Cincinnati assistant head coach Dominic Kinnear insisted that the team’s slow starts were "alarming" and needed to be put right ahead of the visit of CF Montreal.

With head coach Pat Noonan serving a suspension, Kinnear watched on as his side conceded two goals in six minutes against Inter Miami, with Luis Suarez netting both in a 2-0 victory for the Eastern Conference leaders.

Despite the result, the Orange and Blue remain second in the standings, but have Leagues Cup winners Columbus Crew breathing down their necks and the advantage of having two games in hand.

Kinnear believes that starting fast will set the tone for the remainder of the season, explaining that it must start sooner rather than later ahead of the playoffs.

“It's cause for alarms,” Kinnear said of the team conceding early in four of their last six matches. “It's the intensity and the, you know. I think at times, the lack of understanding of how the other team is going to come out.”

“These are some very important games. There are playoff positions and trophies on the line. You know, for me, that was a flat 10 minutes. As flat as I've seen coming out of the locker room.

“Are we out of shape? No. Is the preparation not there; are they understanding the opponent? I think everything is in line there. Sometimes that's the unknown answer. But you know, I won't disagree. We have come out flat and it's something we need to address for sure."

Montreal, meanwhile, returned from their Leagues Cup campaign with a whimper as they were thumped 5-0 by New England Revolution - their heaviest defeat of the season.

The result leaves the team in 11th place in the Eastern Conference table, but just a point behind Atlanta United, who occupy the final playoff spot in the division.

Head coach Laurent Courtois criticised his players for a combination of individual errors that led to the defeat, bemoaning his squad for a lack of discipline during the contest.

"We thought we had made the personal or tactical adjustments in the second half to turn things around, but when you lose your discipline, it becomes complicated,” Courtois said.

“There were individual errors that hurt. It's difficult for me to talk about positives tonight, even if we thought there was room for improvement.

“We struggled in transition and ran out of ideas in the second half.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta

Luciano Acosta has been the standout for Cincinnati this season, registering 26 goal involvements (11 goals and 15 assists) in 25 league appearances.

In his 15 appearances against Montreal, Acosta has found the back of the net seven times, level with the San Jose Earthquakes as the most he has struck against an MLS opponent.

Montreal – Joseph Martinez

Josef Martinez has scored seven regular-season goals against Cincinnati, tied with Gyasi Zardes for the most in regular season play.

MATCH PREDICTION: CINCINNATI WIN

While Cincinnati are the favourites to emerge victorious at the TQL Stadium, they have lost their last four straight regular season matches after losing just four of their previous 24 league games (W16 D4) dating back to last October.

The Orange and Blue conceded two goals in the opening six minutes of their loss to Inter Miami. Prior to that encounter, Cincinnati had conceded just once in the opening six minutes of matches since the start of the 2023 season.

But Montreal have struggled away from home and are winless in 13 straight away matches in all competitions (D4 L9) dating back to March. This is the club’s longest road winless run since going 34 without a win on their travels from September 2013 to May 2015.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Cincinnati – 63.3%

Draw – 19.5%

Montreal – 17.2%