PREVIEW | FC Cincinnati visits NYCFC during the week

FC Cincinnati wants to get back on the winning streak and continue to improve on their way to the MLS Cup Playoffs. After a loss to LAFC over the weekend, the FCC players felt like they had beaten themselves with a slow start and inconsistent play. The Orange and Blue can not only correct the record with a win at NYCFC this Wednesday, but also tie an MLS record for away wins in the modern era.

FC Cincinnati enters the trip to NYCFC with 10 away wins, a club record but one shy of CF Montreal's 2022 modern MLS record of 11 away wins in a season. Although the overall record is higher, the 11 wins represent the high point for away wins after the MLS Shootout era.

“We try to have a similar approach every game in terms of how we want to attack and how we want to defend. Of course there is variation in every game, but I think you've seen in our group that we don't do that.” “Lean back too often when we're on the road,” Pat Noonan said in his press conference on Monday the game. “It brought us success. It certainly presented challenges when playing against different types of opponents on the home field. But I think we also adapt to how things develop in the game.”

The weekend game against LAFC left FC Cincinnati feeling frustrated. While they were the better team for most of the game, they had to come back after a slow start that resulted in 35 minutes of poor play, and LAFC's talent ensured they were able to get through the game. Now that the game has been evaluated and things continue, FCC wants to deliver a full performance.

“(LAFC) had a really strong game and I think it was something we struggled with at the start, then we made good adjustments and played really well the last 65 minutes. But it has to be 90, 90 or more minutes to win games,” Noonan said of the game with NYCFC. So when we went to New York City (who are coming off a very strong win), the last time we played them in the League Cup, I talked about the consistency of their group and their performances, and it's been a while. So I think they're doing well at the moment.

With a win, FC Cincinnati could secure its place in the Concacaf Champions Cup for 2025. However, to finally secure this spot they would need the help of other results. Regardless, FC Cincinnati is trying to get back on track, and that starts on Wednesday night.

Also of note, the Major League Baseball playoffs have scheduling conflicts, so NYCFC will host this game at Red Bull Arena. The traditional home sites at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field will be used for the Yankees and Mets playoff games.

FC Cincinnati vs. NYCFC – Wednesday, October 2, 2024 – 7:30 p.m. ET – Red Bull Arena

Electricity: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV

TV Talent (English, Apple): Steve Cangialosi (PxP), Danny Higginbotham (Analyst)
TV Talent (Spanish, Apple): Bruno Vain (PXP), Andres Angulla (analysis)

Radio (English): ESPN 1530

Radio (Spanish): La Mega 97.7 FM

Radio Talent (English): Tom Scholar (PXP), Ray Gaddis (Analyst)
Radio Talent: (Spanish): Gustavo Luques (PXP), Jose Romero (Analyst)

Be sure to follow @FCCincinnati TwitterInstagram and Facebook for live updates from the game.

The clash with NYCFC will be the third time FC Cincinnati have faced them this season, and FC Cincinnati have picked up points in each of the previous two meetings. In the league game at the TQL Stadium on Saturday, March 23, Luciano Acosta scored a 1-0 win for FC Cincinnati. Acosta has five goals and four assists against NYCFC in his FCC career.

However, the Leagues Cup game at the TQL Stadium was full of energy and interest as FCC stormed back to claim a 4-2 win after trailing 2-0 with just over ten minutes to play. Yuya Kubo, Pavel Bucha, Yamil Asad and Sergio Santos all contributed to the group stage victory.

FC Cincinnati entered this game undefeated in their last seven games against NYCFC and have won each of their previous five games in all competitions.

Five straight – FC Cincinnati has won five straight games against New York City FC in all competitions, starting with victory in the Round of 32 of the 2023 US Open Cup last May. Cincinnati has outscored NYCFC 12-3 in those five games. Before the current winning streak, the FCC was winless in eight games against the Pigeons.

Well, that was kinda crazy – In FC Cincinnati's 4-2 win over NYCFC in the 2024 Leagues Cup, FCC scored four goals starting in the 79th minute, overcoming a 2-0 deficit. FCC won from a deficit of more than two goals for the first time in the club's history, and all four FCC goals were scored by substitutes, a first in League Cup history. In MLS play, no team has ever conceded four goals from four different substitutes.

A home away from home – FC Cincinnati has played far more away games at Red Bull Arena than any other venue. Wednesday marks the FCC's 15th all-time visit to Red Bull Arena and 13th in the FCC's MLS era (2019-present). Cincy's third game is Wednesday against NYCFC at Red Bull Arena. The FCC's second most frequent venue is Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (7 games).

Winner from Wednesday – Under Pat Noonan, the FCC did well on Wednesday. Under Noonan, the FCC is 14-4-5 in all competitions since 2022 in 23 games that fall on a Wednesday (5-2-0 this season).

Lucho Lucho Lucho – FC Cincinnati Luciano “Lucho” Acosta has tied his 2023 club record of 31 goal contributions in a single season. He also tied his 2022 club record of 19 assists. Acosta holds the top three single-season goal contributions in FCC history. There have only been five total goals over 20 in club history, and Acosta has three of them. Acosta is the only player in club history to record more than 10 assists in a season, and he has done so in each of his four seasons with FCC.

NYCFC scored a colossal victory over the weekend as they defeated their city rivals New York Red Bulls in one of the Hudson River Derby's most memorable games. The 5-1 win will go down in history as one of the biggest victories in the series, equalizing the record that dates back to a 7-0 Red Bulls victory that was then dubbed the “Red Wedding.”

The newer of the two New York clubs has had a tumultuous season but has found a measure of consistency as head coach Nick Cushing continues to put his stamp on the team. Before last Saturday's 5-1 result, NYCFC had gone nine games without a win and had just three wins in their last 15. But with Saturday's win, NYCFC has catapulted into fifth place in the Eastern Conference with three games to go. There are just two points left to secure home advantage in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

“I think the last time we played them in the Leagues Cup I was talking about the consistency of their group and their performances and it's been trending that way for a long time,” Pat Noonan said of NYCFC this week. “So I think they're doing well at the moment. I think the performance and the result (against NYRB) shows that they know exactly where they stand.”

Alonso Martínez leads NYCFC with 14 goals and three assists this season and scored two goals in the Hudson River Derby win. The 25-year-old center forward from Costa Rica is in his second season with the club. In 2023, he played three games and played a total of 30 minutes. Behind him in the team's top scorers list are Santiago Rodríguez with nine goals and Hannes Wolf with five.

In net for NYCFC is Matt Freese, who has long been a standout candidate for Goalkeeper of the Year this season. Freese has now been in the MLS for six seasons and came from the Philadelphia Union in 2023, where he appeared in ten games. This is his first full season as a starting goalkeeper.

In NYCFC's defense, the core starts in midfield, where Keaton Parks and James Sands fill in as CDMs in the 4-2-3-1 formation they most often play. Sands, both Americans, was developed within the NYCFC Academy and Parks joined the club as a youth after a spell in Portugal. Behind them are Kevin O'Toole (a player who grew up in the Red Bulls Academy) and Brazilian central defender Thiago Martins.

In the game against the Red Bulls, NYCFC switched their formation to a more standard 4-4-2, which raised curiosity about what Cushing could do for this game.