FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan expects a tough test against the Philadelphia Union despite their recent form, as he faces his former side this Thursday.
The Orange and Blue come into the contest as the overwhelming favourites having won eight of their last nine matches, the latest coming in a 4-2 win over San Jose Earthquakes last time out.
Noonan's side are just two points behind the Eastern Conference league leaders, Inter Miami, but have played two games less than the side directly above them.
However, Noonan was quick to look past the two sides' differing recent form, insisting the game will be a tougher encounter than many will expect.
“They've been stable for a long time, and when you're stable and at the top of the league for so long, anytime there's a stretch where you're not winning games, you're not getting results, there's going to be criticism,” Noonan said.
“That's a part of what we're all dealing with. So I think the compliment there is it's been so long since we've seen them have struggles. But I can tell you, with Jim (Curtin) and with some of those leaders, they're going to be fine.”
“That's my view of it, and it doesn't make me any more comfortable about Wednesday. If there's anything that you know, anytime their backs are against the wall, these guys step up. Jim knows how to lead that group, so we have to be very cautious about an opponent that, while they might be struggling with results, has been in these situations before and come out on top.”
The Union come into the encounter at the TQL Stadium having won one of their last 11 league matches, leaving them in eighth place in the East table following their 2-1 defeat to Inter Miami last Saturday.
Their recent meetings with their opponents have also ended on the wrong end of the scoreline, losing their last three meetings.
Prior to this run, the Union were unbeaten in their first seven meetings with Cincinnati (W5 D2) and they will be hopeful of gaining a much-needed triumph to gain some belief back into their squad.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Acosta's creative spark shone in Cincinatti's win victory over San Jose, recording three assists for the second time in his MLS career, last coming in September 2018 with DC United.
The Argentine became the 13th player in MLS history to have two such games, something no player has done three times, hoping to add to 19 goal contributions from 17 league games this season.
Philadelphia Union – Mikael Uhre
Uhre netted his sixth goal of the season on Saturday, becoming the third different Union player with six or more goals (Daniel Gazdag – 10, Julian Carranza – six).
The only other team with three players with six or more goals this season are Portland (Felipe Mora, Evander, Jonathan Rodriguez).
MATCH PREDICTION: FC CINCINNATI WIN
FC Cincinnati have won three of their last five matches against the Union (D1 L1), including eliminating Philadelphia from last season's playoffs.
FC Cincinnati have won eight of their last nine matches (L1), and are looking to become just the fourth team in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to win nine times in a span of 10 league matches.
Meanwhile, The Union have won one of their last 11 league matches (D5 L5) following their loss to Inter Miami on Saturday. The eight points Philadelphia have collected over that span are their fewest in any 11-game stretch of league play since 2015.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Cincinnati – 50.8%
Draw – 25%
Philadelphia – 24.3%
Chicago Fire v Toronto FC: Herdman hoping to change Reds’ playoff story
Toronto FC head coach John Herdman has said his side must rediscover their clinical edge upon their MLS return after their Canadian Championship final defeat in midweek.
The Reds were beaten by the Vancouver Whitecaps on penalties after a goalless encounter, with goalkeeper Isaac Boehmer proving to be the hero, making seven saves on the night.
But Herdman was left ruing those missed opportunities as the Whitecaps claimed their third-straight title, insisting his players must respond against the Chicago Fire this weekend.
“We are just not clinical at the moment,” Herdman said. “It’s been a couple games where we’ve been right there knocking on the door but just haven’t been able to find that killer moment or we found a keeper that’s standing on his head.
“That’s the story of TFC at the moment. We’re in the playoff hunt.
“As I said in the dressing room, all I asked is the team showed up, and they did. They have to show up again on Saturday. That’s their next task.”
Chicago, meanwhile, were condemned to back-to-back defeats in the MLS, going down 2-0 to CF Montreal in their last encounter at the Stade Saputo.
That defeat, the Fire’s 16th of the season, leaves them 14th in the Eastern Conference standings, ending their hopes of reaching the playoffs this year.
But with two of their remaining three regular-season fixtures at the SeatGeek Stadium, head coach Frank Klopas has asked his players to give supporters something to cheer after a disappointing campaign.
“We need to finish strong. We need to fight and compete all the way to the end. As long as we have games in front of us, we are professionals and need to play,” Klopas said.
“We need to do our job. We have two home games and regardless of what happens, it’s important, and I have stressed it to the team to finish strongly at home.
“I know it has not been a season with a lot of great moments, but we need to do whatever we can to finish on a positive note and leave a good picture, especially at home.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chicago Fire –Brian Gutierrez
In the absence of top scorer Hugo Cuypers, Gutierrez will be the man tasked with providing the Fire with an attacking spark at the SeatGeek Stadium.
The American notched an assist in their 4-1 win over Toronto earlier in the season, winning three of his five matches against this weekend’s opponents (D1 L1).
Toronto FC – Jonathan Osorio
Osorio has scored six goals against the Fire, his most against any MLS opponent.
However, he hasn’t scored against the Fire since 2019, failing to find the back of the net in his last five appearances against Chicago.
