Major League Soccer

Oct 28, 2024 at 10.45pm UK

Dr. DY Patil Stadium

Cincinnati vs NY City

Match preview

Cincinnati had a remarkable season last year, finishing with the most points (69) in the entire MLS. They were tipped for another impressive campaign this year.

However, Pat Noonan and his team couldn't quite match last season's success, dropping 12 points in the opening eight rounds and only winning three times.

The Knifey Lions had a seven-game winning streak to regain some confidence, but a rough five-game stretch that yielded only four points saw them finish behind Inter Miami and Columbus Crew.

Even so, Cincinnati are heading to their third straight playoffs, which is pretty impressive when you consider they finished bottom of the Eastern Conference in each of their first three seasons.

After going 2-0 up, the Sunday hosts were knocked out of the semi-finals last time by the eventual winners, Columbus Crew. They'll be looking to make another deep run into the postseason.

Cincinnati will be looking to get an early lead on the visitors ahead of Saturday's second meeting. They've lost just one of the last eight editions of this fixture, so they'll be hoping for a positive result.

New York City's only win against Cincinnati since the start of 2022 was in the most recent match earlier this month, which ended 3-2. They'll be hoping for more of the same in Monday's opening match.

After a slow start to the regular season, Nick Cushing's team recovered and finished sixth in the Eastern Conference. This is their second time making it to the playoffs after missing out last season.

After three wins, the team lost 2-0 to CF Montreal on Saturday. Caden Clark and Josef Martinez scored in the first half, and that was the final score.

That was just the first loss for New York City in five games. They ended the season with 10 points from the last 15 available, which put them behind only Charlotte, Montreal, and Inter Miami in the East. They're heading to Ohio next.

However, the team that's visiting on Monday hasn't done well on the road recently. They've only won one of their last five away games. And that one was against their city rivals, the New York Red Bulls, in late September.

Recent Performance

FC Cincinnati Major League Soccer form:WDLLLW

New York City FC Major League Soccer form:LDWWWL

Team News

Matt Miazga from Cincinnati is still out of the running because he had surgery to fix a cruciate ligament injury he got in the middle of June.

Nick Hagglund is also out for the long haul, nursing a broken fibula, while Sergio Santos is questionable for Monday's game with a concussion.

American defender Isaiah Foster hasn't played since July, when he picked up a knee problem. That rules him out of contention for his side alongside Alec Kann.

Justin Haak, who is 23, can't play for New York City FC here because he's serving a one-game suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Sierra Leone youngster Malachi Jones is also out for the away side due to a broken leg and it'll be a while before he's back in the first team.

Possible starting lineups

FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:

Celentano; Hadebe, Robinson, Awaziem; Asad, Nwobodo, Bucha, Yedlin; Acosta, Kubo, Orellano

New York City FC possible starting lineup:

Freese; O'Toole, Ilenic, Martins, Gray; Sands, Park; Rodriguez, Moralez, Wolf; Martinez