orange and Blue, who are top of the Eastern Conference with 17 points and are winners of three in a row.
Coming into this campaign, Cincinnati knew that there would be more expectations than in any prior season seeing as they made the playoffs for the first time a year ago, and so far in 2023, they have become a serious contender to win the Supporters' Shield.
It seems like a long time ago, but Cincy were once the laughing stock in MLS, claiming just 14 victories in their first 91 regular-season affairs.
Under Noonan, however, they have already surpassed that feat, winning 17 regular-season fixtures in half that time (41 games).
In 2022, they often overwhelmed their opponents with an effective diamond formation designed to hit teams on the break, though they still allowed their share of opportunities themselves when out of possession, as the Orange and Blue were tied for the most goals conceded among the 14 playoff teams.
Some new additions defensively and in the midfield have made them a much more complete squad, with Cincinnati conceding the third-fewest goals in MLS (four) and positing three successive clean sheets, equalling their longest shutout run in this competition from 2020.
Team News
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Rasmus Alm remains a question mark for St Louis this weekend as he is recovering from a knee injury, as is Joakim Nilsson, while Lucas Bartlett and Miguel Perez came into the starting 11 versus Seattle, replacing Jared Stroud and Tomas Ostrak.
After being involved in a goal in each of his first five matches, Klauss has been held off the scoresheet on back-to-back occasions, while Roman Burki has conceded more goals in the last two games (four) than he had in his opening five fixtures.
Njabulo Blom is seeking his first start since March when he began the match against Charlotte, Samuel Adeniran will hope to be in the opening lineup for the first time, having replaced Nicholas Gioacchini in the second half last weekend, while former Cincinnati defender John Nelson has started every match for St Louis this season at left-back.
Obinna Nwobodo is questionable for Cincinnati due to a hamstring strain, Yuya Kubo is out with a leg injury, while Santiago Arias got his first start last weekend since their opening fixture, replacing Ray Gaddis in the midfield.
Luciano Acosta had the only goal in their victory versus Philly, his first across all competitions since they came back to beat the New York Red Bulls in the opening round of the 2022 playoffs (2-1), while Roman Celentano collected his fifth clean sheet of the campaign, putting him in a tie for the league lead alongside Joe Willis of Nashville SC.
While Noonan will undoubtedly take winning over anything else, he could use some more contributions from his main attacking threats, as Brandon Vazquez and Brenner have just a goal each so far this year after scoring 18 and 15, respectively, in 2022.
On Thursday it was reported that the Orange and Blue had agreed to move Brenner to Udinese in Serie A, meaning that the Brazilian would stay in Cincinnati until July before joining his new club in Italy, though the deal has yet to be finalised.
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Nerwinski, Hiebert, Parker, Nelson; Blom; Vassilev, Lowen, Ostrak; Gioacchini, Klauss
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Celentano; Hagglund, Miazga, Mosquera; Arias, Pinto, Moreno, Barreal; Acosta; Vazquez, Brenner
We say: St Louis City 1-1 FC Cincinnati
Both teams are off to great starts this year and deserve to be where they are in the table, so given the quality of each, we expect to see some scoring chances but not enough for either to have a decisive edge.
How to watch
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Joel Lefevre