MATCH PREDICTION: CHICAGO FIRE WIN
The Fire have won three of their last four matches against Toronto, including the last two in a row. Prior to the last four meetings, Toronto were unbeaten in 14 straight matches against Chicago (W11 D3).
However, Herdman’s side have lost seven of their last nine matches in all competitions (D1 L1), including the last two in a row. This is the sixth different losing streak of at least two matches for the Fire this season.
Toronto’s 2-0 loss at the Colorado Rapids last Saturday was their 45th regular season road loss since the start of the 2021 season, four more than any other MLS team in that time (Chicago - 41).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chicago Fire – 48%
Draw – 26%
Toronto FC – 26%
St. Louis City v Sporting Kansas City: This rivalry is important to MLS, says Hackworth
John Hackworth believes St. Louis City's derby with Sporting Kansas City is key to MLS as they resume their rivalry on Saturday.
The last two meetings between the sides have finished level, with both ending in dramatic fashion.
St. Louis City come into the latest edition having lost just one of their last six outings, though that was their last home match.
They sit 13th in the Eastern Conference, level on points with Sporting above them, and Hackworth is now keen to build on the momentum from their win over San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday.
"We talked about trying to finish these last five games with a lot of momentum, showing our fans what we were capable of," Hackworth said.
"We knew we had to go on the road in one of these three games and be successful, and now we just need to build on that.
"This rivalry is really important to our league. It's two teams who are going to go after it and play by their principles, leaving it all out there to see what happens - two dramatic draws set us up for this contest."
Meanwhile, Kansas City have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions and suffered a 3-1 defeat to Los Angeles FC in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday.
Head coach Peter Vermes was left disappointed by the result but believes there are positives to take from the performance.
"I give the guys a lot of credit. I'm very proud of the effort that the guys put into that game," Vermes said.
"It never feels good to lose. But I also think that the group did themselves proud in the way they performed. We had good responses in that game, but in the end, we fell short."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Cedric Teuchert
Cedric Teuchert scored in the fourth minute in each of St. Louis City's last two matches.
Teuchert is one of six players to score more than one goal in the opening four minutes of matches this season and the second to do so in consecutive matches (Mikael Uhre).
Sporting Kansas City – Tim Melia
Both goals Sporting Kansas City conceded in their loss to Minnesota United on Saturday came in the final 30 minutes.
Sporting have allowed 31 goals in the final 30 minutes of matches this season, only San Jose (33) has allowed more, and Tim Melia will be hoping his concentration levels can improve ahead of Saturday's match.
MATCH PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CITY WIN
St. Louis City have lost only two of their last 10 matches in all competitions (W4 D4), including picking up a 2-1 win at San Jose on Saturday. St. Louis have not won two straight matches in all competitions since wins over Minnesota United and Sporting Kansas City last September.
Sporting have lost 10 of their last 12 regular-season away matches, including a 2-0 loss in Seattle in their last league road match. Only league-worst San Jose (11) have lost more away matches this season than Sporting (10).
However, Kansas City are unbeaten in four straight meetings with St. Louis (W2 D2) after St. Louis won two of the first three encounters. This will be the eighth meeting between St. Louis and Kansas City, totaling 10.4 % (8/77) of all of St. Louis' games in all competitions up to this point.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 43.4%
Draw – 26.7%
Sporting Kansas City – 29.9%
Crystal Palace 0-7 Chelsea: Blues run riot to keep Bompastor perfect
Sonia Bompastor maintained her perfect start to life as Chelsea head coach as her side turned on the style in the second half to beat Crystal Palace 7-0 on Friday.
After Lauren James saw a goal ruled out, the Blues found their breakthrough in the 38th minute as Agnes Beever-Jones turned home Johanna Rytting Kaneryd's delivery.
Lucy Bronze handed the visitors the perfect start to the second half, guiding a strike into the far corner for her first Chelsea goal since her move from Barcelona.
The result was put beyond doubt just before the hour-mark as James finally got her name on the scoresheet, opening her account for the season from close range.
But the Blues were not done there. Guro Reiten struck beyond Shae Yanez for Chelsea's fourth, with Catarina Macario's corner then finished by Nathalie Bjorn.
Reiten notched her second in the 90th minute, with Macario adding gloss to an impressive showing from the defending champions as she capitalised on Yanez's parry to compound the newly-promoted Eagles to a second defeat of the season.
Data Debrief: Ruthless Blues clip Eagles' wings
After a battling display against Aston Villa on the opening day, Bompastor's side showcased the attacking ruthlessness that was missing a week ago.
James was a particular standout for the Blues, registering a team-high expected goals (xG) tally of 0.95 to Chelsea's 2.47 total from her four shots during the encounter.
Chelsea ended the contest with 24 shots, 11 of which were on target, completing 56 touches inside the opposition's box compared to Palace's 12.
But for all of their attacking brilliance, Chelsea have now kept a clean sheet in each of their last five games in the Women's Super League. Their last longer run of games without conceding a goal in the competition was a run of six matches between February and April in 2021.
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