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%

Luciano Acosta has hailed FC Cincinnati for coming through a testing period as they look to make it three straight wins in MLS play at Orlando City on Saturday.

After going unbeaten through their first six games of the season, Cincinnati suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal.

However, they have since bounced back with two wins over difficult opponents, seeing off Atlanta United and the Colorado Rapids by the same scoreline.

Acosta scored his 44th goal for Cincinnati – the most of any player in franchise history – in that latter game, and he believes their resilience has been key. 

"I think it's just about our mentality," Acosta said. "We lost those two games and it was a bit of a punch that woke us up. But now it's about the mentality and getting back to it."

Head coach Pat Noonan said of Acosta: "I think what makes it more impressive is teams are going to try to prevent him from having an impact. 

"When you're a key player and you're able to do what he's doing with the focus on stopping you in a lot of ways, that's what is unique."

Orlando, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 by Toronto FC last week, halting their four-game unbeaten streak and dropping them to 13th in the Eastern Conference. 

Forward Duncan McGuire felt the Lions should have taken maximum points from that game and is desperate to atone at Inter&Co Stadium.

"I definitely think we should've won," he said.

"I think how difficult this felt and how this feels for us right now is going to push us and motivate us to train hard all week, to get a win for the fans at home and get the job done."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Orlando City – Duncan McGuire

Maguire scored his fourth goal of the MLS season against Toronto last week – no other Orlando player has netted more than once in 2024.

Those goals have come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 2.7, with the United States international also attempting a team-high 27 shots this campaign.

FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta 

Acosta has contributed to at least one goal in four straight MLS matches (one goal, three assists). 

It is Acosta's fifth streak of four or more straight regular-season games with a goal contribution for Cincinnati, with Brandon Vazquez the only other player to achieve that feat for the team.

MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN

Orlando earned a win and a draw against Supporters' Shield winners Cincinnati last season, making them one of two teams (also the New England Revolution) to play Cincinnati twice in the 2023 regular season and not lose either match.

The Lions may just fancy their chances of another positive result against Noonan's men, who have only won one of their last three away games (one draw, one defeat).

Orlando have only lost two of their last 17 regular-season home matches dating back to last April, winning nine and drawing six, so viewers should expect a response to their loss last time out.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Orlando City – 49.3%

FC Cincinnati – 23.6% 

Draw – 27.1%